Get In The Groove

The Jazz Association Singapore, led by maestro Jeremy Monteiro, turns five this year—and in that short time, it has accomplished so much, including promoting jazz to a wider audience and nurturing local talents. We meet four young musicians who are set to take the jazz scene in Singapore into the next stage

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

WEIXIANG TAN

ASSOCIATE MUSIC DIRECTOR OF JAZZ ASSOCIATION SINGAPORE

He may have had a late start in jazz but Weixiang Tan more than makes up for it through sheer hard work.

“I’ve always held that curiosity and obsession are necessary traits for the aspiring jazz musician—asking a ton of questions, which leads to a ton of answers and a ton of work, which you’d happily do because of your obsession,” shares Tan, who started piano lessons at age 15 but it wasn’t until he graduated from law school at the National University of Singapore (NUS) that he pursued music seriously. “And this never really goes away as you ascend your personal musical Parnassus, but perhaps the goals get loftier.”

He counts Thelonius Monk alumnus Victor Gaskin as his mentor. “I think the most important connection that I’ve made through my interaction with him was that music is meant to be felt, and acquiring that ‘emotional weight’ requires deliberation, introspection and research to find out what works, why it works and how you can replicate it as meaningfully and authentically as possible.”

As the associate music director of the Jazz Association Singapore (Jass), Tan works primarily with its Youth Orchestra (Jassyo!), “essentially bringing the younger musicians into our fold”. One of the organisation’s signature events is the Lion City Youth Jazz Festival. He hopes to continue “Jass’ growth to the grassroots and do more outreach to the young and the underserved. We’d like jazz to percolate everywhere, as Singapore deserves to be a beacon of jazz in this part of the world”.

FIRST LOVE