Jazz's lone crusader

A Vienna Conservatory graduate is determined to take this genre of music back to the heydays of the 1930s. Jules Quartly reports

Zhan Xiaoli is possibly the country's finest jazz singer, a Vienna Conservatory graduate who has the looks of an actress - but she's a lonely star.

Dressed in a sparkling black dress, perched on a stool, she sings her heart out three nights a week at the Beijing lounge bar Wish, accompanied by pianist Wong Guan and bassist Bi Zhigang.

It's a cool venue near Chaoyang park, with birdcages dotted around the garden and pools of fish, but the diners seem more interested in their starters than the main menu of musical entertainment.

Jazz hasn't been popular in China since it was introduced and flowered in Shanghai during the 1920s and 1930s.

Wars and the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) left jazz behind and it is only in the past 10 years or so that it has tried to make a comeback.

There are a handful of clubs in the capital and a few hotels that play jazz, while in Shanghai the scene has more venues but fewer opportunities for locals to shine, as foreign artists take the spotlight.

Meanwhile, jazz festivals come and go but are struggling to find a place in the nation's heart.

"There hasn't really been a jazz scene in China to speak about since the 1930s in Shanghai," Zhan says, adding that it is the singers from this era that inspire her, as much as American legends Nina Simone, Natalie Cole and Cassandra Wilson.

"Reintroducing jazz to China is a bit lonely," the 33-year-old says, "But for me not doing this would be difficult. I just like it, I've studied it and I can't stop. It gives me a special feeling and a feeling of being special."

Born in Qingdao, she loved singing as a kid and rather fortuitously had her first taste of jazz after she bought a random CD from a street vendor.

"It was a mix of old singers from the 30s and 40s and the song Cry Me a River really affected me," she says.

At college she studied painting but moved to Beijing after graduation, where she flirted with the notion of being a pop singer.

"I didn't really have a goal and didn't know what I was doing. It was just like a job and I didn't have much confidence."

Destiny intervened when she won first prize in a national vocal competition and this helped her get into Austria's Vienna Conservatory, where she studied jazz singing and composition for four years.

Though she wasn't that keen on Austria - "It's kind of boring" - she was excited by Britain and the United States, which she also visited.

But China was calling and she returned to build her jazz career. She has just released her first mini-album (produced in England) that features her own compositions and a range of styles, from classic jazz to dance.

Her voice has a mature quality that can drop to hit the bass notes and scale crystal highs, while she also has that classically trained precision, which marks her out from the crowd.

Huang Yong, bass player, jazz pioneer and organizer of the annual Ninegates Jazz Festival in Beijing, has known Zhan for three years.

He calls her the "complete package. She has a good feeling for the music, she can write the lyrics and melodies for her compositions and she sings well".

Classical and jazz music are minority tastes, he says, but that should not deter her.

"Even on a dark night we must remember there is still sunshine. I've told her to believe in herself and stay true to her style. Audiences are smart and in the end they will believe in her," Huang says.

Zhan is resigned to this and says she will play on at the small venues where she has established herself and take part in festivals when she gets the chance.

"With singing I can express myself and it feels natural. If I couldn't do it, I think that would be sad," she says.

(China Daily 06/15/2010 page8)