Growing the market for Jazz

On Nov 4, the Red Groove Project released its second album, Proper Up!. The release was marked with two shows in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively. Chen Nan looks at the history of the band and its founder Lawrence Ku.

When Chinese-American guitarist Lawrence Ku came to Beijing in 1997, he found that the jazz scene in the capital was small but burgeoning.

Ku, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and who had a music degree from the University California, San Diego, soon made friends with local jazz musicians, such as bassist Huang Yong, pianist Xia Jia and saxophonist Liu Yuan and they jammed every weekend.

In 2002, Ku founded his own band, The Red Groove Project, in Beijing and when he moved to Shanghai in 2005, he started the Shanghai version of the band. Decades later, Ku still performs with his band, which has won a devoted following among increasingly cosmopolitan young Chinese.

On Nov 4, 2016, the Red Groove Project released its second album, Proper Up!. The release was marked with two shows in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively, in November and December.

Red Groove Project's debut album, Flow, in 2014, won three nominations at the established Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan that year: Best Instrumental Album, Best Composition and Best Producer.

Compared with its debut album, Proper Up!, which was recorded over May-June 2016, is more about showcasing the band members.