(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-21 11:04

Taylor, who grew up in Sydney, says she always wanted to be a performer. She started singing pop but later studied jazz vocal at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

"My passion had always been jazz from the time I was a small child watching all the old black-and-white movies with the actors singing and dancing with the big bands," she says.

In 2006, she decided to take her music to the world singing jazz in New Delhi and Bangalore, India.

"Jazz is not a well-understood genre in India, so it was a challenge to get people to appreciate traditional jazz.

"There were only a handful of musicians who could play jazz well, even in a country of one billion people," she notes.

In India Taylor started teaching vocal to children. "I loved it. I didn't actually think I would ever be a vocal teacher, but I really enjoyed the progression I saw in students."

It's one thing to give a singer confidence with words, but Taylor likes to instill the confidence that comes from knowing they have the proper technique they can draw on at any time.

"This they can rely on from a physical perspective and they also gain confidence by learning to love their own voice, remembering why they are singing and becoming 'one' with the music in the moment they are performing," she says.

Arriving in China three weeks ago, Taylor performed briefly in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, before moving to Shanghai where she has Australian musician friends who have lived here for some years.

"I thought I would check out the music scene," says Taylor, who has performed at several city venues including Cotton's and JZ Club.

"It's nice to see Chinese people have an appreciation for jazz," she adds.

Date: March 8, 4-5:30pm

Venue: JZ School of Music, Bldg 6, 270 Wuyuan Rd

Tel: 5403-6475

Cost: Free (Booking required to ensure enough materials and handouts)

Check www.jz-school.cn for more information

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