Marking the 40th anniversary of the friendship city relationship between Shanghai and Hamburg, the Landesjugendjazzorchester Hamburg presented its concert Suspended Blues in Shanghai, with performances at the Grand Neobay Cultural Arts Center on April 6 and at Fudan University on April 8.

The event is part of the international music exchange performance season of the 41st Shanghai Spring International Music Festival.

The orchestra, composed of 21 musicians under the age of 25, performs in a classic big band format. Under the direction of music director Jorn Marcussen-Wulff, the ensemble explored the theme of "Modern Tradition", revisiting the golden age of jazz in the 1960s while presenting contemporary works from Europe and the United States, with rich textures and strong stage presence.

The concert paid tribute to jazz greats Bill Holman and Maria Schneider, bridging classic big band traditions with modern jazz orchestration. Through refined arrangements and expressive performances, the orchestra bridged past and present while highlighting the vitality of contemporary jazz.

At the Grand Neobay Cultural Arts Center, a local choir of women entrepreneurs joined the orchestra to perform the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower, blending jazz elements with traditional melodies. At Fudan University, the orchestra performed a jazz-infused rendition of Jasmine Flower during the encore, with students and faculty joining in the singing.

Marcussen-Wulff said that language differences do not matter because music is a language everyone can understand, and expressed hope that audiences can feel its beauty and become part of it.

Sources: Fudan University, Xinmin Evening News