Music students from the JZ School and a number of Shanghai’s international schools were invited to cut their teeth at the JZ Festival in Century Park this weekend on the Ensemble & DJ Stage.

On Saturday 17 October 2009, festival-goers were treated to sets from students of SAS Puxi and SCIS Pudong while on Sunday 18 October, students of Dulwich College Shanghai, BIS Pudong and Ecole Francais entertained music-lovers in the sunshine. Students from the JZ School played on both days with sets from JZ Kids, JZ Jazz and JZ Rock Ensembles.

I caught up with the bands on the second day of the Festival and checked out a varied and ambitious programme of jazz standards and rock originals. While ticketing problems meant I was too late to hear the first part of the performance, I arrived just in time to meet The Funkadelics, Dulwich College Shanghai’s five-piece jazz combo, as they came offstage after their 30-minute set.

The Funkadelics

After a quick photo op, I asked Philip (piano), Joseph (guitar), Calum (drums), Garrett (bass) and Naman (drums) what they’d enjoyed about the gig. For Calum, “it was a great opportunity to perform in a bigger environment” while for Joseph it was a chance to try out his writing skills on an original 4-minute interlude linking two of the numbers, ‘Funkadelic Slam’.

The band’s full set consisted of six numbers: ‘Four on Six’, ‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Chopin Waltz’, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’, ‘Funkadelic Slam’ and ‘Chameleon’. Music teacher, Patrick Sabberton, who chose the material and has coached the band for the last two years, felt that the opportunity to perform outside the school environment gave them “a bigger goal to work towards” and made them “more focused”. Meanwhile, Dulwich College Shanghai’s  “very proud” Head of Music, Fritha Jameson, felt the set “went mighty fine”.

Fritha Jameson

Next up were BIS Pudong seven-piece, Lend Us A Tenor, under the tutelage of Head of Expressive Arts, Martin Game. According to Game, this was Lend Us A Tenor’s first proper performance: “While they enjoy the freedom of expression and creativity that comes with jazz, performing in public will give them that extra confidence.”

   
Lend Us A Tenor

The band gave soulful renditions of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, ‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Killer Joe’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Canteloupe Island’, featuring vocalists on two of their numbers.

14-year-old Rosie, one of Lend Us A Tenor's featured vocalists, has been singing for four years. She started in the school choir before moving on to individual singing lessons. She enjoys acting in plays and doing cabaret.

And so to Impact, Ecole Francais’s “new punk band”, according to JZ School Manager and Festival organiser, Ben Denton.

 
Impact

I chatted with these guys briefly before their set and was intrigued by their combination of good looks and attitude. Singer/songwriter Hannes told me their music is “like a rock salad” (i.e. a mixture of different styles in the rock genre) which guitarist Julien qualified with “well, it’s more punk rock really”. Whatever, I was impressed by their excellent songs, slick arrangements and budding showmanship with Julien trying a couple of proto-rockstar-type leaps and Hannes lounging with his legs dangling over the front of the stage for one number. Bass player Maxime and drummer Olivier provided a solid backing for what was a tight and impressive set.

Whilst Impact have done ten gigs in public, including performances at the Yu Yin Tang and Live Bars, this was their first outdoor experience and was, according to Hannes, “something else”. I snapped a couple of pictures of this very happy band after their set with all agreeing it was a “great performance”.

With the afternoon’s show finishing with a set from JZ School’s Ensemble No. 4, it was time to head off to the main stage to sample songstress Cao Fang’s wistful melancholy and a slice or two of pizza.

Will I be back next year? Just try and stop me.

To read more about Ensemble No. 4's performance, click here.