For those unaware, Annie Chen is a vocalist, composer, and bandleader from Beijing, based in New York since 2013. Her distinctive style draws on a rich continuum of musical traditions from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

This creative vision – showcased on her releases Pisces the Dreamer (2014), Secret Treetop (2018) and her brand new album Guardians – is supported by years of experience in China’s jazz, blues, and funk scenes as well as active study and collaboration within New York’s vibrant jazz community.

Annie’s current focus is her Guardians ensemble, whose self-titled debut was released February 23rd, 2024 on JZ Music. Centered on an environmentally themed programmatic suite, the album features a dynamic cast of improvisers including Satoshi Takeishi (percussion), Fung Chern Hwei (violin), Vitor Goncalves (piano/accordion), Alex LoRe (woodwinds), Marius Duboule (guitar), and Mat Muntz (bass).

The project combines Annie’s compositional sense of storytelling and imagery with an experimental improvisational vocabulary, representing an exciting new chapter in her creative output.

1. Rozpacz (Despair) (7:19)
2. Underground Dance (6:31)
3. Rosemary’s Lullaby (6:30)
4. Güle Güle Istanbul (7:44)
5. Guardians Suite I – The Northern Eyes (7:46)
6. Guardians Suite II – The Whale River Song (6:06)
7. Guardians Suite III – Jellyfish All Around (5:34)
8. Guardians Suite IV – Vanished Tails, No Return (6:37)

First up on this eclectically-charged new recording is the emphasized Rozpacz (Despair) and the more melodically-stanched Underground Dance and they are backed by the aching yearn found within Rosemary’s Lullaby and the Eastern-flavored Güle Güle Istanbul.

The second half of the album is a quartet known as the Guardians Suite, where I – The Northern Eyes opens the musical adventure on a lushly sculpted track, and is in turned backed by the rhythmically-scattered II – The Whale River Song, then we get impassioned III – Jellyfish All Around, the album closing on the more ornately strewn IV – Vanished Tails, No Return.

A signature trait of Annie Chen’s music is its integration of experimental aesthetics with a strong sense of imagery and narrative. In her original compositions as well as her interpretations of the music of others, Annie’s approach straddles the line between abstract and programmatic music, aided by unconventional song structures, unique instrumentation, and a highly collaborative band concept.

These properties are on full display in the music presented in the newly composed Guardians suite, which provides the record’s thematic center. Preceding the suite are two new arrangements of older compositions by Annie and two interpretations of pieces by 20th-century Polish composers, all of which are drawn into the musical orbit of Guardians to form a cohesive and evocative body of work.

Through this unique set of music, Annie and her band question the relationship between humans and nature and its consequences: crisis, loss, and the possibility of hope.

www.anniechenjazz.com