About Jazz-E| Jazz-E, a new Electrojazz Experiment |
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 Jazz-E: Electro-jazz, Eclectic jazzJazz is quite often classified into bebop, standard jazz, swing or jazz-rock, as it was performed in the 1970s. However, today's jazz also belongs to young musicians who transform and create new sounds by mixing jazz and electronic music.
Former swing artists and deejays find themselves into this new "fish-tank" of sounds and offer a true and innovative creativity that draws younger crowds. The premier avant-garde jazz musician Miles Davis released "On the corner" some time ago, an album in which he blended break beat rhythms with jungle sounds. The advent and widespread availability of computers has pushed even further the limits of sound exploration. To satisfy the largest possible audience, and not leave out any jazz styles, the Jazz-E festival is proud to present a rich and eclectic variety of artists offering a large spectrum of all types of jazz. Jazz-E Festival, Beijing 2008, First Festival of Electro-Jazz Music in China : Jazz fans and new technology crazies, the Chinese haven’t had the chance yet to taste a mix of both: electro-jazz is a stammering musical genre in China. But not for long as the first edition of the Electro-Jazz Festival comes to Beijing from the 5th to the 9th of November 2008 in the heart of the Forbidden City. Jazz-E for electronic but also for eclectic, experimental, expressive… The first edition of the Jazz-E festival will be organized and produced by EyeSight Media, a newly created branch of EyeSight Group, a producer of major events in fashion and the luxury industry (defiles, product launching, openings, exhibitions, special evenings, showrooms…) managed by Thierry Dreyfus, its CEO and artistic manager. Stage artist, specialized in lighting, Thierry Dreyfus was namely recognized for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Yves Saint-Laurent on the Centre Pompidou square in 2002, “Ondes Visibles” in 2005 for the re-opening of the Grand Palais in Paris, “MRB Co-Naissance” on the François Mitterand Library site in 2006 as welll as a great number of defiles for the most prestigious names in fashion. EyeSight Media’s main activities include the development of cultural and musical events abroad, the creation of soundtracks, visual communication and consulting in web communication. The Jazz-E Festival will be its first international achievement, an initiative brought by its founders and managers and their loving passion for jazz and electronic music, Philippe Traht and Michel Lombardo. “Jazz is a very popular musical genre in China but its evolution towards electro-jazz is still very shy” says Michel Lombardo. “Our programming is a barometer of current electro-jazz trends in order to bring these new trends to the Beijing audience but also to enable our guests on stage to get to know a brand new, curious and totally open public: there will definitely be sparks!” The program is mainly based on the vivacity of the electro-jazz scene, with two Chinese bands completing the festival’s featured artists: Dou Wei one of the biggest rock stars in China, always on the search of new sounds and exploring new musical genres, and the Red Hand Jazz Band, a young Beijing quintet famous for its improvisations and its talent to communicate with the public. “Since 1989, when new reforms were implemented allowing the mobility of the population, the new social class of “young professionals” among which the Chinese jazz audience can be found, has left the countryside to end up in large and sometimes new cities, far away from its traditional circle: family, work and friends”, explains Philippe Traht. “The loss of their social points of reference had to be compensated by virtual communities brought by new technologies, through the Internet or the cell phone. White collars not only use technology as a means of communication but also as a social tie: electro-jazz perfectly fits this community. As poetry, which, let us not forget is a major art in China, electro-jazz is a music with a strong emotional sensitivity which can have a huge effect on the Chinese public. Even though Chinese people express things differently from us, emotion is there….” In such a context, the “Master classes” organized in the frame of the festival for the students of the BeijingMusicSchool stand to reason. The spontaneity of exchanges and the impossible formatting of electro-jazz music should offer rich moments and build bridges between musicians and students. 10 concerts will be performed over the 4 days on the stage of the Forbidden City Concert Hall, prestigious venue in an emblematic place with a capacity of 1400 people in the heart of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Several private concerts will complete the Jazz-E Festival program. Social network 
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