Dive into a night of soul-stirring melodies that celebrates the roots and reach of American blues while tracing its unexpected echoes in Chinese popular music of the 1930s–1950s (shidaiqu). 

This journey from East to West takes on new depth with special guest Harlem Slim, a New York–based Delta blues musician whose raw, earthy sound channels the origins of the American blues. His performance anchors the night in the Mississippi Delta’s timeless traditions, creating a powerful dialogue with The Red Pavilion Jazz Band’s reimagining of earlier shidaiqu classics.

The band also explores the reverse influence—how American jazz and blues once imagined Chinese and Chinese American culture through songs like “Who’ll Chop Your Suey When I’m Gone” and “Chinatown My Chinatown”, reflecting both fascination and stereotype. These works add a fascinating historical layer, revealing how the blues itself absorbed and projected visions of Chinese life and Chinatowns of the early 20th century.

Together, Harlem Slim and The Red Pavilion Jazz Band weave a transcontinental story that honors the shared emotional language of two musical worlds shaped by history, migration, and the search for soulful expression.