To celebrate the opening of its spanking-new Xinyi branch across the street from the Warner Village complex, Shin-Kong Mitsukoshi will hold the "Enjoy the New Life" series of 29 jazz concerts, with practically all the major local jazz groups performing through next month.
In step with the major trends in live jazz, the line-up leans heavily toward Latin and fusion jazz, with some more traditional jazz styles thrown in for good measure. Opening the series on Tuesday night will be the Roberto Latino All Star Big Band, led by acclaimed Paraguayan guitarist Roberto Zayas. Performing a wide range of musical styles from classical, folk and pop to Latin American music, Zayas has lived in Taiwan for 20 years. He first performed regularly in cultural centers around the country, and soon started collaborations with local musicians on over 200 albums and last year accompanied opera tenor Placido Domingo at his concert at the National Theater.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHIN-KONG MITSUKOSHI
Zayas' Barrio Latino band has gained a considerable following by performing at various embassy functions, business organizations and government events over the past 10 years. On Tuesday the group will perform an hour of Latin jazz, pop and modern jazz.
Lee and Taira will perform their second show in the festival next Friday with their own band Pianissimo Jazz Trio, with pianist Jeremy Leber, who was behind hits by local pop singers like A-mei (
On New Year's Day, Metamorphosis, one of the few Taiwanese jazz bands that are strong on original compositions as well as Swing and be-bop standards, will give two performances. Apart from their regular live performances at Blue Note, the band has participated in many of the department store's previous celebrations.
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The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
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This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built
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