This fall, the Taipei Cultural Center in New York is presenting the Global Music Awards Band-- Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band (徐崇育 & Soy La Ley 古巴爵士樂團 )with local partners, including New Orleans Jazz Museum Performing Arts Center (LA), Downriver Festival (LA), Nuyorican Poets Café (NY), Andy’s Jazz Club (IL) and The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center (CT). The band, bringing the program of Hola Pops!—The Latin Side of Louis Armstrong will be touring in New Orleans, Chicago, New York and Middletown, tracing Louis Armstrong’s musical footsteps from September 6 to September 21. In each city, Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band will share stage with local musicians to bridge the collaboration between Taiwan and U.S., in hopes of expanding the understanding and aesthetics of both cultures and creating a new musical possibility.
Formed in 2010, Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band (徐崇育& Soy La Ley古巴爵士樂團)aims to infuse their Taiwanese roots to the practices of jazz and Afro-Cuban music style, leading audiences to experience the unpredictability of jazz improvisation through Afro-Cuban rhythms. Their debut album ‘In Our Blood’ was released in June 2018. It won the “Best Jazz Single of the Year” with Vincent Hsu’s composition “Dreamer's Blues” at the 2018 Golden Indie Music Awards, and was also honored with the Global Music Awards' Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 2019.
Born and bred in Taiwan, award-winning bassist and founder/bandleader Vincent Tsung-Yu Hsu launched his musical career in New York City and was mentored by legendary musicians, including Victor Venegas, Andy González, Cecil McBee, and John A. Schaeffer. Hsu has been touring worldwide, including Madrid International Jazz Festival, Busan Jazz Festival, Taichung Jazz Festival, National Theater & Concert Hall Summer Jazz Festival, and Macau Jazz Festival, among others. Taking the combination of Latin music and jazz as a form of bilingualism, Hsu is an inheritor of the musical lineage that originates in New York’s Spanish Harlem. Three distinct cultures intersect and interweave to shape the sonic character of his band: the singular power of African polyrhythms come together with the fusion of Latin and jazz improvisation in a profusion of Taiwanese compositional elements that give rise to vivid storytelling. Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band have taken the dual vernaculars of Afro-Cuban music and jazz, and left their own musical mark through the creation of an original work that embraces the context of Taiwan’s own soundscape.
Hola Pops!—The Latin Side of Louis Armstrong is a project initiated by Vincent Hsu and inspired by the music legacy of Louis Armstrong. The concept of this project is to revisit Louis Armstrong’s musical journey through Hsu’s Afro-Cuban arrangements and originals dedicated to Armstrong, as well as to reflect Armstrong’s impact and unfold musical stories intertwined with Hsu’s Taiwanese cultural background.
Their debut album In Our Blood featuring Victor Mendoza was released in June 2018. It won the “Best Jazz Single of the Year” with Vincent Hsu’s composition “Dreamer's Blues” at the 2018 Golden Indie Music Awards, and was also honored with the Global Music Awards' Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 2019.
Touring Schedule:
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band with special guest Bill Summers
New Orleans Jazz Museum
Friday, September 6, 2019, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band will share stage with the featuring master musician Bill Summers, along with the outstanding pianist Joe Ashlar and drummer Jamal Batiste.This event is free and open to the public, sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
Downriver Fest 2019
New Orleans Jazz Museum
Saturday, September 7, 2019, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
The seventh annual Downriver Festival on Saturday, September 7, 2019 celebrates the environmental, cultural, and economic impact of the Mississippi River and the land it built through live music, cooking demonstrations, presentations, panels, and walking tours that explore this year’s theme “Seafood.”The festival is free and open to the public, held on the grounds of the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band meets New York
Nuyorican Poets Café
Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 7:00pm (doors 6:30pm)
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band will share stage with a stellar cast featuring amazing pianist and improviser Luis Perdomo, along with outstanding percussionist Ismel Wignall and drummer Ivan Llanes, making its energy-filled NYC debut at Nuyorican Poets Café.
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band at Andy’s Jazz Club
Andy’s Jazz Club
Friday, September 13, 2019, 9:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Saturday, September 14, 2019, 9:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band will share stage with a stellar cast featuring the legendary Latin Percussionist Art Burton, pianist Alexis Lombre and drummer Dushun Mosley, exploring the wonder of the Latin Jazz around the city.
Hola Pops! A Night of Originals and A Tribute to Louis Armstrong
The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center
In Middlown, Hsu invites the master musician Victor Lewis and the outstanding pianist Zaccai Curtis to join him. This concert will feature the original compositions of Vincent Hsu as well as Mr. Victor Lewis and Zaccia Curtis.
Learn more about Vincent Hsu & Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band
Website:
https://www.vincenthsujazz.com
Facebook:
Vincent Hsu https://www.facebook.com/homeland.vincenthsujazz/
Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band https://www.facebook.com/soylaleyjazz/