[Listen to Jo-Yu Chen in the Nextplayer]
A native of Taiwan, Jo-Yu Chen, New York-based jazz pianist/composer, began her formal musical training on piano at the age of five and oboe at the age of nine. In 1990, she moved to New York City to study oboe and piano at the prestigious Juilliard School. After being exposed to this diverse environment in New York, an urge to explore other music genre besides classical slowly revealed itself. In May 2005, after Jo-Yu Chen received her doctorate in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University, she decided to depart from classical music and jumped into the unknown world of jazz, her secrete passion.
The adventure began in Spring 2007 when she enrolled in New School for jazz studies for intensely 2 years. In 2009, Jo-Yu Chen released her first jazz piano trio album produced by renowned Sam Yahel and collaborated with the most sought-after rising bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Tommy Crane. The album included five originals, one Taiwanese folk song and standards. She successfully produced her own jazz tours in Taiwan in 2007 and 2009. The performance venues were set at the most prestigious concert halls in Taiwan, such as National Concert Hall (Taipei), National Recital Hall (Taipei), Chung-Shan Hall (Taichung), Zhi-Shan Hall (Kaoxiong), National Chiao Tung University (Xing-Ju), and Social Education Hall (Tainan). The music was very well-received and generated great buzz in the press.
While touring, she was also invited to give lectures at several universities, the renowned Eslite bookstores, and Music Aesthetic Association. Furthermore, she was interviewed at more than ten radio shows with major radio stations in Taiwan, including nationwide BBC, VOH, E-Classical, FM-New, Classical 97.7 and Sunny Station.
