When the world ground to a halt in early 2020, like so many others, Justin Siu’s world moved online. As a lifelong gigging musician, he quickly hustled up a way to keep him and his peers busy — and their audience entertained — by live-streaming intimate, improvised musical encounters from his Kennedy Town studio.
But when the world slowly started to open up, he just didn’t stop. Nearly six years later, his Innonation Studio and Productions channel has built up a video archive of around 170 full performances of local jazz musicians, all broadcast live on the spot, with no overdubs or touch-ups allowed. “I believe it is important as an antidote to the perfectly post-produced, doctored, edited recordings that are way too rampant on social media. Once it’s livestreamed, there ain’t no editing,” says the double bassist. “At least that’s the case on my channel.”
In 2023, Siu moved operations across the water to Shek Kip Mei’s Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC), and last year cautiously opened up the doors of his studio for the first time – allowing invited audience members to witness the magic in person, working alongside the EXP Music platform.
In October 2025 the venture officially went overground, partnering with JCCAC itself and rebranding as The Blue Study Live to debut a new six-concert ticketed series, opened symbolically by local jazz godfather Ted Lo performing a duo with Siu. While it’s all more official now, the vibe remains casual, and the venue intimate and distinctly personal, littered with Siu’s possessions, and with limited seating for no more than 40 people. “To be quite frank I like it this way,” adds Siu, who doubles as barman, serving beers from his backstage fridge.
Volume Two of the series kicked off earlier this month with Hong Kong’s other jazz stalwart, Eugene Pao, performing a beautifully mellow intergenerational duet with fellow guitarist Alan Kwan. There are four concerts remaining as of writing.
On January 23, the stellar Scottish saxophonist Scott Murphy performs in a piano-less trio, backed by a rock-solid rhythm section of drummer Samuel Chan and Siu on bass — we’re hoping for a taste of the sonic fire bottled on 2024’s excellent solo EP, A Dream of Form.
On January 29, hotly tipped guitarist Vincent Choy appears leading a trio, following his return from studying in Australia. Most exciting, the volume’s final two chapters promise to break away from the standards songbook, with two shows daringly pairing Western jazz with traditional Chinese instruments, bookending the lunar new year.
The first on February 5 will showcase fusion group First Met Music, which sees huqin player Blue Lam working with keyboardist Gloria Law, bassist Maka Ma and drummer Tony Sze. February 28’s season finale invites guzheng player Grammy Yeung – awardee of the China National Arts Fund 2026 – to blend worlds, backed by a jazz trio starring pianist Freeman Lok, alongside Sze and, once more, Siu himself. Naturally, silence is expected from those lucky enough to be in the crowd.
“The Blue Study exists as a space for deeply intimate listening – where sonic poetry, pristine fidelity, and improvisation creatively converge,” adds Siu. “We invite audiences not simply to attend concerts, but to listen closely, reflect deeply and share in the moment of music unfolding.”
Tickets for these up-close encounters start at HK$180 and typically get swiped up quick. Book now here.