Freespace Jazz Fest and Popfest: Music for the People

Just how did Kung Chi-shing get legendary musician Herbie Hancock to play the upstart Freespace Jazz Fest? 

The curator chuckles softly. “Was it easy? Yes and no,” he says. “Hong Kong is more isolated than you think. Most artists don’t want to fly all the way here to this one city to do a gig. But as long as a musician is still performing, it’s just a matter of timing the artist fee, if you’re able to arrange that.”

Luckily for Hong Kong, the 84-year-old keyboardist and band leader, who started his career with Donald Byrd and Miles Davis, managed to add the city to a tour that is currently taking him through Australia before heading up to mainland China and then Japan.

And while Hancock is by far the biggest name to play the festival, he is by no means the only highlight. For the past nine years, Kung — who is an accomplished musician and composer is his own right — has made it his mission to bring great music to the West Kowloon Cultural District while also ensuring it is as accessible as possible. 15 years ago, he started the Street Music Series to bring free concerts to public spaces in Hong Kong. Nine years ago, he took over programming for Freespace Happening, laying the musical foundation for what has become Hong Kong’s flagship cultural district. He launched the Freespace Jazz Festival in 2019 with the hope of creating a focal point for the local jazz scene while also bringing international musicians to Hong Kong. “It’s my baby,” he says.

Of course, 2019 was not the most propitious year to launch a new festival in Hong Kong, which was in the midst of a social and political crisis that was soon followed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Health restrictions meant the next three editions were limited only to local acts, which turned out to be a good thing for Hong Kong’s jazz scene, which has grown significantly since the days when it was limited to a small circle of musicians like guitarist Eugene Pao and pianist Ted Lo. “The whole scene has changed and there’s a whole group of wonderful young musicians doing jazz,” says Kung.

Aside from overseas artists like Antonio Sánchez, Joey Alexander, and the Ariel Bart Trio, homegrown Hong Kong musicians are well represented at this year’s festival, which opens with a performance by Lo and upstart talents Nelson Fung and Dean Li. One of the more intriguing performances brings together Cantopop rock group RubberBand with jazz pianist Patrick Lui.

“Patrick has been working with them for a long time,” says Kung, noting that he and RubberBand guitarist Clement Fung both attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. “That’s something about Hong Kong – you have a lot of jazz musicians playing a very important role in the pop music scene either as musicians or as music directors.”

The show foreshadows the weekend after the Jazz Fest, when West Kowloon will be taken over by Popfest. More than 60 shows will take place across the district’s venues and outdoor spaces, with performances by local stars Anson Lo from MIRROR, Jeffrey Ngai, COLLAR and Phoebus from P1X3L, alongside international acts like British R&B singer Jorja Smith and Japanese idol Hikari Mitsushima. In addition to the live music, an immersive light installation from the UK called Submergence will play host to a big harbourfront dance party. 

Kung says his goal is to introduce pop audiences to a diverse mix of music. “I don’t want this to be a standard pop festival,” he says. “I think pop music in Hong Kong needs some new directions and new inspirations. It’s not creative enough. in other cities you encounter a lot of good pop music. There are bands that are pop but very artistic. I see a lack of that in Hong Kong. We have a lot of indie bands that are outside the main establishment, outside the main record companies, and I’ve been promoting them for many years. But pop music has a big appeal. So if I’m able to help, it’s important.” 

Accessibility is crucial to that mission. Although the headline shows at both Popfest and the Jazz Fest are ticketed, both festivals have dozens of free performances thanks to a mix of government and corporate sponsorship. That’s unusual in a city where high venue costs mean festivals are usually behind closed doors and concert tickets are often very expensive. “It’s not easy,” he admits. “Hong Kong is beautiful but there are certain shortcomings. It’s too commercial, too practical. So when you promote art, people with means — people with the ability to support art — will want results. But it takes years to cultivate the artists, it takes years to cultivate the audiences.” 

After five years of running the Jazz Fest, and 15 years of bringing free music to the streets of Hong Kong, Kung is seeing results. More and more people are coming into the musical fold. “The audience is growing and the artists are growing,” he says. “That’s why the free programme is very important. We have the best location on the harbour, it’s very beautiful, and it’s the best season – the weather is always beautiful in the fall. So what I want is to attract the normal folks. I want them to come out, hear the music and let the music move them a little bit.” 

Freespace Jazz Fest runs from October 24 to 27, 2024 at the West Kowloon Cultural District, followed by Popfest from October 31 to November 3.