China is home to many talented jazz musicians coming from European countries. With the aim to provide a platform enabling those musicians to create a common musical message, Polish Institute – Cultural Service of the Embassy of Poland in Beijing together with EUNIC China Cluster formed the EU Jazz Encounters in China project.

EU Jazz Encounters in China aims to create new jazz pieces rooting from different countries folk music, composed and performed by European and Chinese musicians. The project aims to demonstrate the connections between jazz and folk, musicians originating from different cultures, as well as to enhance a jazz dialogue between Europe and China.

The project brings together musicians from Poland, France, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Ukraine and China. They perform together, combine folk music from different countries with fresh and modern jazz arrangements, and create a musical and cultural journey through EU countries and China.

European folk music consists of many different melodies, languages, rhythms and other characteristics (depending on the region), and the musicians hope to introduce them to Chinese audiences one by one through this project. At the same time, through the cooperation with Chinese musicians and integrating Chinese folk music into the repertoire, the musicians are also adding Chinese culture elements to their musical language.

Organizers: Polish Institute – Cultural Service of the Embassy of Poland in Beijing; Embassy of France in Beijing / Institut Français; Embassy of Spain in Beijing / Instituto Cervantes; Istituto Italiano di Cultura-Pechino; Embassy of Slovenia in Beijing; Embassy of Austria in Beijing / Austrian Cultural Forum

Partners: EU Delegation to China, Chinese Jazz Musicians Association

Photos: M. Gudzikowska-Malicka