Last night (June 17 2015) I was out having a late dinner with my friend Joshua at the highly recommended Kota's Kitchen, and afterwards we strolled over to Cotton Club and JZ.  Joshua, who is fairly new to Shanghai, hadn't been to either club, and it was my pleasure to introduce him to the two gems of the city's live music scene. Normally I visit these clubs during my Shanghai music history tour with Flaneur, which happens once a month or so. It was nice to kick back and not be working. First we caught Greg Smith and his band along with singer Denise Mininfield doing a great rendition of a reggae tune, but soon we were out the door and over to JZ, where we were fortunate to catch Coco Zhao and his band the Possicobilities at JZ.  

Coco is one of the most well-known Chinese jazz singers in town, and over the two decades I've known him he has greatly expanded both his repertoire and his skill sets. The latest lineup of the band features Mark Fitzgibbons on piano, Danny Zanker on bass, and Charlie Foldesh on drums--all veterans of Shanghai's jazz scene and outstanding musicians.  The band played a set of old jazz standards and threw in an original by pianist Fitzgibbons, which I wished I'd caught on camera, called "Shanghai Shang-low."  Hopefully next time I'll get a chance to shoot their performance and incorporate it into my ongoing documentary on jazz in Shanghai.  This time I was able to capture two songs on my Canon Powershot, which came out quite well for such a small camera.  I've posted them on youtube. Both clips showcase the skills of the band members including Coco's superb scatting skills.