Saturday, January 8, 2011, 11:15p
Venue: (Le) Poisson Rouge
Address: 158 Bleecker Street btw Sullivan/Thompson
Jen Shyu will be the vocal to perform with STEVE COLEMAN & FIVE ELEMENTS at Winter Jazz Fest. Born in Illinois from Taiwanese and East Timorese parents, Jen Shyu is a soloist and bandleader now based in NY, and has established herself as a pioneering and original voice in the improvisational, experimental jazz, and creative music and multidisciplinary worlds. Shyu has worked with innovators such as Anthony Braxton, Mark Dresser, Dave Burrell, and currently records and tours with saxophonist/composer Steve Coleman and Five Elements since appearing on his latest albums Harvesting Semblances and Affinities (Pi Recordings 2010) and Lucidarium and Weaving Symbolics (Label Bleu 2005 & 2006). Jen has also worked closely with actress/performance artist Soomi Kim on her award-winning piece Lee/gendary inspired by Bruce Lee, where Jen composed for and performed with Soomi at the the Beckett Theatre as part of the first National Asian American Theatre Festival.
Aside from locally at venues such as Brooklyn Academy of Music and Lincoln Center and internationally throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, Jen was a MacDowell Colony National Endowment for the Arts Fellow in 2008-2009 and has been awarded fellowships from the Asian Cultural Council, Jerome Foundation, the Bronx Council on the Arts, and special commissions from Roulette Space & the Jazz Gallery, for which she collaborated with choreographer/dancer Satoshi Haga. She has done extensive music research in Cuba, Brazil, Taiwan, China, and most recently, East Timor.