Hailing from Nanjing, Zhang Xiongguan is an exciting new talent in Chinese jazz. His debut LP, New Sound from the Past, released this month, features eight tracks – all originals – which traverse a range of jazz sub-genres but are given cohesion by Zhang’s intricate guitar work. It’s an impressive debut, but, softly spoken and unfalteringly polite, Zhang refers to it simply as a memento of his time in the US where he was studying until May last year.
Having graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2013, Zhang headed to the States to further his musical education at the New England Conservatory. It proved to be a formative experience for him as he met a range of musicians from different backgrounds and was forced to explore a variety of sounds and forms through assignments for his Master of Music degree.
The results of some of those assignments have found their way onto the new album, which was recorded with fellow students in Boston, but the biggest influence remains Zhang’s passion for the past. ‘I don’t listen to much contemporary jazz,’ he says. ‘I mostly listen to hard bop and avant garde music from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. I’m very influenced by the composition from that time.’
Zhang’s songs may be built on a vintage base, but as the album title suggests, they carry a contemporary finish. ‘History is recurring and you have to learn the older stuff first,’ he says, ‘but you also have to find your own sound eventually.’
It’s a sound that for Zhang has already evolved since he recorded New Sounds, largely thanks to his return to Shanghai. ‘I was doing maybe 20 compositions in a semester in the US, but I’ve only written five or six since getting back. The pieces I’ve written here have been more simple melodically and very different texturally. The audience plays a big part in my writing and in Shanghai people seem to prefer a less complex style. But Shanghai doesn’t have to be New York. It’s just different here.’
Resisting the temptation to remain Stateside, Zhang returned to the Shanghai Conservatory last autumn, this time as a teacher. He’s also become a fixture at JZ Club and the band for his album release will feature a number of locally-based musicians, plus singer Coco Zhao. Expect his name to become a familiar one on the Shanghai scene in the coming months.
Zhang Xiongguan plays On Stage on Saturday 9. Tickets are 80RMB (full event details below).
