To discover the music of Stephanie Chou feels much like first discovering one of the greats, like Bessie Smith or Ella Fitzgerald—the music produces a tingle down the spine as our ears fill with the sounds of genius that will live on far into the future.

Saxophonist, chanteuse, storyteller and mathematician Chou caught up with SJZ to tell us about her upcoming show at The SJZ Break Room.

“It’s Asian jazz fusion music from across my various albums’” says Chou. The show will also include songs from “Comfort Girl,” her stunning song cycle about the forgotten history of Chinese “comfort women,” who were abducted and sold into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during World War II.

Believing that art has the power to change the world, the Chinese-American artist crafts work that captures the ears and attention. Originally a Math major, Chou travelled to China to study language, but ended up “mostly playing with local musicians,” which not only changed her career trajectory to that of professional musician, but would end up defining her signature style.

Known for music that blends traditional Chinese instruments and melodies with western jazz instruments and song styles, Chou’s music and cross disciplinary workshops also embrace mathematical concepts. Her album Asymptote (a mathematical term that means a line that a curve will move infinitely toward, but never reach) presented jazz and pop interpretations of traditional Chinese songs. If Asymptote was a painting, it would be a landscape: the music creates both a sense of place and dimension. That effort is deeply listenable and received high critical acclaim, as did her infectiously catchy 2020 pop song, “Millennial Girl.”   She will also present some fun math songs like the “Continuum Hypothesis,” who was commissioned by a local Bay Area math nerd.

Chou’s dizzying array of talent is contrasted by a down-to-earth persona as she talks about her influences (vast and voraciously consumed), her skills (she sings in Mandarin and English, and plays both piano and sax) her ancestry (her dad is first gen American while her mom is an immigrant) and her upcoming show, which she describes as “Chinese folk songs combined with jazz influences.”

“Stephanie Chou is a genuine triple-threat in the music business,” gushes music critic Thomas Starter of The Gazette, “A multi-instrumentalist, she plays alto saxophone and piano at the level of virtuosity, and also sings in an expressive, highly personable manner with a wide range. Chou’s work challenges expectations and defies categorization, but its brilliance in terms of conceptualization and performance makes the music compelling and wholly enjoyable listening...Simply exquisite.”

Performing with her jazz fusion quintet, Chou showcases her versatility through her gorgeous, dynamic vocals and exquisite saxophone playing. Rounding out the ensemble that will be playing at the Break Room will be Andy Lin on erhu and viola, Hyuna Park on piano, Bryan Copeland on acoustic and electric bass and Ronan Itzik on drums.

Stephanie Chou
Sat, Nov 9 at 8pm
SJZ Break Room

sanjosejazz.org/tickets