Across China: Jazz beyond borders: Chinese music festival celebrates cross-cultural harmony

Musicians perform during the 2025 Taihu Jazz Festival at the Taihu Stage Art Center, a branch of China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, capital of China, April 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Meiqi)

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- At a Chinese international jazz festival that wrapped up on Monday, musicians from across the world delivered a dazzling fusion of jazz and cross-cultural collaborations.

The 2025 Taihu Jazz Festival, which was held at the Taihu Stage Art Center, a branch of China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, attracted over 200 musicians from nine countries.

As Yannick Rieu, a renowned Canadian saxophonist, noted in an interview with Xinhua, "Jazz is a vibrant musical form that transcends borders and differences."

During the festival, Rieu presented a jazz quartet centered around the theme of integration, in which he especially included an adaptation of the Chinese folk song "Yimeng Mountain." "The song deeply moved me -- from the first listen, I felt an intimate emotional connection."

While recomposing the song, the musician strove to preserve its soul and infuse it with jazz's signature freedom and improvisation, allowing Eastern and Western voices to naturally blend together.

"From majestic landscapes to unique folk traditions and vibrant regional music, China's rich and diverse culture is an endless source of inspiration for me," said Rieu, who has traveled and performed in China nearly 20 times since 2006.

Over the years, he has witnessed China's rapid evolution -- not only in its infrastructure but also in its thriving arts scene. "New festivals, music schools and clubs are springing up in China, nurturing a wave of exceptional young musicians eager to blend jazz with their own cultural identity," he said.

Li Xiaochuan, a rising star in the Chinese jazz scene, stands out as a talented trumpet player and composer. This time at the Taihu festival, he merged not only traditional Chinese instruments but also artificial intelligence (AI) into his composition and performance.

"We must dare to experiment, distill our insights, and share them with students and audiences, sparking fresh perspectives through transformative musical experiences," said Li, who is also an associate professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, stressing the importance to embrace AI in music education and performance.

"Jazz should never become museum music -- it must speak with a contemporary voice," he added.

Li's opinion is echoed by Argentinian pianist Adrian Hugo Iaies and his trio members. For them, the term jazz, which originated in the West, is more of a tool or musical approach rather than a precise style after years of constant evolving, expanding and changing.

"The music I wrote for the trio is music that has a very strong connection with Argentinian traditions. It's music that sounds in our towns and households," he said.

Meanwhile, at the festival, HAYA, a world-renowned music band rooted in Chinese ethnic music, such as Mongolian, Kazakh and Tibetan music, showcased the vitality of traditional sounds by blending them with modern elements.

"Music is a universal language of all peoples," said Zhang Quansheng, founder and Morin Khuur player of HAYA, adding that it is vital to draw upon the strengths of diverse musical traditions.

In recent years, China has been endeavoring to promote music exchanges with the rest of the world. "Culture knows no borders. We'll continue to build a highland of jazz in China to bridge divides and foster mutual understanding," said Guan Jianbo, vice president of the NCPA. ■

Yannick Rieu (L), a renowned Canadian saxophonist, performs during the 2025 Taihu Jazz Festival at the sub-venue in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province, May 1, 2025. (Xinhua)