IntroductionMarathon ConcertAbout the Performers - Marathon Concert (Day) About the Performers - Marathon Concert (Night)Full - Day WorkshopTicketing
In November 2011 the UNESCO General Conference proclaimed 30 April as “International Jazz Day” to bring the world together in celebration of the art of jazz and its significance. According to the UNESCO, Jazz is “a force for peace, unity, dialogue and enhanced cooperation among people.”
As a cross-cultural music genre by nature, jazz has been described as the child of western classical music and African music. In the mid-20th century, jazz underwent an explosive evolution. On one hand, jazz musicians gave their own artistic interpretation of the traditions to develop a substantial number of music genres, including swing, New Orleans jazz, bebop, hard bop and cool jazz. On the other hand, there were also jazz musicians who enjoy absorbing the nutrients from other music cultures, giving the world the Brazilian-flavoured bossa nova, and Latin jazz that is mixed with Latin music. Some musicians also interpreted classical music with jazz. Although jazz musicians do not appreciate labelling much, people are still keen to put words and music genres together, hoping that the boundless depths of this music genre can be captured by our limited vocabulary. For example, writer and jazz fan Haruki Murakami wrote in It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing, “Very often, our soul needs to take in things beyond the fabrics of language and theories..., and grows on them.” Whether it is the evolution of the genre or in terms of cross-cultural amalgamation, the possibilities of jazz always keep us intrigued. The freedom of jazz does find the way to express the mind that is true to our hearts in the wider ecosystem of art.
In celebration of the International Jazz Day, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has invited acclaimed international and local jazz musicians to present a series of workshops, and a large-scale jazz marathon concert that is rarely seen in Hong Kong. All in a single day, audience will be able to appreciate jazz from different origins and in different styles and forms of presentation, like mainstream jazz, contemporary jazz, jazz blended with funk and African beats, and jazz by a unique harmonica trio. Each session will include overseas and local jazz musicians, improvisations and “playoffs” to spark chemistry! Enjoy the myriad of special activities inside and outside the arena including the autograph session. Whether you are an experienced aficionado or a complete newbie, this is an international event not to be missed!
1 May 2018 (Tuesday)
Arena, Queen Elizabeth Stadium
Marathon Concert Timetable
Day
3pm - 3:45pm
:
In One Stroke featuring Alex Sipiagin
4:15pm - 5pm
:
Melissa Aldana Quartet
Special Guest: Teriver Cheung
5:30pm - 6:15pm
:
Harmonica Summit: Hendrik Meurkens + Max De Aloe + CY Leo
Night (Wheelchair Seat(s) Remaining only)
7:15pm - 8pm
:
Mokhtar Samba African Jazz Project
Special Guest: Eugene Pao
8:30pm - 10pm
:
Nils Landgren Funk Unit
Special Guest: Jun Kung
The presenter reserves the right to change the programme and substitute artists.
※In One Stroke※
Patrick Lui (Piano) ｜ Tsui Chin Hung (Guitar) ｜ Wong Tak Chung (Bass) ｜ Almond Yeung (Drums)
As an expression, when something happens immediately it is said to be happening ‘in one stroke’. This was the inspiration behind the name of the jazz quartet. The name attempts to describe the band’s aspiration towards interpreting music: shaping a piece from the beginning to the end, connecting sections as seamlessly while maintaining the spontaneity in listening and improvising, creating each moment ‘in one stroke’. The band features original compositions by its members, experimenting with form, texture, and style. In 2016, the band release the album titled “In One Stroke”, entered the semi-finals of the Bucharest International Jazz Competition and made their European debut tour in Romania.
※Alex Sipiagin(Trumpet)※
Born in Russia, Alex Sipiagin has been frequently featured in different jazz festivals. In 1990, Alex participated in the International Louis Armstrong Competition and won top honors. He then relocated to the jazz mecca of the world, New York City.
Sipiagin has involved in recording 22 albums for the high-quality jazz label Criss Cross Jazz and has toured extensively throughout Europe, the US, Japan and Russia with his own group. He also teaches at the Groningen Prince Claus Conservatory, Music Academy of Basel in Switzerland and the New York University.
※Melissa Aldana Quartet※
Melissa Aldana (Saxophone) ｜ John Escreet (Piano) ｜ Pablo Menares (Bass) ｜ Jimmy Mcbride (Drums)
The Quartet is led by Melissa Aldana, a young Chilean tenor saxophone player.
Graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2009, she then relocated to New York City to study under George Coleman and recorded and released her first album in 2010. In 2013, aged 24, she was the first female South American musician to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. The Washington Post described Aldana as representing "a new sense of possibility and direction in jazz".
Aldana is a recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award from Jazz at Lincoln Center and a double recipient of the Altazor Award, Chile’s highly prestigious national arts prize. She has performed in many festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Twin Cities Jazz Festival and Vienna Jazz Festival.
※Special Guest : Teriver Cheung(Guitar)※
Teriver Cheung is an international touring guitarist. In 2004, he went on to receive his Bachelor degree of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas with a scholarship and studied with Fred Hamilton. During his time in New York, Teriver was playing an active role in the jazz music scene both as a bandleader and sideman.
Cheung’s debut jazz album My Nocturne was released in July 2012. Since its Hong Kong debut in 2015 at the World Cultures Festival, Hong Kong Episodes, hiss acclaimed jazz-classical cross-over production has received countless overseas touring invitations and has by far been showcased in six cities in Mainland China and London, as one of the performances for Hong Kong Week 2017 organised by the Convenor of Hong Kong-Taiwan Cultural Co-operation Committee as well as one of the celebration events for 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of HKSAR.
※Harmonica Summit※
Hendrik Meurkens (Harmonica) ｜ Max De Aloe (Harmonica)｜ CY Leo (Harmonica) ｜ Bob Mocarsky (Piano) ｜Scott Dodd (Bass) ｜Willard Dyson (Drums)
Hendrik Meurkens
German-born Hendrik Meurkens is a virtuoso on both the chromatic harmonica and the vibraphone, and regarded as one of the most important jazz harmonica players since Toots Thielemans. He moved to Rio, Brazil in the early 80s to totally immerse himself in music and culture of Brazil. He moved to New York in 1992 where he has lived ever since. His 24 CDs have received rave reviews and strong airplay, and established his immediately recognizable style of Brazilian Jazz. In 2014 he won the Brazilian International Press Award.
Max De Aloe
Max De Aloe was awardee for the Jazz It Award as the best Italian musician in the category of various instruments in 2014 and 2015. He also won the Orpheus Award 2015 in the jazz section with his recording Borderline. Max is considered one of the most active jazz harmonicists on the European scene. He has recorded over 10 albums as a leader and more than 30 albums as a sideman since 1999. He has also participated in various music seasons and festivals all over the world including South Africa, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, and etc.
CY Leo
CY Leo is a twenty-three year old chromatic harmonica virtuosic player, who has accumulated 17 international championships since 2006. At the World Harmonica Festival in 2013 in Trossingen, Germany, Leo has excelled among all contestants by seizing the championship in the Test Piece Chromatic Harmonica Solo category, which is renowned as the highest honor of chromatic harmonica player. Leo is the lead player in the internationally touring Harmonica Quartet Veloz. As a soloist, Leo was invited to perform and offer master classes at various international festivals and concert held in Norway, Germany and Korea. He is also currently the international endorser at the Hohner Music.
※Mokhtar Samba African Jazz Project※
Mokhtar Samba (Drums & Percussion) ｜ Leo Montana (Piano) ｜ Irving Acao (Saxophone) ｜ Joan Eche Puig (Bass) ｜ Adriano Tenorio (Percussion)
The band is led by Senegalese/Moroccan musician Mokhtar Samba. whose drumming escapes jazz norms with experimental African rhythms laced in jazz standards.
From innovative sonorities to imaginative mixing, Mokhtar has conveyed a multifaceted talent for western harmonies, as well as African rhythms and Bedouin tunes. Mokhtar performs live with the most prestigious musicians including bassist Fémi Kuti and the eternally inspired singer Youssou N'Dour and other acclaimed collaborators such as Mariah Carey, Patti Smith, and etc.
※Special Guest: Eugene Pao(Guitar)※
Eugene Pao is Hong Kong's most publicly recognised jazz musician and his name is synonymous with jazz in our city. Over the last two decades, Pao has been at the vanguard of promoting jazz in the territory through his performances at international jazz festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs, and to take part in selected recording projects.
In 2006, he was invited to form the Asian Super Guitar Project with Kazumi Watanabe from Japan and Jack Lee from Korea, a guitar trio gathering and mixing differences of cultures from the three Asian countries. They made a record entitled Guitar Sam Guk Ji and toured around Asia throughout 2007. He was also invited by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to perform on a 9-city European tour as their jazz ambassador.
※Nils Landgren Funk Unit※
Nils Landgren (Trombone & Vocal) ｜ Magnum Coltrane Price (Bass & Vocal) ｜Petter Bergander (Keyboard) ｜ Andy Pfeiler (Guitar)｜ Jonas Wall (Saxophone) ｜Robert Ikiz (Drums)
The Swedish band is led by trombone player, Nils Landgren, awardee of Swedish Grammy for his lifetime achievement. The album, Paint It Blue, released by the Unit in 1997 received Germany’s Jazz Award, followed by over 100 tours leading to their breakthrough in Germany. The Unit was acclaimed as a “grooving band, which encouraged the younger members of the audience into a dance frenzy, but which was also taken seriously by the greying jazz snobs” by Spiegel, and “the best funk band in Europe today” by Stereo.
The Unit has been featured in prestigious jazz festivals in recent years, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Paris Jazz Festival, Alfa Jazz Fest, Jarasum International Jazz Festival, and etc.
※Jun Kung (Drums) ※
Jun Kung is known as “the drummer” in Hong Kong, and is also a singer, songwriter and music producer. Born in Hong Kong, he spent his early years in Macao and went to a drummer's collective in New York City and continued his studies in music. In 1999, Kung released his first EP Here & Now and won the first place of the Hong Kong Commercial Radio Music Award - New Artist in 2000. In 2001, he released his second album No Where Man and an independent album Ginja Rock EP in 2008.
30 April 2018 (Monday)
Comittee Room I-III, Queen Elizabeth Stadium
Session 1 (Wheelchair Seat(s) Remaining only)
2pm – 3pm
:
Alex Sipiagin#
Session 2 (Wheelchair Seat(s) Remaining only)
3:15pm – 4:15pm
:
Melissa Aldana#
Session 3 (Wheelchair Seat(s) Remaining only)
4:30pm – 5:30pm
:
Hendrik Meurkens#, Max De Aloe#, CY Leo*
Arena, Queen Elizabeth Stadium
Session 4
8pm – 10pm
:
Mokhtar Samba#, Eugene Pao*, Jun Kung*
Nils Landgren Funk Unit#
*Conducted in Cantonese.
#Conducted in English.
The presenter reserves the right to change the workshop and substitute artists.
Jazz Marathon for International Jazz Day
DATE
VENUE
PRICE
Full-Day Workshop
30.04.2018(Mon) 14:00-20:00
(First three sessions will be held in the Committee Room.)
Passes available from 8 Februaryat URBTIX outlets, on Internet, by Mobile Ticketing App and Credit Card Telephone Booking.
Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. (Limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis.)
Early Bird Discount
30 % off on purchase of any pass during 8 February to 8 March.
Group Booking Discount
10% off for each purchase of 4-9 standard passes; 15% off for 10-19 standard passes; 20% off for 20 or more standard passes from 9 March.
Marathon Concert Package Discount
20% off for each purchase of both matinee and evening concert passes from 9 March.
Patrons can enjoy only one of the above discount offers.
Free admission for Marathon Day or Night Pass holders to the fourth session (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm) of the workshop on 30 April only. Seats available on a first-come-first served basis.
The presenter reserves the right to make changes to the programme, workshop and artists.
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