JZ Music Festival: It's more than just jazz

Shanghai's moderate October weather is undoubtedly the perfect time to head to Pudong’s Century Park for the JZ Music Festival, the city’s largest annual outdoor music festival.

Bigger and better

Hosted by local jazz institution JZ Club, this year’s festival, which runs from October 16-18, is the club’s biggest endeavor to date, featuring 25 bands and 13 deejays, spread across four stages, over three days.

Unlike previous renditions, however, the folks at JZ have put a little spin on this year’s festivities, tinkering with their format to offer a wider range of entertainment -- so it's not just jazz on offer. This new, beefed up JZ Music Festival will include performances from acts ranging from Danish fusion trio Ibrahim Electric and British hip hop-influenced acid-jazz outfit US3, to Shanghai’s very own Possicobilities and the god-father of Chinese rock, Cui Jian.

“The JZ Music Festivals have done a lot to increase jazz awareness in Shanghai. It's not only a showcase for international musicians, but it also shows the people of Shanghai what a great and diverse scene they have here.”

- Lawrence Ku

In addition to the noticeable growth in the range of artists performing, this year’s festival is also expected to draw a record crowd, forcing a change in venue to accommodate fans.“We’ve expanded the genres of music covered,” explains JZ booking manager Mark Elliott. “I think it was an inevitable decision to make the festival grow.”

“In 2008, the festival sold out … it had to move to a bigger location,” adds Elliott. “This year we have a maximum capacity of around 15,000 per day.”

Opening Night

Before the festival even makes it outdoors however, there will be an official kick-off show on Friday, October 16, at the Yunfeng Theater, featuring Grammy-Award winning jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, and no one is more excited than JZ Music Director and Red Groove Project band-leader Lawrence Ku, who will be accompanying Bridgewater during her set.

“It's a real treat to be able to listen to and play with these musicians and take in their musical backgrounds and personalities,” says Ku, who also attests that the annual festival has had serious impact on the local jazz scene.

“The JZ Music Festivals have done a lot to increase jazz awareness in Shanghai. It's not only a showcase for international musicians, but it also shows the people of Shanghai what a great and diverse scene they have here.”

Continued success

Of course locals and expats in China have become weary of large-scale music festivals featuring international artists due to the outrageous number of cancellations and visa rejections in the past. However, JZ’s activities have remained unaffected by local authorities, leaving many curious to the secret of their continued success and growth.

“We just follow our methods and principles and do things we should do,” admits JZ Group head and founder Ren Yuqing. “Perseverance is very difficult, but we believe we can always do more to make a better JZ Music Festival.”

JZ Music Festival, RMB 150 per day (Oct. 17 & 18) or RMB 200 for a two-day pass; RMB100-1,500 (Oct. 16) +86 21 962288 (TicketMaster), SmartTicket