Singer-songwriter Li Jian

Photos: CFP and courtesy of the event organizers

Cream will always rise to the top. Thanks to the successful Chinese TV program I am a Singer last year, 41-year-old musician Li Jian gained much deserved attention from the public, not only for his talents in composing and singing, but also for his frank and earnest attitude toward life.

Before 2015, Li was already a respectable musician in China. His early song "Yi Sheng You Ni" as a member of the band Shui Mu Nian Hua, released in 2001, has become a classic of Chinese pop.

Since leaving the band in 2002, he has persisted in writing his own compositions in an unhurried manner, with five albums released before 2015.

Meanwhile, a number of his songs have become hits after being covered by famous singers such as Faye Wong. His composition "Chuan Qi" was even covered with English lyrics by Danish band Michael Learns to Rock.

His latest album Li Jian Sixth Album was released last summer. Its lyrics, written by Li during his trips around the world over the last five years, resemble poems.

"Shen Hai Zhi Xun" concerns environmental protection in Africa, "Mei Ruo Li Ming" depicts a mysterious experience in Italy, "Mi Wu" looks at migrant residents in Beijing, while "Xiao Shi De Yue Guang" absorbs some flavor from Scottish folk songs.

Chinese have an old saying that at the age of 40, a person understands the world and has no perplexities. Through this new album, Li conveys his thinking about being 40 and how people appreciate sentiments and emotions at this age.

Date: Saturday, 7:30 pm

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Arena

Address: 1200 Expo Avenue

世博大道1200号

Tickets: 380 yuan ($58.30) to 980 yuan

Call 3899-6688 for details

Jazz guitarist Zhang Xiongguan

Returning to China from the US last summer, Nanjing-born guitarist and composer Zhang Xiongguan is a promising jazz musician in China's music scene. Recently, his first album New Sound from the Past was released, and this Saturday Zhang will take to the stage with a group of jazz wizards to present works from the album.

Zhang graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2013, and after that he went to study at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in the US, where he learned from multi-award-winning pianist Fred Hersch, saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, guitarist Brad Shepik, as well as Miguel Zenón and Jason Moran.

In July 2015, Zhang was invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival Guitar Competition, and in the following months, he became a frequent guest at jazz festivals across China.

The septet album New Sound from the Past was recorded in Wellspring Sound Studio in Boston and includes eight tracks, all composed by Zhang himself.

The name of the album comes from the fact that Zhang favors the hardbop style from the 1950s and 1960s, which was a huge influence in the writing of this new album.

Highlight tracks include "Lights Out," on which Zhang pays tribute to Joe Henderson's work on the Blue Note label in the 1960s; and Tomorrow has Arrived, which is more freestyle in the vein of Ornette Coleman.

Date: Saturday, 9 pm

Venue: On Stage

Address: Room 101, Bldg A2, 570 Huaihai Road West

淮海西路570号A2幢101室

Tickets: 60 yuan for presale and 80 yuan at door

Call 6212-6991 for details

Thai Inspirative

Bringing its latest album Mysteriously Awake, Thai post-rock band Inspirative will visit Shanghai on Sunday for its 2016 China tour.

Formed in 2006, Inspirative was originally a solo project of guitarist Noppanan Panicharoen, who now has extended it to a five-man band, including Amornthep Masawang on bass, Pongpat Phaukwattana on guitar, Sirichai Chanmanklakul on drums, and Wuttipong Huangpetch on piano and vocals.

Its debut full-length album Memories Come Rushing Up to Meet Me Now was released in 2010, following several singles and EPs that won them critical acclaim from indie rock circles around Asia.

Hong Kong-based music website Unite Asia reviewed Inspirative as a "brand-new band to me playing beautifully hypnotic post-rock the way it should be …"

Most of Inspirative's works are instrumental, as the band believes that with instrumental music the listener is given more space to think and imagine.

"All of these thoughts and imaginations are all based on their own experiences in life. The result is a mix of the listener's own personal journey and thoughts conjured by the composer's music and message," said Panicharoen in an interview with Unite Asia.

The debut album serves a channel for audience to recollect experiences, good or bad, in their lives.

The second and latest album Mysteriously Awake sees the band addressing to the phenomenon of sleep paralysis in modern life.

Date: Sunday, 8:30 pm

Venue: Qianshuiwan Culture Center

Address: 179 Yichang Road

宜昌路179号

Tickets: 80 yuan for presale and 120 yuan at door

Call 6266-1110 for details