From Sept. 20-21, the National Music Centre and the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre are collaborating to host a series of performances in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. These events feature a variety of different musical ensembles that meld traditional Chinese music with jazz and contemporary perspectives.
Vancouver composer and erhu player Jirong Huang founded one of the key ensembles of this event, the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, in 1989 shortly after immigrating to Canada. He explained that this festival is one of the most important celebrations of the year in Chinese culture.
“This festival represents many things — most importantly the full moon harvest, family and harmony. This idea of unity has always been important to me, especially in music. It is why the performances at Calgary’s Mid-Autumn festival this year will be a treat even if you know nothing about jazz or Chinese music,” Jirong said.
Jasmine Jazz is a trailblazing fusion jazz group that is Vancouver-based and includes the Jodi Proznick Trio as well as the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble. In 2023, Jasmine Jazz won the Canadian Instrumental Artist of the Year award after releasing their first album in February of 2023. According to Huang, they operate with the primary goal of seamlessly blending the music of the East and West.
“As musicians, we learn from each other. In Jasmine Jazz, we learn how to improvise in a style that is so different from the Western jazz style that we all know,” Huang said.
In an interview with Juno award-winning Canadian Bassist and composer Jodi Proznick, she discussed what makes this music so unique.
“You have these beautiful traditional Chinese instruments and music that uses pentatonic scales a lot, and then you have jazz as an improvisatory style. When you combine the two, the textures and colors that are explored can make anyone stop in their tracks to listen,” Proznick said.
Beyond the distinctive music played by highly-trained musicians, these performances at the National Music Centre are about staying true to the themes of harmony and unity during the Mid-Autumn Ffestival. According to Proznick, the hope is that the music makes people feel at home.
“Anyone who comes to see our concerts leave with a smile on their face, for several reasons. The musicianship in Jasmine Jazz is truly world-class. The musicians have a generosity of spirit that speaks for itself. The unique blend of music especially speaks to audience members from the immigrant community who have moved from parts of Asia, and seeing them feel closer to home through music is a beautiful thing,” Proznick said.
Studio Bell is offering free admission to all Mid-Autumn festival events, including Jasmine Jazz. More details about the Mid-Autumn Festival, including dates and times for performing ensembles, can be found on Studio Bell’s website.
