It was probably in a page about jazz I heard in Yancheng. At the time, I felt I had to unhesitatingly retract my statement that jazz and China do not go well together. I always try to be reserved in my speech to avoid hastily generalizing a few experiences, but it seems mistakes are repeated after all.
I managed to painstakingly navigate China’s information network, where Google was ineffective, to find a highly-rated American-style jazz club. Despite the staff member’s advice that the genres for the night were “Hip-hop” and “R&B,” I didn’t want to let the evening in Shanghai go to waste. (It was the only Saturday night during my two-week business trip.)
And so, the harmony of two vocalists, reminiscent of Atlanta, filled this page.
Up until they cleanly sang “Killing Me Softly with His Song” at the beginning, I thought it was more about the enjoyment of a live performance than actual jazz. However, when they got the Chinese audience on their feet in English and breathed through “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black-Eyed Peas, the jazz began to shake—as if a Jenga block had been removed that shouldn’t have been touched—and I enjoyed it comfortably.
As the 90-minute performance unfolded, a gradual distance grew between the distinctly American style of the show and the Chinese audience’s reaction. This reminded me of that performance in Yancheng. It was clearly a good show, yet the atmosphere failed to fully resonate with me, and Chinese songs like ‘靑丝’ or ‘半生雪’ kept popping into my head.
I am not entirely sure, but for now, I feel I must retract my previous statement and say that “jazz heard in China tends to be difficult to fully absorb.”