Speaking of jz club on Julu Road, many friends who love jazz music must know that this is a jazz club in Shanghai. Since its establishment in Shanghai in October 2003, jz club has accompanied Shanghai jazz lovers for twenty years.
In the early morning of March 18, this old jazz club will start a new jazz music journey on Hengshan Road after finishing its farewell performance on Julu Road. In this episode of "Shanghai Living Room", we went to the performance site for interviews and recorded the farewell performance that night.
On the evening of March 17th, the old jazz club jz club performed on Julu Road
On October 16, 2003, jz club was born on Fenyang Road. At that time, jz club was still a relatively small jazz music club in Shanghai. Later, it moved from Fenyang Road to Fuxing West Road and then to Julu Road. After twenty years of development, jz club has grown step by step from a newborn baby to a mature and stable young man, and has also witnessed the development history of Chinese jazz.
It has been 7 years since jz club came to No. 158 Julu Road. Many domestic and foreign musicians and jazz lovers are here, creating countless beautiful memories. On the day of the opening ceremony on October 14, 2016, which was also the day before the 12th Jazz Shanghai Music Festival, except for jz club, everything else in the 158-meter street looked like a construction site. The famous Italian funk tour big band Funk Off kicked off with enthusiasm, and WDR Big Band Köln (Cologne West German Radio Jazz Big Band), which represents the highest level of European jazz, played until midnight. At this point, jz club opened the era of jazz music in Shanghai, and Datongfang 158, where jz club settled, gradually became one of the most popular music check-in places in Shanghai at that time!
In addition, colorful dance parties, record sharing sessions, lectures and master classes, retro markets... also make jz club perfectly integrated into the lives of jazz music lovers and become a part of life.
On the evening of March 17th, the audience entered jz club
Tickets for the music performance on the night of March 17th
For many jazz lovers, the performance on the night of March 17th is very memorable because it is the venue of jz club on Julu Road The final performance. Before 6:30 for the 7pm performance, many spectators were already lining up at the door waiting to enter, including white-collar worker Ruby and her friend Helen. The two of them purchased the show a month ago and invited other friends to watch the show that day. Ruby said: "We came here just because we like jazz music."
ruby has worked in jz club for many years. She told reporters: "I watched jz land here, and then watched him leave (Julu Road), and I actually felt It’s quite emotional.”
Before the performance started on the night of March 17th
On the night of March 17th, the last international master performance took the stage. They were four artists from the American band The Bad Plus. The Bad Plus was founded in 2000 and is a well-known jazz band in today's jazz scene. Avant-garde, experimental, uniquely creative and adventurous, and full of energy, the performance style is not limited by traditional jazz, and widely absorbs various style elements of rock, pop, and electronic music, making the bad plus a unique presence in modern jazz. , and has won many listeners around the world.
On the evening of March 17, the last international master performance took the stage.
Before the performance, the reporter met four artists, they were bassist Reid Anderson, drummer Dave King, guitarist Benmonder and saxophonist Chris Speed. According to the staff, the average age of the four artists is 57 years old.
jz club presented postcards to the four artists
After the performance that night, jz club presented postcards to the four artists. The backs of the postcards all had Shanghai landmarks printed on them. A staff member told reporters on March 18:
They (the four artists) had a great time performing and they liked Shanghai very much. Colleagues said that they all want to buy houses and cars in Shanghai. Maybe they were just polite words, but the love these artists have for Shanghai is true.
In the lounge, the reporter met "Jazz Uncle" Lao Ren, who was rehearsing, that is, jazz musician Mr. Ren Yuqing.That night, Lao Ren formed a strong lineup with pianist Huang Jianyi, trumpeter Hu Danfeng, saxophonist Bao Junrui, guitarist Zhang Xiongguan, singer Xi Chenchen, drummer Shen Wanghao and percussionist Toby Senior, who brought the final performance to the audience. A farewell performance at Julu Road.
On the evening of March 17, jazz musician Ren Yuqing and other musicians performed a farewell performance for the audience.
Mr. Ren uses jazz to communicate with the world. He founded jz club and is also the founder of jz music. In 2005, he founded the Jazz Shanghai Music Festival. As for jz club’s farewell to Julu Road, Lao Ren told reporters:
is like making porridge everywhere for us. I hope that in the next place, we can stay not only for 8 years, but also for 10 or even 20 years. Because we are making art, not fast-selling, the longer it is cooked, the more flavor and thickness it will have.
would also like to thank all the old listeners who have supported us along the way. In fact, the most important thing about our ability to persist is because of our musicians and the other one is the audience group. We have been doing the Jazz Festival for 20 years, and many viewers said, thank you for bringing such good music here. I think this is what supports the continuation of the Jazz Festival.
On the night of March 17th, the performance by Lao Ren and his musical partners started at 10 o'clock and lasted until 2 o'clock in the morning on March 18. It is reported that on March 21, jz club will meet jazz lovers again at its "new home" at No. 8 Hengshan Road.
