Being a jazz lover, one of the first things i did when I arrived in HK was to search out for a good jazz club. The choices are limited and most were concentrated in HK Island.  I did find one New Orleans- type jazz diner cum live band in Tsim Sha Tsui – Ned’s Kelly. I’d written about this place in earlier post.

On Friday, I was at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade by chance. It was the opening gala for the HK Wine and Food Festival. There were many stalls showcasing wines and food and loads of people. But my ears picked up the sounds of jazz and was estatic to find it was live. The featured artist on was Hanjin Tan. I stayed for his hour-long show and it was toe-tapping, fingers-drumming enjoyment. I like his brand of improv jazz, putting his own twist to classics.  This for me is the best kind of pure jazz – unplugged version with just the voice, accompanied with bass, guitar and piano.  This way the focus is on the voice, which in Jazz is the key element of the music.  There are very few asian jazz artist, maybe because jazz is very much a western concept.  He hit all the right tones and carried the tunes well. 

Here’s a Youtube video of him in-motion: