Chiyan Wong Plays Jazz at Fountain de Chopin

Description

How many pianists can convincingly perform both jazz and classical music? Chiyan Wong can think of just two — Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, a pair of jazz geniuses who have made respectable, fleeting forays into classical repertoire. But going the other way, it’s even harder to find classical masters who mastered the improvised idiom as a second career.

Yet the Beijing-based pianist is not deterred. Despite hailing from a strictly classical background — with three straight-up albums of Bach, Liszt and Ravel to his name — earlier this year Wong, unveiled a series of original jazzy compositions based on old songs sung by Hong Kong’s fishing communities. Presented at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in March, these sleight, percussive ditties appeared next to topical sea-faring tunes by Brazilian master Antonio Carlos Jobim and jarring Debussy solos.

Back in his hometown to perform with a quintet of local musicians — rather than the German quartet he brought over in March — It’s unclear what material Wong will be bringing to the city’s underground jazz hangout Fountain de Chopin. But do expect to catch an instinctive musical challenge in the throes of profound transformation.