ZY THE WAY
Zy The Way are a Taiwanese sextet who have been carving out a unique space in the international jazz scene. Their debut A Different Destiny finds the band exploring an exciting and unprecedented fusion of contemporary jazz and traditional Chinese poetry. Compiled by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius in the 5th Century B.C.E., The Book of Classic Poetry is an important link in the long, uninterrupted chain that is China’s unique cultural history. For this project, Zy The Way decided to reimagine these ancient poems with a fresh contemporary perspective and through the kaleidoscopic lens of jazz.
Australian-Taiwanese vocalist and radio personality Caitlin Magee, also known professionally as Cait Lin 凱琳, grew up in 6 countries surrounded by a blend of international sounds. This inspired her to use the voice as her main instrument of storytelling. Magee is a radio host on Taiwan’s only English language radio station, ICRT FM 100.7, hosting a daily afternoon show ‘Sweet Talk’ and the nationally-broadcasted jazz radio show ‘Razzamajazz’ on Sunday nights. She explains a bit of the history behind the book and how it was written.
“In English, the book is called The Book of Classic Poetry. In Chinese, it is called Shijing 詩經 which translates to ‘classic poetry.’ Three thousand years ago, whoever the emperor was at the time would send out scribes across the empire to collect and notate songs and poems. Confucius came along some hundreds of years later and compiled the best of the best and created a book called the Shijing.”
Recorded over the course of a hectic and fruitful, three-day session in the fall of 2020, ‘A Different Destiny’ pulls from the rich tradition of classical Chinese poetry to create a handful of jazz ballads whose subject matter reflects the universality of the human experience. The EP opens with “Joyful Gentlemen”, a beautiful tune led by Magee’s outstanding vocal performance and the elegantly understated playing of Zy The Way’s composer and pianist, Matthew Fullen. In addition to his stellar playing throughout, Fullen played a key role in conceptualizing ‘A Different Destiny’.
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