20:00 on April 30th - Fifth Taihu Jazz Festival Opening & International Jazz Day Concert
Lead Cast: GU Feng, LUO Ning, JIA Fan, KONG Hongwei, WANG Kai, LI Xiaochuan, FENG Mantian (in order of appearance)
Conductor: JIN Ye
Alto Saxophonist: SU Chang
Tenor Saxophonist: LI Xiaoguang
Trombonist: YANG Ming
Pianist: ZHOU Xinren
Double Bassist: HU Hao
Jazz Drummer: SHAO Haha
19:30 on May 1st - Mike Stern & Dennis Chamber Quintet Concert (USA)
Mike Stern has been Grammy-nominated six times. He was listed among the “best guitarists in the world” by DownBeat in 2009 and won the highest honour from Guitar Player Magazine in 1993 and 2012. He played the guitar in the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis’ single Fat Time, opening a new epoch of fusion guitar performance, and in particular, several of his albums represent the highest level of contemporary fusion music! On May 1st, Mike Stern will appear with the world-renowned jazz drummer Dennis Chamber, all-round saxophonist Bryan Whitaker, Leni Stern, who has been Gibson’s Female Guitarist of the Year five consecutive times, and bassist Noam Tanzer to unveil the Taihu Jazz Festival 2025.
Guitarist: Mike Stern
Jazz Drummer: Dennis Chamber
Saxophonist: Bryan Whitaker
Jazz Guitarist: Leni Stern
Bassist: Noam Tanzer
19:30 on May 2nd - Saracotia Trio Jazz Concert (Brazil)
The Saracotia Trio consists of Rafael Marques Dos Santos (ten-string mandolin), Rodrigo Bezerra Samico (seven-string guitar) and Marcio De Albuquerque Silva (drum). Now they have presented a new performance, expanding the musical territory. On the stage, the Saracotia Trio will give a rendition of classic pieces from their first two albums alongside their new compositions to be put in a new album.
By reexploring the origin of Pernambuco music, the Saracotia Trio offers an amazing reinterpretation of classic music by Frevo and Chorro, reviving the essence of iconic figures such as grandmasters Duda and Jacob do Bandolim. This piece, designed as a tribute, contains modern elements - they have drawn on the influence of masters such as Chick Corea, and paid attention to the power of the original, too.
By extemporising through rhythmic fusion with their virtuosity, the Saracotia Trio has created unique sound aesthetics, a type that boasts a harmonious interplay among the mandolin, the guitar and the drum, bringing into being a polyphonic flow, making it easy to gain a vibrant and spontaneous musical experience. Tradition and innovation meet in each of their performances, where improvisation is a language that brings the musicians and audience together emotionally.
Firmly rooted in the Pernambuco’s popular culture, the Saracotia Trio has their eyes fixed on contemporary possibilities. Having reaffirmed their commitment to musical freedom, they’d like to invite the audience to an emotional journey where their story is told in musical notes, chords and rhythms.
Creative Team/Cast:
Seven-String Guitarist: Rodrigo Bezerra Samico
Ten-String Mandolinist: Rafael Marques Dos Santos
Drummer: Marcio De Albuquerque Silva
21:00 on May 2nd - “IA.M” Concert of LI Xiaochuan’s Original Compositions
LI Xiaochuan, an outstanding representative of contemporary Chinese jazz, will appear at the NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival 2025 with his fusion works. He will use AI to combine jazz music, a universal language, with traditional Chinese instruments to present an unprecedented audiovisual feast to the audience.
Here, Jazz, which is full of infinite reverie, will share brilliance with the traditional Chinese instruments, which are deeply attractive. Meanwhile, musical AI will make music infinitely possible while every note will come to life in a multi-media visual atmosphere. His creation is not only a tribute to the traditional form of music expression, but also a courageous exploration of future music.
The concert is an in-depth dialogue between jazz and the Chinese culture, a perfect blend of technology and art, and something that betokens the brighter future of music development. Let’s witness the charm of jazz, a global musical language, under the leadership of LI Xiaochuan, to feel how it goes beyond borders, brings hearts together and takes us to a new era of music. LI Xiaochuan will meet you and serve you an audiovisual feast at the NCPA Taihu Jazz Festival 2025!
Trumpeter/Composer: LI Xiaochuan
Chinese Percussionist/Vibraphonist: RONG Chenchu
Bassist: Fred Grenade
Keyboardist: XIE Guyuan
Drummer: LI Jiaqi
Trumpeters: SUN Yuanlong, DING Junhe, HE Haocheng, TONG Zhida
19:30 on May 3rd - “Fusion” Yannick Rieu’s Quartet Concert (Canada)
Renowned Canadian saxophonist and composer Yannick Rieu will appear with his Quartet to present a “fusion” concert, a soulful journey of jazz.
Side by side with Yannick Rieu are three outstanding musicians - bassist Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, pianist Jonathan Cayer and drummer Alain Bourgeois. They will jointly explore the boundaries of different musical styles, and find a unique balance between improvisation and exquisite composition, to provide the audience with an immersive musical experience by expressing their emotions deeply in a warm interaction with the latter.
From exquisite melodies to passionate rhythms, the Yannick Rieu Quartet will build a poetic space full of tension where the audience may have a soulful resonance for jazz in its free flow.
Saxophonist: Yannick Rieu
Pianist: Jonathan Cayer
Drummer: Alain Bourgeois
Bassist: Rémi-Jean Leblanc
21:00 on May 3rd – James Li & JZ All Stars’ Jazz Concert
He is an elegant singer with a charming voice, a low-key musician and an artist who has the soul of jazz!
James Li will take the stage with five musicians who have influence in contemporary China’s jazz music scene and promising jazz musicians to present newly-rearranged music at an audiovisual feast of jazz featuring classic swinging melodies that contain classical, pop and jazz elements!
Singer & Keyboardist: James Li
Pianist: Jianyi Huang
Saxophonist: LI Shihai
Bassist: Gregory Tardy
Bassist: ZHANG Ke
Trumpeter: SUN Yuanlong
Drummer: GAO Kechao
Bassist: Joseph Han
19:30 on May 4th - “Funk in Flight, Youth in Music” The Red Groove Project Jazz Concert
Lawrence Ku, an influential Chinese guitarist, will once again take “The Red Groove Project”, a highly sought-after all-star jazz funk band in contemporary China, to the NCPA Taihu Stage Art Centre for the Fifth Taihu Jazz Festival!
Stay tuned for a virtuoso performance given live by Lawrence Ku (guitarist), Alec Haavik (saxophonist), Jeremy Sinclair (trumpeter), Toby Mak (trumpeter), HU Qingwen (trombonist), YANG Guang (keyboardist), Fred Grenade (bassist) and Chris Trzcinski (drummer).
Guitarist: Lawrence Ku
Saxophonist: Alec Haavik
Trumpeter: Jeremy Sinclair
Trumpeter: Toby Mak
Trombonist: Kevin Hu
Keyboardist: YANG Guang
Bassist: Fred Grenade
Drummer: Chris Trzcinski
21:00 on May 4th –Joanna Wang’s Jazz Concert
Singer-songwriter Joanna Wang is adept at blending Baroque pop, rock, punk, electronic music, jazz and folk music together, with her music themed childlike innocence, humour and playfulness. Her style has been deeply influenced by Queen, The Beatles, Lemon Demon, Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo.
At the upcoming Joanna Wang’s Jazz Concert, she will render a series of jazz standards to regale the audience on a magical drifting journey.
Lead Singer: Joanna Wang
Guitarist: Yi-chung Wang
Bassist: Ping Ho Wu
Keyboardist: Cheng-ting Yeh
Drummer: Wuji Zhan
19:30 on May 5th - JIA Yinan’s Jazz Sextet Concert
Everyone has his or her own story, and music is the best thing to recall. When there comes an uncertain but vivid sound, you will capture something as glamorous as life trivia. Play or listen to it with your heart and you will have yourself touched.
This time, JIA Yinan will premiere several pieces of new and unreleased music with the band - his old partners, including the keyboardist HUANG Yi, bassist MENG Fandi and drummer FANG Zhengtian, as well as saxophonist LIU Xiaoguang, a music partner of his with whom he worked on the days of “Modern Bubble”, and saxophonist XIE Yuzhe, a young musician with whom he will work for the first time.
With a new repertoire, this new group will surely give an exciting performance at the festival.
Lead Cast: JIA Yinan
Keyboardist: HUANG Yi
Bassist: MENG Fandi
Drummer: FANG Zhengtian
Saxophonist: LIU Xiaoguang
Saxophonist: XIE Yuzhe
21:00 on May 5th - Adrian Iaies’ Jazz Trio Concert (Argentina)
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