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Event Description/ Synopsis (1-2 paragraphs)
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The Qilin is a different beast. Its uniqueness lies in its colorful and chimerical nature. A best-of-all-worlds kind of a creature.
The music of the Qilin Group is the same way. Driven by a strong desire to help mankind realize its Oneness and to promote global peace, violinist/composer Kailin Yong draws from the vast ocean of world, jazz and folk sounds and rhythms to create an original musical platform where everyone finds welcome and where everyone can dance on.
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Biographies of performers
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The Qilin Group was formed in January 2013 to lend wings to violinist/composer Kailin Yong's world-minded music with a vision: to display the possibility of a harmonious global village through recognizing our commonalities while celebrating our differences.
After close to twenty years of living, working and traveling in Europe and the US, Kailin finally found his way back to his hometown of Singapore. In the first incarnation of Qilin, he teamed up with attorney turned New York-based jazz pianist Weixiang Tan and Madrid-based percussionist Nantha Kumar. When Nantha left to go back to Spain, Cuban drummer Pablo Calzado stepped in and brought his festive beats to the mix. A few gigs later, Berklee alumni, bassist Felix Phang was also invited to join the group.
The beauty of the Qilin sound lies in the hauntingly familiar yet refreshingly distinctive folk melodies used in the compositions and improvisations, evoking a forgotten world where we used to live with a magnanimous acceptance of and understanding for each other's beliefs and dreams. The members of the Qilin Group demonstrate through their self-sustaining and highly interactive musical microcosm how the world can all get along if we learn to purposefully create a space for all to co-exist and thrive.
With his fiddle and voice, Kailin cries, growls, laughs, sighs and and soars to plead for love and freedom on behalf of mankind. Weixiang's incredibly wicked and inventive jazz comping offers a nice contrast as he pushes the modal and harmonic envelope to the edge while always staying completely connected with the joyous and uplifting grooves that Pablo offers with his virtuosic drumming. The three of them are joined by Felix, who lays down a lush sonic carpet to help the group stay grounded and connected, like the assuring and nurturing presence of an old friend.
Together, the foursome makes one of the most refreshing and exciting original world music ensembles of our time and they do so with a keen awareness of the vastness of humanity's cultural and emotional landscape.
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