Ravish Momin (drums, percussion, loops, voice)

Skye Steele (violin, effects)

Peter Scherr (bass)

Middle Eastern instruments, inflection and inspiration permeate the music Double bass virtuoso Peter Scherr returns to Qingdao this month. Scherr will need no introduction to long-term Qingdao residents; his previous visits with Morty Ferber, Jenny Scheinman and brother Tony Scherr have generated majestic displays of music at venues as varied as Qingdao Concert Hall on Lanshan Lu, the Television Tower in Taidong and the REDSTAR office on Nanjing Lu.

Scherr is a key name in the jazz scene in south China - particularly Hong Kong, his home and the base of his company, Creative Music In China. Through his organisation, and this time in association with the American Consulate in Taiwan, he brings a diverse and eclectic mix of musicians and bands, whose roots are primarily in the New York jazz scene. This time, Qingdao welcomes the Trio Tarana, a percussionheavy, experimental and improvisational act with a huge range of cultural influences.

Lead member and percussionist Ravish Momin was born in Mumbai, India and spent many of his formative years in Bahrain, Australia and the UK before settling in the USA. The influence of his early days on the music the band produces is plain to see, as Middle Easterninstruments, inflection and inspiration permeate the music, adding a genuinely unique twist to Scherr's blues/jazz-oriented basslines. Opting out of a career in engineering to pursue his art, Momin has become a revered figure in world music, his earlier work with Trio having been described by All About Jazz as, "Without precedent in the world of improvised music." A true synthesis of North African, South and East Asian motifs, the trio is completed by violinist Skye Steele, also a veteran of the NY scene and partner of such diverse acts as Rufus Wainwright and Vanessa Carlton.

Trio Tarana will be performing at Qingdao Concert Hall at 1 Lanshan Lu on Thursday, November 27. Tickets are 100元. For more information please call 8388-2269.

www.myspace.com/ triotarana