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Zhang Fei courts the jazz vote in Taichung

Akiko lulls the audience. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Dressed like a spiv in an all-white suit with a matching hat and rectangular shades, Zhang Fei (張菲) was a popular addition to the roster of serious performers at the ongoing Taichung Jazz Festival last weekend.

Though he was upstaged musically by Japan's Akiko, Zhang flattered and charmed his way through a one-hour set at People's Park (市民廣場) in Taichung on Saturday for a crowd estimated by organizers to number 100,000, but was in reality less than half of that.

His decision to rely on repartee was a good one as singing was clearly not his forte. While he did no serious damage to the six songs he did cover off his album When I Fall in Love, further exposure of his vocal talents without the aid of studio help would have been pushing it.

Opening with karaoke favorite Strangers in the Night, Zhang did a fairly good impression of Frank Sinatra and was clearly buoyed by the crowd's generous reception of the song. There was genuine warmth on a clear, cool but pleasant evening.

Zhang Fei launches into song. The two artists, Zhang Fei and Akiko, were the headliners at the ongoing Taichung Jazz Festival last weekend. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

After breaking the ice, Zhang "rapped" with the compere of the show for five to 10 minutes, before launching into his next song, Around the World. This set a pattern of

alternatively crooning and sweet-talking the audience. It was courtship.

Zhang joked about his actress friends who, he said, had come to see his show but were staying at different first-class hotels in the city, so he could visit them afterward without being caught out. He said his only regret about performing was that the live televised performance would draw regular viewers of his primetime Saturday night program (on at the same time on another channel).

(I Believe) When I Fall in Love was his big song of the night and though it didn't come close to sending shivers up the spine, it was a solid reworking of the old Sinatra classic. A 15-piece backing band and mini orchestra smoothed over the cracks in Zhang's vocal range.

Nat King Cole's Misty and Walking my Baby were performed without a hitch and Volare provided the big ending. Zhang even cajoled the audience into singing along with him during the main refrains.

Overall it was a creditable performance that won over the converted and probably made a few new friends.

Zhang said he had sold 80,000 copies of his album and said this had pleased him, as he had promised before the LP's release to wear a thong in public if he sold over 100,000. He told the crowd he used to entertain in Taichung pubs at the start of his career, so to headline at the city's jazz festival was like a hero's return, he said.

After Zhang, however, the audience was treated to the real thing: a one-and-half hour concert from Japanese songbird Akiko and her jazz band. She took a while to warm up as the sound levels were out of sync and and there was some annoying feedback. After these problems were eliminated, however, she seemed to find her voice.

And what a sweet voice it was. Different in range and tone from black US artists like Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington, or even white jazz singers such as Diana Krall, Akiko was at her best singing her own compositions, which were thoughtfully constructed and tender in delivery. She scat-sang, soared and hit every note.

The talented, young singer debuted with Girl Talk in 2001 and has since released five well-received albums. On Saturday, she sang a couple of Duke Ellington classics, got into a groove with a few rhythm 'n' blues-tinged numbers and lulled everyone into mellow appreciation with the slower songs.

Douglas Habecker, the editor-in-chief of Compass magazine in Taichung, said the jazz festival was a success because it combined popular and specialized entertainment.

"It was a good combination, Zhang Fei brought it home for the local crowd and the foreign performers provided more of an education. Last year, it was more of a pure jazz experience, this year there is more of a local twist," Habecker said.

This coming weekend, there will be more free jazz, with The New Decision and Metamorphosis Jazztet in the afternoon. The evening concert on Saturday in People's Park will feature Round Midnight and the outstanding Japanese jazz pianist Takashi Matsunaga.

On Sunday, Semiscon, the Japanese Jazz Quartet and some jam sessions on Jinguo Boulevard will be the major attractions. See www.fallinjazz.com.tw for more details.
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