Sounds of jazz, suds of pilsner
Print Edition
JING’AN brimmed with jazz and multicultural events this month.
First came the annual JZ Spring Festival, which was held on Nanjing Road W. and ended on May 2. Four days later, Shanghai’s first-ever Czech Cultural Week kicked off in Jing’an Park.
The “When Jazz Meets China” festival opened with concert performance by Chinese trumpet virtuoso Li Xiaochuan and Luxembourg trumpeter and composer Gast Waltzing. The April 30 event, staged at the Shanghai Center Theater, was the first time the two performed together.
“I am a big believer in ‘music is music,’” said Waltzing. “It doesn’t matter if it’s jazz, hip-hop or classical. It’s all music. There is no secret to combining different types of music. You just need to find the ‘core’ of the music.”
Indeed, the program was a fusion of styles. Chinese classic melodies like “The Olive Tree,” “Night in Shanghai” and “Jasmine Flower” were on the playlist. Kunqu Opera was interpreted in a jazz rhythm.
The audience seemed most enchanted by Chinese music transcribed to a jazz beat. “I really liked it,” said Zhao Xiaocuo, 30, who attended the concert. “It seemed a natural thing to give Chinese opera and pop songs a jazz rhythm. It was refreshing. I hope it fosters more jazz fans in China.”
Besides five ticketed indoor concerts, the jazz festival featured 24 free shows outdoors in Jing’an Park, Jing’an Temple Square and Reel Plaza.
The “Umbria Jazz in China” show featured renowned artists like Danilo Rea and Funk Off, who played music from the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy.
Zhou Weijia, 24, an electronic repair company manager, said the music on offer usually is available only in expensive bars and venues that most people can’t afford.
“The festival gave us the chance to enjoy great jazz at no cost,” she said.
Another high-profile cultural event was the Czech Beer and Love Mayfest. The suds flowed. “Beer is to the Czech Republic what tea is to China,” explained Richard Krpac, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Shanghai.
The Czech people drink an average 150 liters of beer a year, he said. As for love, just look at Prague — the “most romantic city in the world.”
Krpac pointed to his own life as proof. He took his Shanghai girlfriend for a visit to Prague and after watching the sunrise from Charles Bridge there, they decided to get married.
About 20 booths festooned the entrance of Jing’an Park, where Czech Week was held. In addition to food and drink, there were musical performances featuring Czech and Chinese artists.
“I came because I heard music and saw crowds,” said Zhou Yicheng, 28, who works in a nearby office. “It’s was great to have a drink and enjoy the music.”
“It’s cool,” said Christina Lou, 31, who came to the event with two girlfriends. “I didn’t know much about Czech pilsners, so it was a real eye-opener for me. The beer is awesome.”
Newlyweds Wang Xin and Zhang Yiyang said they came to learn something about travel packages to Czech, where they want to spend their honeymoon.
Spring Tour has a booth offering 11 group tours, which included the Czech Republic and several other Central and Eastern European countries.
“Many people came to ask our trips and package prices,” said tour operator Gao Jiajing. “Many booked on the spot. The Czech Republic may not be as familiar as France or Italy with Chinese holidaymakers, but it does cost less. Our packages were priced from about 20,000 yuan (US$3077).”
According to the Czech Tourism Bureau, some 284,000 Chinese tourists visited the country last year, an increase of 36 percent from a year earlier. The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Shanghai issued 12,541 visas for tourism and business last year.
Crystal World Group, which organized the event, said it plans to invite nine countries to hold cultural weeks in Shanghai this year. Nepal Cultural Week will come in June, possibly followed by Ecuador and Sri Lanka.
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