Dutch pianist Mike del Ferro plays a live show of experimental jazz tonight in Taipei, followed by a masterclass series for professionals and novices tomorrow.
Del Ferro is a touring pianist and winner of the 1989 Rotterdam Jazz Piano Competition and Soloist Prize in the Europe Jazz Contest in Brussels. Tonight at the Riverside Music Cafe (河岸留言音樂藝文咖啡), he plays jazz-inflected compositions with Taiwanese jazz violinist Hsieh Chi-pin (謝啟彬), bassist Lin Hou-chin (林后進) and percussionist Lin Wen-yu (林文昱).
“A lot of the program is his original compositions — you can tell it’s jazz but it also reflects influences from around the world,” Hsieh said.
Photo courtesy: TIJEPA Taipei Jazz
Del Ferro has toured over 110 countries, where he has studied local music cultures and adapted jazz improvisation to structures of Asian, South American and African traditional music.
The next day, Del Ferro teaches four two-hour master classes with help from Hsieh and other musicians of the Taipei International Jazz Education & Promotion Association (台北市國際爵士樂教育推廣協會). Starting from 10am, he will be offering clinics on jazzing up classical music, conducting a jazz ensemble, controlling color and style on an electronic keyboard and the mechanics of Brazilian music. Capped at 30 participants, each class is conducted in English with Chinese interpretation and open to music teachers, concert professionals as well as novices, Hsieh said.
“You don’t really have to play an instrument to be interested in the language of Brazilian music,” he added.
■ Mike Del Ferro plays starting 9pm at the Riverside Music Cafe (河岸留言音樂藝文咖啡), B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段 244巷2 號B1樓). Tickets are NT$500, available at the door or at tickets.books.com.tw
■ Two-hour workshops start tomorrow at 10am at TIJEPA Taipei Jazz (爵士原力基地) at B1, 30, Ln 595, Bei-an Rd, Taipei City (台北市北安路 595巷30號B1). To register, call (02) 2544-8740 or visit www.accupass.com/go/mikedelferro. Admission per workshop: NT$1,200.
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