Jiebing Chen (; sometimes credited as Jie-Bing Chen) is a Chinese musician based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

who specializes in the

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two- ...

(two-string fiddle).

Biography

Born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China, Chen turned professional when she was 9 and became a soldier musician in order to comply with the restrictions on playing music imposed by the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

. She went to the United States in 1989 to study at the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

, where she received an M.A. in music theory. In addition to her work performing Chinese traditional and contemporary music, Chen has also participated in a number of cross-cultural collaborations, including recordings and performances with

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena ( slide guitar). Personal life Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, with his wife and ...

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

, and

James Newton James W. Newton (born May 1, 1953) is an American jazz and classical flutist. Biography He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African-American music, inclu ...

. She has also performed jazz with the

Jon Jang Jon Jang (; born March 11, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Of Chinese ancestry, he specializes in music which combines elements of jazz and Asian musics, and is known for musical works exploring international as we ...

Sextet and the Beijing Trio (a collaboration with Jang and drummer

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

). Her recording ''

Tabula Rasā ''Tabula Rasā'' is a collaborative album by American banjoist Béla Fleck together with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (playing traditional Indian slide guitar "Mohan veena") and Jie-Bing Chen, who plays the traditional Chinese two-string fiddle erhu. The ...

'' (recorded with Bhatt and Fleck) was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

. She lives in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Films

*1999 - ''L. Subramaniam: Violin From the Heart''. Directed by Jean Henri Meunier. (Includes a scene featuring L. Subramaniam in collaboration with Jiebing Chen.)

References

External links

Jiebing Chen official site

Video

Jiebing Chen beginning erhu instruction video
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chinese expatriates in the United States Erhu players Musicians from Shanghai University at Buffalo alumni {{china-musician-stub