{"id":122756,"date":"2026-11-01T10:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T02:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazzmore.cn\/articles\/blue-note-records-china-debut-compilation-nows-the-time-contemporary-chinese-jazz\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T10:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T02:04:48","slug":"blue-note-records-china-debut-compilation-nows-the-time-contemporary-chinese-jazz","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/jazzmore.cn\/en\/articles\/blue-note-records-china-debut-compilation-nows-the-time-contemporary-chinese-jazz\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Note Records China Releases Debut Compilation Now\u2019s the Time, Featuring Six Contemporary Chinese Jazz Tracks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Note Records China released its first compilation, Now\u2019s The Time: An Anthology Of Contemporary Chinese Jazz, Vol. 1, on October 23. According to the label\u2019s press release, the six-track collection was made by three producers: Blue Note Records president and Grammy-winning producer Don Was, Chinese music producer Zhang Yadong, and JZ Music founder Ren Yuqing.<\/p>\n<h2>Recording Sessions from Beijing to Shanghai<\/h2>\n<p>The press release says Don Was traveled from the United States to China for the project, meeting the participating musicians in Shanghai and Beijing and taking part in every recording session\u2014from Red Hand\u2019s improvisation in a Beijing studio to the more detail-focused performances by Shanghai musicians. Zhang Yadong and Ren Yuqing brought a local perspective, shaping the production around each musician\u2019s individual voice. Their shared aim was to connect the sound of Chinese jazz with international production standards.<\/p>\n<h2>Six Tracks<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Red Hand, \u201cArc Light,\u201d composed by the band\u2019s pianist Xia Jia, opens the compilation.<\/li>\n<li>Zhang Xiongguan, \u201cOne Is Too Many,\u201d a lyrical piece balancing pop melody with jazz harmony.<\/li>\n<li>Li Xiaochuan, \u201cHarvest,\u201d drawing on folk art from Jinshan District in Shanghai.<\/li>\n<li>Xu Zhihan, Xu Zhitong and electronic musician Gooooose, \u201cHaven of the Wandering Desert,\u201d with Eastern aesthetics and a cinematic sense of imagery.<\/li>\n<li>Wang Chenhuai and Italian pianist Moreno Donadel, \u201cSong For My Family,\u201d a bass-and-piano duet.<\/li>\n<li>Eugene Sun, \u201cWhere It All Began,\u201d an exploration of intuition and self-discovery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Opening Track and Red Hand<\/h2>\n<p>Red Hand made their debut at Beijing\u2019s D22 club in 2006 and have since become a defining force in contemporary Chinese jazz. In 2025, they completed a national tour marking their twentieth anniversary. The opening track, \u201cArc Light,\u201d was written by the band\u2019s core member and pianist Xia Jia. The press release quotes critic Nate Chinen describing Xia\u2019s improvisation as \u201csoulful, harmonically forward, and painterly in its restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What the Three Producers Say<\/h2>\n<p>Ren Yuqing said in the press release that, more than a century after jazz began, the music is blooming again, and the sound of Chinese jazz is part of that renewal. He hopes the world will hear both the music and the creativity behind it. Zhang Yadong described the collaboration as a rare meeting and exchange of ideas, and said the compilation preserves the emotional world and artistic exploration of today\u2019s musicians.<\/p>\n<p>Now\u2019s the Time is the first compilation released by Blue Note Records China. Its six tracks span avant-garde improvisation, folk narratives, cultural exchange and personal expression.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenote.com\/blue-note-records-china-announces-nows-the-time-an-anthology-of-contemporary-chinese-jazz-vol-1\/\">Blue Note Records press release, \u201cBLUE NOTE RECORDS CHINA RELEASES \u2018NOW\u2019S THE TIME\u2026\u2019\u201d (October 23, 2026)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Note Records China\u2019s debut compilation, Now\u2019s the Time: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Jazz, Vol. 1, features six tracks produced by Don Was, Zhang Yadong and Ren Yuqing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122232,"template":"","article_category":[3279,3285],"article_tag":[3297,3302],"class_list":["post-122756","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-news-en","article_category-jazz-news","article_tag-album-releases","article_tag-new-albums"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - 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