Dai Liang, also known as A Bu, a 16-year-old student at New York's Juilliard School, is seen by some as a rising star in China's jazz music scene.(Photo provided to China Daily)
In September 2013, American pianist Chick Corea performed at the annual Shanghai Jazz Festival.
To everyone's surprise, the Grammy-winning pianist invited a 14-year-old Chinese boy to play four hands with him. The improvisation was applauded by the audience.
The boy is Dai Liang, also known as A Bu. To express his excitement of working with the great pianist, he wrote a piece of music on returning to Beijing, titled Meet Mr Chick Corea.
Dai, now 16, is ready for his first tour of the Chinese mainland in May.
Along with Japanese bassist Kengo Nakamura and drummer Ryan. J. Lee, the trio will play Dai's original compositions as well as his arrangement of Chinese song Butterflies Fly in Pairs by Cantonese composer Chen Peixun. The song is part of his second album by the same name that will be released later in the year.
Dai is a student of classical piano and jazz at New York's Juilliard School.
He met Nakamura in New York last year and they played at a studio in the city. Lee played with Dai in France in 2014.
"We have never performed together as a trio. So I am very excited about the tour," Dai tells China Daily.
His first album, 88 Tones of Black and White, was out in 2014. It includes songs such as Giant Step that are known for difficult chord progressions.
"In the past two years, I have listened to it many a time. I'm not satisfied with the solo part I've played and I wouldn't call the album successful. But it was an unforgettable experience. It absolutely helped me to establish a new understanding of music," says Dai.
The pianist has written more than 20 original compositions, including To Kurt, one of his favorite works dedicated to a good friend, and Hope, a song he took a year to write.
Born in Beijing, Dai began training in classical piano after he walked into a music shop with his parents and pointed to the biggest instrument he could see - a piano - at age 4. Before he turned 10, he had already enrolled into the primary school of the Central Conservatory of Music in the city.
"When we found that he enjoyed playing impromptu for hours after finishing the practice sessions assigned by his teachers, we decided to support his dream," says Dai Bin, his father.
Dai Bin invited Chinese pianist Kong Hongwei, who formed one of the country's pioneering jazz bands, Golden Buddha, to teach his son for more than five years.
Zhang Youdai, a longtime promoter of jazz music, was in the audience when Dai Liang won the first prize at Switzerland's Parmigiani Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in 2015, the first Chinese musician to do so.
"Besides awards, he enjoys playing for audiences," says Zhang, who is also a host on Chinese radio show All That Jazz.
"I saw him as someone who was about to change China's jazz scene."
Dai Bin also took his son to many concerts and introduced him to musicians. That atmosphere helped his interest in music, according to Zhang.
Other than that, young Chinese musicians today are better exposed to music scenes in different countries as they travel more, even study music abroad in larger numbers and have more options for training in China.
"So when they grow up and become professional artists, they will represent Chinese music in different styles and have dialogues with international artists," adds Zhang.
With two more years left for Dai Liang at Juilliard before going to university, he says he is open to all kinds of music and that he plays in chamber concerts, too.
Besides playing music, he enjoys spending time with friends and going to concerts and theaters in New York.
"My goal isn't just around jazz piano. I want to spread my music to the whole world and let people feel the happiness that comes with listening to music. I love playing standard jazz, but that is only a part of my musical influence," says Dai Liang.
