Musician Jon Jang will serve as artist-in-residence at UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music.
Jon Jang, a renowned pianist and composer, will be in residence at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music from January 16-20. The residency, co-presented by several UCLA departments and organisations, promises a week filled with thought-provoking music and conversations.
Jang is known for his unique fusion of jazz with Asian American and African American cultural narratives. His compositions, such as "Reparations Now!", "The Chinese American Symphony", and "Tiananmen!", address issues of racial justice, honor Chinese American history, and pay tribute to African American music of resistance.
On January 18, UCLA lecturer Hitomi Oba's contemporary jazz ensemble will interpret Jang's work "Reparations Now! Concerto for Large Music Ensemble and Taiko". This performance promises to be a powerful interpretation of Jang's work addressing issues of racial justice.
The residency will also see the performance of "Making Chinese Music American and Black Music of Resistance: The Jon Jangtet in Concert" on January 17. This concert program includes works that feature Jang's unique American-born Chinese treatment of Chinese music, and music inspired by the black continuum of resistance. The concert will feature Hitomi Oba on soprano and tenor saxophones, Nick DePinna on trombone, Trevor Ware on double bass, and Miles Senzaki on multiple percussion.
In addition to the concerts, Jang will also give a lecture titled "Traditions in Transformation: The Musical Language of Jon Jang Composer". Here, he will explore heterogeneity in music as seen through the lens of his works.
Jang's scholarly work includes lectures on "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."
The residency will also include a screening and conversation of "My America (or honk if you love Buddha)", directed by Renee Tajima-Peña with Jang's original score. Jang will reunite with Tajima-Peña for this event, and the conversation following the screening promises to be insightful.
"My America (or honk if you love Buddha)" won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, and its hybrid cultural influences will be the topic of a conversation led by Kim Nguyen Tran.
Jang's music has been compared to the 'Third Stream' composers of the 50's who combined jazz and classical music. His works often explore themes of intercultural solidarity, resistance, and the histories of marginalized communities.
Other notable works by Jang include "When Sorrow Turns to Joy - Songlines: The Spiritual Tributary of Paul Robeson and Mei Lanfang", and "Reparations Now! Concerto for Taiko".
The residency's programs are open to the public. For more details, please see individual event listings or the school of music calendar. On the final day of the residency, Jang will perform a solo piano performance and tell stories about his musical journey at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Saxophonist Hitomi Oba will join him in the second half of the January 20 performance.
This residency promises to be a unique and enlightening exploration of the fusion of jazz with Asian American and African American cultural narratives, and a celebration of Chinese American history and Black music of resistance.
The residency, featuring renowned pianist and composer Jon Jang, will provide a week of entertainment, with performances and discussions centered around his unique fusion of jazz and music addressing racial justice and Asian American and African American cultural narratives. On January 18, UCLA lecturer Hitomi Oba's contemporary jazz ensemble will interpret Jang's work "Reparations Now! Concerto for Large Music Ensemble and Taiko," promising a powerful interpretation of his music dealing with issues of racial justice.
