Chenxi's music transcends category with all of the beautiful sounds coming together as a deeply personal message, inviting the listener into the story line.
Vocalist and composer Chenxi Pan introduces herself as a thoughtful new voice in contemporary jazz through this set of all original music. Unfolding as a series of reflections drawn from lived experience, emotions are rendered through a fluid blend of poetry, song, and instrumental writing, often using the voice as an expressive instrument within the ensemble as she dissolves the line between sung narrative and pure sound. Born and raised in China, her path shifted from literature to music during her early studies, eventually leading her to pursue jazz in New York City at the New School. Her writing reflects that lineage: lyrical yet searching, precise yet open to spontaneity. Produced by master drummer Matt Wilson, This Very Moment was recorded soon after her 2024 debut as a bandleader at The Stone NYC. Balancing intimacy with collective interplay, Pan allows each composition to breathe and evolve. Her emergence as a musical voice signals an artist attuned to nuance, collaboration, and storytelling—one who invites the listener not toward spectacle, but into a shared, resonant present.
Track Listing:
1 Hymn for the Spring 8:33
2 At Dusk 7:04
3 Little Bells 4:42
4 Clarity 2:45
5 New Year's Wish 2:55
6 Endless Summer 5:24
7 Rain of May (Intro) 0:48
8 Rain of May 6:23
9 Awakening 5:51
10 If Only for a Moment 4:10
11 Parachute 3:09
12 Fate (Wherever It Leads Me) 6:29
13 Endless Summer (Reprise) 1:41
All music by Chenxi Pan (Chenxi Pan Music, BMI)
Performers:
Chenxi Pan - voice
Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Shaonan 'Trigger' Su - piano
George Grydkovets - guitar
Nicolas Bond - bass
Anders Julsgaard - drums
Peyton Cook - violin
Julie Kim - cello
Production Info:
Produced by Matt Wilson
Recorded by Chris Sulit
at Trading 8s Recording Studio, Paramus, NJ
On May 20-21, 2025
Mixed & mastered by Dave Darlington
at Bass Hit Recording, New York, NY
Cover photos by Zhaoyin Wang
Band photos by Chunhan Chen
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
