Discover the unexpected is always one of the benefits of a sweet jazz festival. But certainly anyone to Cape fest this year, where the focus is divided between African artists and American stars, provides that one of the highlights will be a cyclonic Singaporean singer named Hanjin.
A deliciously animated guy, with the charm and personality of burn, baby-face 35 years has been the music industry, earning a career as a composer Hong Kong throughout his adult life (with more than 400 Cantopop songs - a mixture of Chinese and Western music pop - to his credit)producer, arranger, mixer. Only recently it add jazz singer to his long list of talents.
With no voice experience, Hanjin (whose full name is Tan Hanjin, he descends the "Tan" for theatrical performances and recordings) first tested his skills by singing a few years ago when he was invited on stage by his palpianist Jason Cheng, to perform a couple of standards. "Who gave me the balls to try jazz," he said, "and it was the first time the concept of [making a] album jazz crossed my mind." Jazz in China is linked with luxury. It is the high class, but really find music is difficult. ?
To fill the void, registered Hanjin Raw Jazz in 2009, a set of standards for all, each of the 11 selections recorded in a single taken, starring Cheng more Paul Candelaria bassist and guitarist Skip Moy. S Hanjin with joy, style members lose and voice of honey and whiskey - a powerful mixture of Chet Baker, Al Jarreau, and Sammy Davis, Jr. - are perfectly suited to his exuberant arrangements of swingers as "Sweet Lorraine," "Cheek to cheek""," "honeysuckle Rose" and "That Old Black Magic". But its handling of ballads, including velvety treatment of "skylark" and "The proximity of You", is just as clever. Impressive, it also manages the "Wave of the Jobim" tricky curves, "Corea Spain" and "Of Moody Mood for Love", with fearless aplomb.
Title of the CD is, says, "conveys the idea that he is Jazz in its form the most warm." A large part of this primal energy translated also to performances on stage, where the human firecracker bounces and force with elation Jagger-like legs.
Even with its profile within the world of the music of Hong Kong, Jazz Raw marketing has been an uphill challenge. Young fans, who know him for his work of pop and rap, are not the public of this material on measurement, and exposure to elderly jazz fans has been difficult to navigate. Broader awareness, through international opportunities as the date of the city of Cape Town (where Hanjin easily won a few thousand new, jazz-savvy devout) will help, and he hopes to soon start working on an album of jazz sophomore. With time, it could and deserves to be the Eastern meet dynamo British Jamie Cullum.
A downloadable version of the Raw Jazz is currently available on iTunes and Amazon, or you can visit the Web of Hanjin. Also check out this YouTube clip, where you can see his performance "Wave" dandy on a performance of Hong Kong:
If you want to share your comments on Tan Hanjin, or have any suggestions for future payments to hear voices, please email jtvocaljazz@gmail.com.
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