Bob James [File Photo: easterday.com]

Jazz goes back to the 1930s in the "Paris of the East" and though the heydays are a haze of nostalgia, Shanghai is again a magnet for jazz musicians. This month fusion and smooth jazz are featured.

Two important jazz musicians are playing concerts in Shanghai for the first time this month at the Shanghai Center Theater. American jazz pianist and composer Bob James, a two-time Grammy winner, performs on November 21. Canadian bassist Alain Caron performs on November 14.

Today, fusion jazz, and especially smooth jazz that blends jazz with pop/rock music elements, is quite common. Although listeners and critics hold diverse opinions on the new genre, and some consider it too popularized, fusion has extended jazz music to more people through names like Kenny G, Al Jarreau and David Sanborn.

Bob James is a key figure in turning fusion jazz more mainstream. Much influenced by pop and movie music, one of his most famous pieces is "Angela," the instrumental theme for the sitcom "Taxi." His songs "Nautilus" in 1974 and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" in 1975 are among the most sampled pieces by hip-hop artists.

The 69-year-old pianist and composer continues to explore.

"At heart I am a jazz musician, but I have continually explored the idea of introducing other styles into my jazz compositions. This style has become identified as 'fusion jazz.' However, I believe that it is unnecessarily limiting to be stuck within a certain style. I prefer to go wherever inspiration takes me," James tells Shanghai Daily.

He cites Bill Evans and Count Basie as his jazz piano influences, among many others. In classical music performance, he draws much inspiration from the late Glenn Gould. As a composer, James refers to Bach, followed by Debussy, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Penderecki.

James' Shanghai performance will involve traditional Chinese instruments including pipa (Chinese lute), erhu (two-string fiddle), and guqin (plucked seven-string music instrument of the zither family). He has already made three short visits to rehearse and record the project and has been struck by changes in the city.

"Even during that short span, I noticed changes in the skyline, and how many new and unusual structures were being built. There is definitely a feeling of excitement and vision of the future," says James.

"I'm very happy to have a small part helping to share creative ideas from America, and to learn from the new Chinese culture," says James.

Canadian bassist Alain Caron, who calls Ray Brown his favorite bassist, is a former member of UZEB, a highly recognized band in Europe and Canada.

Disbanded in 1992, UZEB won the Oscar Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1991 Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Playing bass for more than 30 years, Caron actually started with guitar and a little bit of drums with a trio when he was 11. He was asked to learn bass as the trio did have a bassist.

"I loved it, I thought it was a big guitar on which you can play the drum patterns, a mix of guitar and drums," says the 53-year-old Caron.

Date: November 14 (Alain Caron) November 21 (Bob James), 7:30pm

Venue: Shanghai Center Theater, 1376 Nanjing Rd W.

Admission: 100-500 yuan

Tel: 962-388

(Shanghai Daily November 6, 2008)