In
2006, the government of Chaoyang Park in suburban Beijing demolished the Big
Easy jazz club to erect a “Peace Plaza.” Then, in May of last year, the Mayor
of Shanghai closed the city’s beloved JZ Club, by banning all clubs and bars on
its street. That is a pretty sorry record of harassing a certain style of
music. If you do not think two cases constitutes a trend, then how many other
Chinese jazz clubs can you name? Filmmaker Song Jiayi came to document the
vital scene that had coalesced around the club, but she stayed to record their
out chorus in the short documentary Jammin’
Shanghai, which screens during the first ever Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema.
Club
owner-founder-house electric bassist Ren Yuqing had already been forced out of
one space when he sat down with Song. Yet, he persevered, not only relaunching
JZ Club, but also establishing a music school and a jazz festival. He was often
out of pocket for his trouble, but fostered a genuine community of local musicians
and American expats, such as tenor player Alec Haavik, who will be our guide
through the Shanghai/JZ scene. As you would expect, he is thrown for a loop
when the mayor shuts them down without hearings or due process of any sort.
It
is a shame, because the musicians we hear in Song’s film all have a very groovy
thing going on. Haavik sounds like he has synthesized influences from 1970s
fusion and the Downtown 1990s Zorn and Knitting Factory scene. Ren brings the
funk in the tradition of Victor Wooten. While for swing traditionalists, Teresa
Lee interprets standards with verve and elegance. The house big band shares an
affinity with all three styles, mixed with the aural colors of the Thad
Jones-Mel Lewis progressive big bands. All that adds up to a heck of a good
venue for music.
