Last night I returned to the House of Blues and Jazz to catch the band they've currently booked for a three-month stint.  I was hoping to get a chance to talk to some of the musicians about their backgrounds and why they came to Shanghai.  With a little help from friends, that's what happened.

Shanghai has a reputation worldwide--or had one at least--as a Jazz Age metropolis.  Back in the 1920s and '30s, the city attracted great jazz musicians from all over China, Asia, Europe and the United States who played in dozens of ballrooms and nightclubs around the city.  Back in that age, jazz was an integral component of mainstream nightlife in the city, and it was meant for dancing.