When it comes to Jazz Music in Taiwan, you may wonder what kind of jazz music Taiwanese audience listen and appreciate. It seems Jazz Music is something western and there are already too many choices of music Taiwanese could pick up, such as traditional, folk, classic, rock, pop, digital, musicals and so on.
During the period when the U.S. Army was stationed in Taiwan between 1964 and 1979, there was a jazz craze at that time. Live Jazz performances were the soldiers’ favorite entertainment. This influenced a lot of Taiwanese people falling in love with jazz. Though when the U.S. Army withdrew from Taiwan in 1979, jazz seemed to leave along with the troops. However, the Jazz Music has its way surviving in Taiwan, whether in a grassroots local club or a chic international-style lounge. There are several jazz clubs or café providing environments suitable for different jazz fans' tastes in Taiwan. After the government lifted martial law in 1987, the atmosphere in Taiwan became more liberal. People became affluent and jazz flourished again. In recent years, visitors to Taiwan may choose either relaxing with college students in a casual bar or clinking glasses with the city's socialites. It is because of these jazz music clubs in Taiwan, jazz was promoted gradually around Taiwan and Taiwanese jazz musicians had opportunities to perform.
When jazz in Taiwan reached a new peak around 2000, many distinctive jazz bands emerged. One of the featured jazz band in Taiwan is Skyline jazz band(Skyline 天際線融合爵士樂團). Skyline absorbs a variety of music elements from around the world and brings innovative concepts and skills into its album as it interprets all the music styles unique to each culture. The band is also devoted to promoting Jazz music from Taiwan via online platforms and social media. It has more than 18,000 fans on Facebook, becoming the most followed Jazz band in Taiwan. It also has a multinational fan base on YouTube.
This year, Skyline Nominated 2 Awards in 18th Independent Music Awards11 Apr, 2020. Let us look back the path Skyline walked and see how they won recognition in the world of jazz internationally. Founded in 2003, Skyline had grown slowly because all the members had other jobs in hands. Skyline launched "Alchemy", its 10th Anniversary Tour(｢點十成金」十周年全台巡迴演出), and created great resonance among fans. Thus the band decided to release its debut album "City Glide" in 2014. Since the album released, Skyline has received wide acclaim from home and abroad for its diverse music elements and mature urban Jazz style. In addition to being nominated for the Best New Artist at Golden Indie Music Awards (GIMA) in 2014, the band was among the world's top 12 bands at the 3rd Cotai Jazz and Blues Festival in Macau in the same year and then invited to perform live at the 2015 Java Jazz Festival, the world's biggest Jazz music festival.
Skyline released its third studio album “City Explorations” (｢City Explorations 城市探險」)in 2018 - a breakthrough album marking the band’s 15th anniversary blending Jazz, classical and world music, containing the music elements such as traditional Chinese, Japanese, Indian, African, European (Middle Age), Flamingo, Tango, Latin, Chill-out, Avant-garde Rock with joint efforts by top-notch musicians as well as a Grammy-award-winning post-production team (Bob Ludwig, Craig Burbidge and Michele "Miki" Paciulli). The album is nominated as "Best Instrumental Recording Album of the Year" by Golden Melody Award (GMA), "Best Jazz Album of the Year" by Golden Indie Music Awards, "Best Jazz Producer" by Independent Music Awards (IMAs) and won Silver Medal of Album, Band and Jazz Fusion from Global Music Awards . Also, the band partnered with Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO POPS) and classical-crossover music master Joe Che-Yi Lee to begin a groundbreaking "Symphojazz"(｢Symphojazz 古典交響融合爵士跨界音樂會」) tour blending Jazz with symphony orchestra in major concert halls around Taiwan, embarking an unprecedented music journey featuring original jazz, classical and world music. Right after the tour, the band released its 2nd live album and DVD/BD "Symphojazz".
Recognized for "City Explorations" in the "Jazz Producer" and "Symphojazz" in the "Live Performance Album" category, Skyline is among the 400 artists nominated in The 18th IMAs by fans and industry, in more than 100 Album, Song, EP, Music Producer, Music Video and Design categories. By propelling Taiwan’s original music onto the international Jazz scene, it is Skyline’s wish that it is not the Skyline from Taiwan but Skyline of the world!
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2020 The 18th Independent Music Awards
- Best Performance Album / "City Explorations" Skyline Jazz Band
- Best Jazz Producer/ "Symphojazz" Skyline Jazz Band (WINNER)
Watch:
1. Live album and DVD/BD "Symphojazz"
｢Symphojazz 古典交響融合爵士跨界音樂會｣ live DVD/BD 數位音樂發行
2.Dream Storm (from Skyline Jazz Band & TSO "Symphojazz" LIVE)
夢之風暴
3.Mountain Cloud (from Skyline Jazz Band & TSO "Symphojazz" LIVE)
戀戀山嵐