Music | Macau Jazz Week returns with world-class lineup

Martin Taylor (left) and Ulf Wakenius

Reaching its sixth year, the Macau Jazz Week, an annual event held by Macau Jazz Promotion Association, is currently ongoing and will run until December 16.
This year, the event has a world-class lineup highlighted by names such as Martin Taylor and Ulf Wakenius, the head of the organizing association, Mars Lei, told the Times.

“We are truly excited to make this a great event once again. We have, of course the headliners, world-class guitarists Martin Taylor and Ulf Walenius, but also Eugene Pao from Hong Kong and many others.”

“We also invited a number of Asian talents from Taiwan and from Malaysia [Hope Yeh and Junji Delfino respectively] and we also partnered with local schools and other organizations to feature local talents in the Jazz Week,” Lei said, adding, “our idea is to build [through the Jazz Week] a platform for music lovers and appreciators.”

Regarding the turnout of the audience, Lei said, “it is difficult to predict as the concerts are free admission and sometimes Macau is a bit unpredictable, but we hope to have [many] people attending.”

The organizer also added that for the headliners of the festival “we never worry with those as [for sure] we always have full house for those. But we hope to also have a full- house for the other concerts as the venue [Don Pedro V Theatre] is also not a very large one.”

Today will see one of the bigger concerts when the trio of the “The Guitar Legacy”- Martin Taylor, Ulf Wakenius & Eugene Pao – hit the stage at D. Pedro V at 8p.m.

Taylor, with over 40 years of experience and 30 albums under his belt, is the most famous name of this year’s event. The veteran guitar player has been widely revered by fellow musicians and fans and received a MBE award (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for services in jazz music in 2002.
Sharing the stage will be the Swedish guitar player Ulf Wakenius, an exclusive artist of German label ACT with an impressive number of records spanning his career. Wakenius had, in the past for several occasions, filled the guitar chair of Joe Pass in the legendary Oscar Peterson Quartet.
Chinese jazz icon Pao is considered one of the greatest jazz influences in and beyond his home city, Hong Kong. Jazz fans would be happy to see him play again in Macau, after his appearance last year as the guitarist of the Asian Jazz All Stars Power Quartet.

Another concert that Lei says is not to be missed is the closing of the Jazz Week on December 16. The closing show will include a traditional jam session where local musicians will perform with guests at the amphitheater of Taipa House-Museum.