The story of Coco has been written over and over again by journalists worldwide. He is known already across the world in his jazz circles. His fame is only an extension of his friendships that he creates with ease. The unknown side to Coco is not Coco the Jazz singer, is not Coco the event organizer, not even Coco the party animal. Its Coco the normal man with an unusual talent. In these last 3 years its possible to witness what it is about Coco which keeps him at the forefront of Shanghai nightlife, of Shanghai Jazz. At 19 he produced his first album "Heart String", he composed all the songs himself and played solo piano. Two years ago he made a demo album consisting of experimental jazz, this sounds gritty, rough, unpolished - a priceless collection. In preparation for the Hong Kong and Singapore Arts Festival back in February of this year he was the vocalist for four tracks on the album "Shanghai Jazz", distributed by EMI. This lead up to his biggest performance to date, before 1700 people, in Hong Kong and Singapore. Then there is his current project "Dream Situation" which he produced himself. The album, to be released later this year, consists of 1920s and 1930s Jazz songs rearranged to a new style by the talented violinist and composer Peng Fei. All his works have Coco's signature sound but their variety shows the depth of his artistry. At the very center of all this commotion is the man himself who can never see himself as others do. He remains a down to earth normal guy but possesses an unusual drive.It's his creative being, soul, and heart that distinguish Coco. During his formative years this difference made his life very hard, he was the odd one out. In time he learnt how to deal with this, how to turn it to his advantage, he is still the odd one out but people now appreciate the difference, are drawn to it. In any given situation we respond to the stimuli around us and this affects our mood, our thoughts, our memories. With Coco this pattern is usually reversed. He has so much inside of him that he becomes the stimuli, he affects our mood, he gets into our thoughts, and gives us memories. And most of all, he can't turn this off. When he meets another great Jazz musician, or film director, or friend, or watches a DVD then he will also be touched from the creativity he sees before him. He is thus always humble before other artists and always open to different forms and languages of expression.
Always changing, always experimenting, always busy with old friends, new friends, work colleagues and hopefully staying out of trouble! No one knows what his future will bring, and I guess that is why all eyes are on Coco's because nobody knows what he is going to do next
Picture of Coco from the gallery "Fantasy Party at New Heights - by Lee"
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