jz8 练习 [practice session for jz8]

[sorry for the poor photograhy... i was experimenting something]

it is ultra difficult to get the two members of jz8 together due to their hectic schedule. so whenever we find time, we get them to practise and get the chemistry going.

song selection contributes more than 60% to the success of an album and we are not taking it lightly. jz8 can play many styles, but we would want it to sound a bit mellower than what most western jazz music would sound. in particular, we want cher siang not to over-play on the piano, which is the tendency of most western jazz pianists to showcase their skills and versatility. because this is chinese pop jazz, we would want a slower and mellower presentation to suit our targeted audience.



jz8 practised a few songs, all chinese pop classics re-arranged by cher siang (whose titles we would like to keep it confidential at the moment); some immediately strike a chord with me and chow and some not. as i have said many times before, not all chinese pop tunes can be rearranged into jazz, due to their rigid structure. cher siang tried on zhao chuan [赵传: 当初应该爱你], the results are contrived to say the least, so we immediately dropped it.

at the end of the practice session, we finalized on two songs only.

lydia also proposed to include some real oldies (think 40s/50s, think zhou xuan!) in the repertoire, which chow and i approved. some chinese oldies are real winners if the singer can carry it well and the arrangement is good.

the first practice session gives the production team some ideas on how far jz8 can go. we think the real jz8 hasn't come out yet but in time to come, with more practice and understanding, we would see something magical.

the next practice session is fixed on next monday, 16th march.

as a producer, the practice sessions and the recording sessions later are the best and most memorable part of the journey!