About Jia Peng Fang

JIA PENG FANG (Chinese name:贾鹏芳 Traditiona Chinese name:l賈鵬芳) was born in the year 1958 in the town Jams in the Helong Jiang Province of China, and got his first Erhu at the age of eight in 1965 - the year that marked the start of the Cultural Revolution. Jams, a town about thirty hours by train from Beijing, situated close to the Russian border, was not excluded from the ravages wrought by the Cultural Revolution. In fact, how Jia chanced upon the Erhu was through his enlistment into the Maoist Propaganda Corp. When he was sixteen, he was helped by his brother to travel to Beijing to study with professional Erhu players. At that time in China, people were not permitted to move their registers, and it was not possible for someone in the village to simply move into the city. From the ages of sixteen to eighteen, Jia could not get his food rations but made himself a small enclosure, about a meter big on his aunt's veranda and devoted himself to practicing his Erhu day in and day out. He was determined to become a professional Erhu player. In time, he became good enough to play the sub for the teacher he was studying under. But on the date of the exam for enlisting in the Navy Song and Dance Band, the great Karasan Earthquake struck and the exam was canceled, destroying Jia's hope of joining. About half a year later, as a part of the Cultural Revolution Policy, he was forced back to his homeland Jams to labor on the farmland. After the Cultural Revolution blew over and the country settled down, a letter reached him. It was from Jia's former teacher advising him to enter the music academy. After going back to Beijing, he was chosen from among over five hundred applicants to enter the Central Music Academy誷 Folk Music Department. An examiner at the examination, a concert master of the China Central Folk music Orchestra, strongly suggested that Jia should try out for their orchestra. He arranged for Jia誷 registry in the city and made sure he would be paid for his living expenses. Suddenly Jia found himself starting a life of a professional Erhu player. Jia busied himself rediscovering the traditional arts, which had been denied by the Cultural Revolution, as he continued his enlightening performances as an Erhu soloist and then a sub concertmaster of the orchestra. Then in 1988, to seek new possibilities for his music, he left for Japan with just a suitcase in one hand and his Erhu in the other. He took on many kinds of part time work until his first break came, through meeting with the musician Katsuhisa Hattori. Hattori fell in love with Jia's talent and the tones of the Erhu and invited him to take part in his album productions and concert activities, thereby expanding Jia's world of musical activities. Jia entered around this time in the Master of Arts Degree Program in Music at the Tokyo University of Arts. In 1997, his brilliant co-performance with the orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York solidified his position in the world of music. Also in June of 1998, he made his debut album "RIVER" with the Pacific Moon label, which blended Western music with the Chinese folk instrument. The high quality of the work won him a high acclaim in Japan and abroad, as well as proving to be a commercial success. In 1999, the concept was further developed in the Pacific Moon album "RAINBOW." It proved to be even more successful than the first album, both in Japan and abroad. The third album from Pacific Moon, "FARAWAY...", was released in January of 2001. This "Best Album" contains a selection from the first three albums, and also the recording of the co-performance with the pianist Naoyuki Onda, live from the studio of the American national FM program "Echoes." Presently, Jia is teaching how to play the Erhu to over a hundred students as he continues to work in the genres of jazz, classics, making movie sound tracks, conducting live stage performances, recording and pursuing the unending potentials of his music. Pacific Moon Records 和平之月 (Chapter One)： 　　01. Shichahai In The Morning 什刹海之晨 　　02. Mirage Of The Fall 梦迹沙河 　　03. River 河 　　04. Silent Moon 宁月 　　05. Reflection Of The Lake 杏林湖畔 　　06. A Smiling Moon 月牙五更 　　07. Maya 麻耶 　　08. Breath Of Night 松花晚风 　　09. Moonlight Night 月夜 　　10. For Tomorrow's Children 明天的孩子 虹 Rainbow (Chapter Ttwo)： 　　01. Rainbow 虹 　　02. Light Dance 流光 　　03. Memory Of Childhood 童年回忆 　　04. In The Garden 游园 　　05. Night Of Beijing 北京之夜 　　06. Dawn 晨曦 　　07. Riverside 河畔 　　08. Homeward 归途 　　09. Sweet Dreams 甜梦 　　10. Deep Blue 深蓝 　　11. In Silence 寂静 　　12. End Of The Rainbow 虹桥的尽头 遥 Faraway （Chapter three in 2002) 　　01. Firefly 萤 　　02. Sirius 天狼星 　　03. A Water Lily 睡莲 　　04. Back To Tokyo 回到东京 　　05. Er Quan Ying Yue 二泉映月 　　06. Snow Line 山雪 　　07. The Wind Of Liudao 柳岛之风 　　08. A Ditty From Henan 河南小曲 　　09. Nostalgia 怀乡曲 　　10. Pure 清秋 　　11. Our Home 我们的家 翔 Sho 　　01. Birdsong 空山鸟语 　　02. Distant Thunder 远雷 　　03. Tomorrow 明日 　　04. Exotic Garden 东方花园 　　05. A Road In Early Spring 阳春小径 　　06. Ryoshu 旅愁 　　07. Yang Guan San Die 阳关三叠 　　08. Daybreak 晓 　　09. Air Mail 远方的书信 　　10. Reunion 再会 　　11. Shu Ying Po Suo 树影婆娑 　 月光 Moonlight （in 2006） 　　 01. Winter River ふゆのかわ 冬之河 　　02. Moonlight げっこう 月光 　　03. Furusato ふるさと 郷 　　04. Tango Of Asia タンゴ オブ エイジア 　　05. Forever とわに 永远に 　　06. Mai Kyoku まいきょく 舞曲 　　07. What A Beautiful World てんちそうそう 天地苍々 　　08. Ripples さざ波 　　09. Cherry Blossoms さくら 桜 　　10. Summer Of Jiamusi ジャムスの夏 浪漫 Roman 　　01. Musashi 武藏 　　02. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso 新天堂乐园 　　03. Tema d'Amore 爱的主题曲 　　04. Deborah's Theme 丁不拉风的挽歌 　　05. Romance 浪漫 　　06. Playing Love 高奏爱情 　　07. Toto E Alfredo 托托与埃费多 　　08. Malena 玛莲娜 　　09. Melancholy 悲壮史歌 　　10. Musashi (Reprise) 武藏 休日 Holiday 　 　　1. 谁も寝てはならぬ (Nessun Dorma) 　　2. ひまわり 　　3. Smile 　　4. My Favorite Things 　　5. 枯叶 　　6. A Stranger In Paradise 明天 tomorrow ( in 2008 ) 　　01. 黎明(れいめい) DAYBREAK 　　02. 黄昏の诗(たそがれのうた) DUSK 　　03. 上海之夜(シャンハイナイト) SHANGHAI NIGHT 　　04. 明天(ミンテェン) TOMORROW 　　05. サマーダンス SUMMER DANCE 　　06. 远い记忆(とおいきおく) MEMORIES 　　07. 潮风に吹かれて(しおかぜにふかれて) BAYSIDE 　　08. エレジー ELEGY 　　09. 天马(ペガサス) PEGASUS 　　10. 绊(きずな) BOND 　 http://www.jia-pengfang.com/english （English） http://jiapengfang.idlife.net/ （正體中文） http://www.jia-pengfang.com/ （日本語） http://weibo.com/jiapengfang （简体中文）（@浪漫二胡贾鹏芳）