Sino-US online jazz concert pays musical tribute to Edgar Snow

Musicians from China and the United States are jointly presenting an online jazz concert in commemoration of American journalist Edgar Snow on Tuesday night.

The concert is organized by the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation, the Huangpu District International Exchange Center, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai.

Songs on the list include Wilbert Harrison's "Going to Kansas City" and classical Chinese song "A Place Far Away."

Musicians recorded their performances at the Blue Room in Kansas City and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, respectively, and put them together to stage the concert to pay respect to Snow for his contributions in promoting exchanges between the two countries.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Snow is considered "our American Friend" by the Chinese people because he produced the most important Western reporting on the Communist movement in China.

He slipped through the Nationalists' blockade and reached the Chinese Communists' base Yan'an in Shaanxi Province in northcentral China and spent several months there to interview Chairman Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and other Chinese Communist leaders.

His reporting told the untold stories of China to the Western world, and the impact of his book "Red Star Over China" was felt as strongly inside China as in the West.

The concert is also expected to boost mutual understanding between the peoples of the two cities.

Snow came to China in 1928 when jazz also spread in the country.

"As we gather here in the heart of Kansas City, often hailed as the Barbecue and Jazz capital of the world, I am reminded of the power of music and culture to bring people together," said Dwayne Williams, president of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation Board.

"Today, the Board and I are thrilled to welcome you to this historic event."

The Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation was founded in 1974 by Mary Clark Dimond and her husband Dr E Grey Dimond, two years after Snow passed away.

In nearly half a century, the foundation has been working to enhance relationship between China and the US by increasing understanding and friendship between citizens in the spirit and memory of Snow.

It organizes the biennial Edgar Snow Symposium, when international scholars, artists as well as civic, education, business and community leaders from the US and China come together to share information and ideas.

The foundation has also helped distinguished Chinese professors, researchers and performers hold visiting faculty appointments at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and awarded scholarships to assist Chinese students at UMKC as well as UMKC students in China.

Fu Jihong, deputy chairman of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said he wished that Shanghai and Kansas City will take the concert as a starting point to enhance cooperation and carry on the legacy of Snow.

The concert starts at 8:30pm (China time) on Tuesday and those interested can scan the code below to enjoy jazz music.