Thursday 19 September 2024 - Join National Music Centre and Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre for an evening concert with Jasmine Jazz featuring Jodi Proznick Trio and Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble for the Mid-Autumn Festival. ABOUT THE MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is a significant cultural event traditionally celebrated by Chinese and other Asian communities, symbolizing the full moon harvest, unity, harmony, and the gathering of family and friends. National Music Centre (NMC)’s three-day festival will capture the spirit of this cherished tradition, bringing a national perspective to a popular annual event among local Chinese and Asian communities, while bridging traditional Chinese culture with mainstream Canadian culture. ABOUT JASMINE JAZZ In the 1920s, jazz was alive and swinging in the cabarets and nightclubs of Shanghai where American big band sounds melded with Chinese folk melodies. 2023 Western Canadian Music Instrumental Artist of the Year Award Winner Jasmine Jazz brings a contemporary sound to the unusual and exquisite interplay between traditional Chinese and jazz instruments. Jasmine Jazz features three musicians of the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble with some of Vancouver's finest jazz artists led by Juno-nominated bassist and composer, Jodi Proznick. Jazz is interpreted through traditional Chinese instruments; traditional and contemporary Chinese music is given a new life through jazz. According to Proznick, Jasmine Jazz is “… all about musical conversations, an east meets west experience, full of beauty, harmony, mutual respect and interplay. The repertoire includes beautiful mix of songs pulled from jazz repertoire, traditional Chinese folk music and original composition.” Chinese classics “Jasmine Flower” and “Shanghai Night”, the contemporary Taiwanese song “Moon Represents My Heart” are featured alongside a selection of jazz standards such as McCoy Tyner’s “Contemplation”, Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing”, Bill Evans’ “Turn Out the Stars” and Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower”. The six musicians of Jasmine Jazz released its first album in February 2023, which won the Western Canadian Music Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. ABOUT VANCOUVER CHINESE MUSIC ENSEMBLE Formed in 1989, the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble is the first professional Chinese music organization established in Canada. The Ensemble consists of highly accomplished instrumentalists who combine technical mastery with a passionate approach to music. Based in Vancouver, BC, they continue to inspire contemporary compositions and interdisciplinary projects for Chinese instruments in Canada. -
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