Lawrence Ku is one of China's most revered leading musicians today. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he has resided in China for over two decades and currently lives in Shanghai. Lawrence Ku leads China's premier jazz-funk big band, The Red Groove Project. Their debut studio album Flow, released in 2014, earned three nominations at Taiwan's 25th Golden Melody Awards in the instrumental category: Best Album, Best Album Producer, and Best Composer. In 2015, Ku's arrangement and musical direction for the track ‘Touching the Heart’ on Golden Melody Award-winning singer Shunzi's album earned him a nomination for ‘Best Arranger’ at the 26th Golden Melody Awards.

 

In 2017, The Red Groove Project's second studio album Proper Up! secured another nomination for ‘Best Album Producer’ in the instrumental category at the 28th Golden Melody Awards. His modern jazz project, The Lawrence Ku Trio, saw their album Pictures honoured with the Best Instrumental Album award at the 2015 Chinese Music Media Awards. Lawrence Ku stands as China's first jazz guitarist to have performed a sold-out solo concert of original works in a theatre-class venue!

 

 

 

Evgeny Pobozhiy became the first Russian musician to win the 2019 Herbie Hancock International Jazz Guitar Competition. This contest is regarded as the most influential competition in the jazz world, and his victory marked a significant milestone in the history of Russian jazz. As an internationally active musician, Evgeny has graced the stages of the world's premier jazz festivals, including the Rochester Jazz Festival, the Festival de Jazz de Montréal, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Lotos Jazz Festival, and Jazz Triumph. He has graced the stages of world-renowned jazz venues such as New York's Blue Note Jazz Club and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, London's Ronnie Scott's, Berlin's A-Trane, and Beijing's Blue Note.