A newly formed Chinese-Australian jazz quartet gives Chinese pop tunes a jazz makeover in an album released in Shanghai this week.

In an international metropolis like Shanghai, we see fusion everywhere: fusion cuisine, fusion art ... and now fusion jazz.

This emerging East-meets-West music genre loosely combines jazz with other styles - rock, funk and blues and now Chinese pop.

Jazz Revolution (JR), a brand-new jazz band which consists of two Chinese musicians (Zooma Zhu and Feng Yucheng) and two Australians (Nicholas Mcbride and Scott Dodd) - all veteran musicians of the local and international jazz scene -- has recently released its first album "What A Wonderful World."

Among the 10 tracks on the album, six have been adapted from well-known Chinese pop songs, including "Sky" by Hong Kong singer Faye Wong, "Quiet" by Taiwanese R&B singer Jay Chou and "Olive Tree" by Taiwanese singer Chi Yu.

If not for the song titles, it may have been difficult for an audience to pick those familiar melodies in their remixed fusion jazz form.

"We are acquainted with some melodies while Nicholas and Scott aren't. They would feel fresh and have a different touch," says Zhu, the quartet's pianist.

Says Mcbride: "Some of the songs we didn't know before. They suggested we rearrange the music into more of a jazz feeling rather than just copying it."

The resounding movie interlude "My Heart Belongs to the Ocean," which was a big hit throughout China some 30 years ago, has been completely transformed from its serious original version. With a JuJu beat - which Mcbride discovered on a tour of Nigeria - the music instantly reminds one of the sea, beach, sunshine, bikinis and cocktails.

Another interesting adaptation is "Shanghai Talk," a song from the TV series "Shanghai Tang." They have introduced a lively reggae beat to give the original a much "easier-to-touch" sound.

Chinese name

"None of us is from Shanghai originally but finally we are all here to play the music we love. It was in Shanghai that we met one another and realized our dreams," says Feng who plays trumpet. "'Shanghai Talk' is the one track we made to commemorate our coming together."

"Feng Shui" is the band's first original composition on the album. With an intriguing Chinese name, the music has a classical jazz structure with dazzling tonal colors and splendid improvisations.

"It is divided into two parts. The music describes our feeling of feng (wind) and shui (water). It's extremely shocking," Feng says.

The album has been in the planning stage for three years and took final shape when the four first met and started jamming together some 18 months ago.

A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Zhu was born into a family of musicians in East China's Fujian Province. Zhu has been a professional piano teacher for 20 years until his love and passion for jazz led him to give up his job as a teacher.

"When I started to play jazz in 1995, only foreigners or returned overseas Chinese would come to jazz bars. But even at that time, I was already dreamed of establishing a jazz band that would concentrate more on Chinese elements and put out our own album," says Zhu.

Sichuan native Feng has a background in classical music. Occasional visits to Shanghai's legendary jazz joint, the Cotton Club, ignited a love of jazz and he played in the club for seven years.

Mcbride had been the drummer in a jazz band at CJW in the Bund Center for three years. He started to play the drum at the age of five and has featured on two albums in Australia. Then he went to Africa, the United States, India and China where he absorbed various local musical elements. One and half years ago, his Australian buddy, Dodd, joined him at CJW where Zhu was also playing.

Says Dodd: "This is the best time of my life. Shanghai is now different from the jazz scene in other places. There are some very good jazz musicians here. The heart of jazz is a conversation. It doesn't matter whether it's played by Chinese or foreign musicians."

The album's title piece "What A Wonderful World" is a revolutionary version based on Louis Armstrong's rendition of the now classic jazz piece.
Part of the proceeds from sales of the album go to the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) for Children's Amblyopia (weak-sightedness) Special Fund.

The production of this social welfare music video has attracted two well-known names in the film industry - Taiwan's Golden Horse winner for cinematography, Cao Yu, and Taiwanese actress Hsu Chi -who have both volunteered to help in its production.

"We really want to do something for these poor children," says Feng.

JR's "Shanghai Talk" jazz party
Date: December 2, 7:30pm
Venue: Paramount Hall, 218 Yuyuan Rd
Tel: 6249-8866
Dressing code: Chinese style

(Eastday.com December 1, 2005)