From Harlem to Shanghai and Beyond: Min Xiao-Fen, Jay Sanders & Zack Page

“From Harlem to Shanghai and Beyond” is a dynamic fusion of jazz history and Chinese tradition. This collaborative performance featuring Chinese stringed instrument virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen and Asheville jazz scene veterans Jay Sanders and Zack Page fuse Golden Age-era jazz with the music of 1930s Shanghai, China. This adventurous project takes listeners to the Golden Age of jazz in 1930s Shanghai, where trumpeter Buck Clayton’s Kansas City Swing entwined with the pioneering melodies of composer Li Jinhui, the father of Chinese popular music. In this exploration of lost musical legends, Min weaves the vibrant, timeless sounds of Count Basie and Duke Ellington, along with her compositions and those of Jay Sanders. The collaboration honors the past while redefining contemporary jazz.

Since moving to Asheville in 2021, Min Xiao-Fen has become a fixture in the region’s music scene without compromising the artistry and sound of her native Nanjing, China. Classically trained in China, Min Xiao-Fen served as a principal pipa soloist at Nanjing Traditional Music Orchestra and was an in-demand interpreter of traditional music before moving to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music. NPR Weekend Edition lauded her as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and Jazz Times hailed her as “a pioneer integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.”In 2023, the Smithsonian Institution commissioned Min to compose scores for two historical Chinese silent films from the 1920s. Other notable projects include the 2021 album “White Lotus,” her original score to the 1934 silent film “The Goddess” and the deeply personal 2017 release “Mao, Monk and Me,” which explores the music of Thelonious Monk. Min has worked with John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Randy Weston, Björk, and many others. She was honored as a Grammy U Mentor from 2023 to 2025.

Jay Sanders is an Asheville musician, composer, producer, and bandleader known for his effortless ability to fuse jazz, rock, blues, metal, and African influences with years of improvisational study and training. He has recorded more than two dozen records and toured extensively across the U.S. and internationally as a member of Acoustic Syndicate, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Donna the Buffalo, and the E. Normous Trio. He has also worked with the ETHEL string quartet and scored several independent films. His solo recording debut, “Evanescent,” was released July 2024.

Zack Page has played bass professionally since the mid-’90s. He’s performed extensively across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, with theatrical productions and bands, and recorded in Asheville, Nashville and New York City.