This panel features Dr. Eugene Marlow (award-winning composer/arranger, producer, presenter, performer, author/journalist, and Professor at Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, Baruch College, City University of New York), Philip V. Bohlman (Ludwig Rosenberger Distinguished Service Professor in Jewish History, Music and the Humanities in the College; Associate Faculty, Divinity School, University of Chicago), and will moderated by Kenneth Pomeranz (Faculty Director, University of Chicago Yuen Campus in Hong Kong; and University Professor of Modern Chinese History and the College, University of Chicago).

Jazz is appreciated around the world for its improvisational, free style. It originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana and continues to be a significant and symbolic art form in the United States.

How has jazz evolved from a music founded on the rhythmic and blues traditions of West Africa, to the propulsively syncopated ragtime, and to the improvisational modern jazz? What is the influence of jazz music in the US, Europe, and Asia?

Jazz was first introduced in Shanghai, China in the 1920s and has increased in popularity ever since. Is jazz accepted in China because of its similarities with other Chinese music forms? How does this symbol of ‘freedom of expression’ continue to maintain and grow its audience in China? Does jazz music pose a cultural threat and will it continue to maintain its popularity?

Join us for a lively panel discussion on the origins of jazz music, its history, and cultural influence in China. Participants will also get a first glimpse of a new, documentary film on the history of Jazz in China.