be transported to a nightclub in Shanghai!
The Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton Active Circle present Shanghai Nights Princeton, an immersive jazz experience in held in our downtown theater space. Listen, imbibe, and dine on small bites while enjoying live jazz by East Meets West.
Shanghai has a long history of jazz, dating back to the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the establishment of ECO, Shanghai’s first and China’s first radio station, allowed jazz music to spread through the airwaves into the villas and alleyways of old Shanghai. By the 1930s, venues like the Paramount Ballroom became hotspots for jazz, with American and Filipino jazz bands playing an active role in the city’s vibrant nightlife.
At that time, Shanghai was one of the most international cities in Asia, attracting many foreign musicians, especially from the United States and the Philippines. These jazz bands performed in the Bund and the French Concession’s many nightclubs and dance halls, bringing the latest jazz trends to both social elites and ordinary citizens. Chinese singers like Li Lili also began incorporating jazz elements into Chinese music, making jazz an integral part of Shanghai’s pop culture.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, jazz temporarily faded from the scene. However, with China’s reform and opening-up, jazz experienced a revival in Shanghai. The 1990s saw the renovation of Shanghai Concert Hall and the emergence of jazz festivals, bringing new energy to the jazz scene. Today, Shanghai is home to jazz bars like JZ Club and hosts major events such as the Shanghai Jazz Festival, ensuring that the city continues to live up to its reputation as the “Jazz Capital of the East.”
Featured performers include Xiaoqing Zhang and Vince di Mura, alongside Sean Decker (bass), Alex Laurenzi (alto sax), Jared Decker (drums), Joshua Roberts (drums), Wesley Rast (percussion), Kurt Coble (violin), and Rachel Massey (violin/viola).
Tickets include live performance, beer and wine bar, and small bites. Proceeds benefit two community non-profits, the Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton Active Circle.
As an international vocalist and actress, Xiaoqing Zhang had collaborated with top industry artists and producers from Broadway, West End, and Chinese Musical industry. She’s now a proud member of AEA and her NY credits include: Noble Family (Broadway Virtual and The Cuttig Room), The Emperor’s Nightingale (Off-Broadway), For What It’s Worth (Off-Broadway), Songs About Trains (Off-Broadway). Into The Woods concert (NY Times Center). Shanghai Sonata concert (Theatre555), Lost in Shanghai (Theatre Row), and musical Helen, An old day in Chinatown(Pan Asian Rep.). Jonathan Lee’s Musical Road to Heaven New York press release, Musical Eastbound concert (Joe’s Pub), etc. She’s been cast in American TBS comedy show The Detour and other voice over work. Her awards include: first place in the national competition-China Star, second place in The World Karaoke Championship in China region, Creative Award in BTV singing and dancing competition.
Vince di Mura is a classically trained, world-renowned pianist who has performed and conducted on concert stages and in theatres throughout North America, Canada, and Latin America. Vince is also the resident musical director and composer of the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University and holds fellowships from the William Goldman Foundation, Temple University, Meet the Composer, CEPAC, the Union County Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Vince has fulfilled compositional commissions for Rutgers, Princeton, Rider University, the Pingry Foundation, the University of Colorado, The Scioto Society, Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the People’s Light and Theatre Company, and the American Stage Company. He is perhaps best known for his arrangements of My Way: A Sinatra Cabaret, I Left My Heart; A Tribute to Tony Bennett, and Simply Simone(with over 700 productions nationally). Vince has musical directed runs at Blowing Rock Stage Company, Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina, Western Michigan’s Cherry County Playhouse, Barter Theatre in Virginia, Arkansas Repertory Company in Little Rock, and the Arden in Philadelphia.
