Black Sky from Rising by Mavis Pan Quintet

After attending the rehearsal directly by my producer, Ted Nash at Jazz at Lincoln Center, I was deeply moved by the great composer/pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and her husband Lew Tabackin’s long time commitment and love for music and for each other. Inspired by my role model Akiyoshi, who also came from Asian heritage, I decided to incorporate Asian elements in my writing by rearranging the Taiwnese folk song “Black Sky.” This folktale tells a funny story of an old couple quarreling small things in daily life but their love never grows old. How incredibly touching it is to witness a legendary musician couple aging by making beautiful music together, that is a special moment I will never forget.

Mavis Pan is a composer, pianist, singer who presents a blend of East and West, Classical and Jazz, Sacred and Secular. Her travels throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States have gathered flavors of a multitude of cultures, now blended into her compositions, which range from popular to avant-garde, from ballad to art song, from solo instrumental to full orchestra.