Musician Jon Jang to serve as artist-in-residence at UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music
Jon Jang's Residency at UCLA: A Celebration of Third Stream Music and Asian American Narratives
In a week-long residency at UCLA, renowned pianist and composer Jon Jang will share his unique blend of jazz, classical, and Asian musical traditions, as well as his commitment to social justice.
The residency, co-presented by several UCLA departments and organisations, will run from January 16 to 20. Highlights include a solo piano and storytelling performance at the Fowler Museum on January 20, with saxophonist Hitomi Oba joining Jang in the second half of the program.
Jang's compositions, often referred to as 'Third Stream', stem from the merging of jazz and classical music traditions. This concept, originally coined by composer Gunther Schuller in the 1950s, finds a unique voice in Jang's work, which synthesises traditional jazz improvisation with elements from classical music, often integrating Asian musical influences and addressing social and political themes.
On January 17, Jang's quintet, the Jon Jangtet, will perform at a concert titled "Making Chinese Music American and Black Music of Resistance: The Jon Jangtet in Concert." The concert will feature music inspired by the black continuum of resistance, a testament to Jang's commitment to social justice.
Other notable works by Jang include "Tiananmen!", "Reparations Now! Concerto for Taiko", and "When Sorrow Turns to Joy - Songlines: The Spiritual Tributary of Paul Robeson and Mei Lanfang."
Jang is a founding member of Asian Improv aRts, established in 1987 to produce, present, and document artistic works representing the Asian American experience. His scholarly work includes lectures such as "The Sounds of Struggle: Music from the Black Liberation Movement of the 1960s to the Asian American Movement of the 1980s" and "One Day American, One Day Alien: Black and Brown Artists Who Made the National Anthem Their Own."
On January 16, Jang will reunite with Renee Tajima-Peña for a screening and conversation following the screening of "My America (or honk if you love Buddha)", directed by Tajima-Peña with Jang's original score. The film, an award-winning Asian American road odyssey, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Ethnomusicologist Kim Nguyen Tran will participate in a discussion on January 16, and Hitomi Oba's contemporary jazz ensemble will interpret Jang's work "Reparations Now! Concerto for Large Music Ensemble and Taiko" on January 18. The session of ensemble coaching on January 18 is in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act and the victory by Japanese Americans for redress and reparations.
All programs are open to the public. For more details, please see individual event listings or go to the school of music calendar.
During the residency, Jon Jang's jazz-classical fusion performance, often referred to as Third Stream Music, will offer an entertainment experience that intertwines music and storytelling. On a separate note, the Jon Jangtet's concert, which includes music inspired by the black continuum of resistance, promises to showcase an integration of Asian musical influences and jazz improvisation.
