Interview
Jazz musicians Lam Chak Seng and Chan Hon Chong told The Macau Post Daily in an exclusive interview yesterday at a café in Nam Van that they will perform as a duo at hush!* this upcoming Saturday.
Chan, a local jazz guitarist, studied at The Collective School of Music in New York and the Beijing Institute of Modern Music. Since graduation, he has been performing mainly in Guangzhou, Hengqin, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macau. Chan recorded his first album “Travelling Coffee” in New York in 2019, which was released the following year.
Lam, a local jazz saxophonist and flutist, who is also currently based in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in the Netherlands as a master’s student with a full scholarship. Besides being invited to perform at various festivals, sessions and for jazz big bands, he also hosts master classes in the Greater Bay Area and is preparing to release an album, “Step Forward”, next year.
Both to perform at hush!
Chan and Lam said that they will be performing at the entry to Hac Sa Beach at this Saturday afternoon’s hush! gig. “For a duo, I think the lawn at the entry to the beach is perfect because of its size. We prepared a few jazz fusion tunes for the audience, but the time frame is still quite long because we will be improvising a lot,” Lam said.
Chan said that they composed the tunes themselves which were taken from their respective albums. “Our albums include some hardcore jazz tunes which showcase our jazz musicality. But we chose some easy-listening tunes which are fusion, jazz songs with some pop and rock elements, since we are performing for all sorts of people, and we hope that the songs are digestible and enjoyable for everyone,” Lam added.
Sometimes musicians require the recognition by fellow musicians and audiences during their performance to boost their morale, both said.
“Getting positive feedback after a solo is so vital for jazz musicians. Unfortunately, in Macau most people do not understand jazz and its ‘implicit rules’, if no one claps after solos are finished, it is very awkward for the musicians,” Lam said, adding he hoped that performing outdoors could make the audience more engaged than during an indoor performance.
Music culture nowadays
Economic prosperity in the Greater Bay Area has increased the quality of music education, both said.
Nonetheless, these factors do not make it easier to trigger an increase in music culture, Chan said. “Unfortunately, given the privileged position of Macau in recent decades, I still think that the music atmosphere could be much better than it is now,” Chan added, from the perspective of a jazz musician.
“Yes, there are more music courses at universities, more school bands, more funding overall than in the past, but if you look at the number of musicians that really work in the field, it has stagnated,” Chan said, adding: “Some music students, especially in the mainland, just want to work at a university or in the government. They spend over a million [patacas] on obtaining a doctorate degree. Their aspiration is to have a stable job, not to play great music. The economy has diverted musicians’ focus.”
The mass media and culture have also exerted a huge influence on the choice of path that musicians take, the duo said.
“There is virtually an ‘uncountable’ number of pop singers in the mainland and all the capital flows to them. Pop gigs pay much better than other forms of gigs in general,” Lam said. “Thus, it is not hard to believe that we have always seen almost the same faces of jazz musicians for more than a decade already, because few are dedicated to the jazz path,” Chan added.
Pandemic, lockdowns – bane of musicians’ lives
According to the twosome, playing in the Greater Bay Area is a necessity since Macau is too small. “Since the COVID-19 pandemic however, Hong Kong is no longer an option, and the frequent lockdowns have been devastating to musicians,” Chan said. “Regional communication between musicians is vital to the level of music,” Lam added
“A performance is not as easy as it looks: practice sessions, making monthly schedules and, of course, good luck. When your dedication meets an opportunity of a lifetime – but it was cancelled at the last moment, it breaks you completely, and we have so many examples of this happening in these three years,” Chan said, adding that it is difficult for musicians to look for other jobs.
Chan and Lam said that they were relatively lucky as local musicians because it is convenient for them to move around. “We are glad that we can share the stage at hush! We are also thankful for those who helped and supported us all the way so that we can still commit to our passion in the difficult times,” the duo said.
*Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and co-organised by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) and the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the “hush! 2022 Concerts” started on October 22 and end this coming Sunday.
These undated photos show Chan Hon Chong playing the guitar and Lam Chak Seng playing the saxophone.
– Photos provided by Chan and Lam
Lam and Chan play in a quartet at a jazz festival in Guangdong in 2020.
These undated photos show Lam Chak Seng and Chan Hon Chong playing as a duo in Macau.
