Folkmoot LIVE! Blue Pipa Trio: From Harlem to Shanghai and Back

Folkmoot LIVE! is proud to present the Blue Pipa Trio, "From Harlem to Shanghai and Back," a dynamic fusion of jazz history and Chinese tradition. Led by Min Xiao-Fen, one of the world’s great pipa soloists, and joined by the powerhouse Asheville-based duo of guitarist/composer Jay Sanders and bassist Zack Page, this project takes you to the Golden Age of jazz in Shanghai during the 1930s, when Buck Clayton’s Kansas City Swing intertwined with the pioneering melodies of Li Jinhui, the father of Chinese popular music. Read more below.

Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 7 PM, Doors at 6 PM

Listen: https://youtu.be/OXZXxOGrIRM

Donations are Welcome

Folkmoot Friendship Center

112 Virginia Avenue, Waynesville, NC

Iron Wok Food Truck On-Site

In an exploration of lost musical legends, Ms. Min weaves together the vibrant sounds of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and her own unique compositions. Blending jazz with the rich tones of traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa, ruan, and sanxian, Min creates a sound both timeless and groundbreaking. The trio’s innovative sound honors the past while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in jazz today. This debut is more than a performance—it's a cultural odyssey, where swing, improvisation, and passion converge to captivate jazz lovers and adventurous listeners alike.

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Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2,000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist, and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Classically trained in her native China, she served as the principal pipa soloist for the Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in- demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States. There, she forged a new path for her instrument alongside leading figures in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental, and contemporary classical music.

NPR Weekend Edition lauded Ms. Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos,” while JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times praised her singular work, describing it as having “traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.”

In 2023, Min received a prestigious commission from the Smithsonian Institution to compose scores for Romance of the Fruit Peddler and Romance of the Western Chamber, two historical Chinese silent films from the 1920s. She premiered the works with percussionist River Guerguerian on May 6 at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Both scores were recorded and released under the title Metta, with a live performance at the Big Ears Festival on March 24, 2024.

Min’s other notable works include White Lotus (2021), her original score for the 1934 silent film The Goddess, and Mao, Monk and Me (2017), a deeply personal exploration of Thelonious Monk’s music. With From Harlem to Shanghai and Back, her Blue Pipa Trio fuses trumpeter Buck Clayton’s Kansas City swing with the music of Li Jinhui, the “Father of Chinese Popular Music.”

She has curated programs at The Stone and the Museum of Chinese in America in New York and served as artist-in-residence with the Sound of Dragon Society for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and the Creative Music Studio in NYC. Min was also honored as a GrammyU Mentor from 2023 to 2025.

She currently lives in Asheville. For more information, visit www.minbluepipa.com.

Jay Sanders is an Asheville,-based musician, composer, producer, and bandleader known for his effortless ability to fuse jazz, rock, blues, metal, and African influences with years of improvisational study and training. His compositions on guitar and bass lean toward the melodic and sublime, seamlessly traversing peaceful melodicism, free jazz, and cacophonous noise music. His primary influences include Sonny Sharrock, John McLaughlin, Bill Frisell, Dave Holland, Ornette Coleman, and John Hartford.

Jay has recorded more than two dozen albums and toured extensively across the U.S. and internationally as a member of Acoustic Syndicate, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Donna the Buffalo, and the E. Normous Trio. As a composer, he has collaborated with the ETHEL string quartet and Rational Discourse and has scored several independent films.

His solo recording debut, Evanescent, was released on July 12, 2024. An exploration of his diverse influences, Evanescent features seven original compositions, including a tone poem dedicated to the Voyager spacecraft. The album comes to life with contributions from longtime collaborators Justin Ray, Jacob Rodriguez, Casey Driessen, Steve Alford, Zack Page, Evan Marin, and Tyler Housholder.

For more information, visit mindtonicmusic.com.

Zack Page has performed with a wide range of jazz ensembles, theater companies, and the cruise industry, taking him to all 50 U.S. states, the Caribbean, Australia, South America, Europe, and the Far East. In the jazz world, he has had the privilege of playing and recording with Billy Higgins, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, Eddie Daniels, and Babik Reinhardt, son of the legendary gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.

After spending time in Los Angeles and New York City, Zack and his family relocated to Asheville, where he maintains a busy performing and recording schedule alongside many of North Carolina's finest musicians. His current projects include The Page Brothers Band, Noel Freidline and Maria Howell, The Core, and collaborations with numerous Asheville-based singer-songwriters.

Folkmoot LIVE! From Harlem to Shanghai and Back: A Dynamic Fusion of Jazz History and Chinese Tradition

By Folkmoot

Folkmoot LIVE! From Harlem to Shanghai and Back: A Dynamic Fusion of Jazz History and Chinese Tradition

Blue Pipa Trio