Department of Cultural Affairs

By Psyche Cho
Staff Reporter

A good assortment of jazz performances brought forth by an ensemble of international musicians is ready to fete local swingers every weekend from now until July 22 during the 2012 Taipei International Jazz Festival. Altogether there will be 8 outdoor concerts featuring 7 foreign bands in addition to local masters.

Jointly organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government and Taipei International Jazz Education and Promotion Association (TIJEPA), the 7th edition of the event is larger in scale and more international in its variety of programs.

The programs encompass two styles: Jazz Promenade and Jazz Rendezvous. The former will be staged in the Butterfly Hall of Flora Expo every weekend from June 30 to July 15, while the latter embodies two outdoor concerts staged at Daan Forest Park as a Jazz carnival on July 21 and 22.

Among international musicians, French pianist Baptiste Trotignon will lead off to open the festival with a solo performance June 30.

"I will play mainly my music, some of my compositions, some French songs, and also some standards," said Trotingnon, giving clues to his performance, in a press conference held June 29 in Taipei.

Considered a representative figure in the jazz piano circle in France, Trotignon said he is looking forward to the performance as "piano solos create a sense of intimacy with the audience."  

Other international jazz bands include Senzoku College of Music All-Star Sextet featuring Tomonao Hara from Japan, Japanese Jazz diva Marica Hiraga, Kenji Omae Quintet from South Korea and Michael Klinghoffer &Jerusalem Academy of Music & Dance, all joining hands to bring a part of the global music scene to Taiwan audiences.

In the domestic aspect, JACK Project is ready to dazzle local jazz goers with a hybrid genre mixing jazz and rock and roll music. "We try to discover a brand new shade of rock and roll music through jazz music's arrangement style," said Hsieh Chi-pin, violinist of the band and also Director of the TIJEPA.

Jazz Rendezvous scheduled for July 21 and 22 will present the Koyo Conservatory All-Star Quartet from Japan, JAZZ Impact – International Jazz Masters' Rendezvous Round 1, featuring a collaboration of directors from TIJEPA, saxophonist John Ruocco from USA, bassist Bart De Nolf from Belgium, and trumpeter David Smith from USA, to name just a few.

The winner of the Japanese Band Competition and bands from the Taipei International Summer Jazz Academy and Jazz Heat – International Jazz Masters' Rendezvous Round 2 will carry on the grand event July 22 to bring the annual festival to a perfect conclusion.