On Nov. 2, Formosan Groove performed live at Blues Alley, a Georgetown jazz landmark since 1965.
Formosan Groove, a band with musicians from Taiwan, Japan, Spain, and the United States.
The shows drew an enthusiastic crowd of music lovers from across the D.C. area.
On Nov. 2, the international ensemble Formosan Groove took the stage at Blues Alley—a historic jazz venue in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood operating since 1965—to perform two shows reimagining classic Taiwanese songs through jazz.
Led by bandleader Shinyi Lee and featuring musicians from Taiwan, Japan, Spain, and the United States, the group played beloved tunes such as "Spring Breeze" (望春風), "Twilight on the Tamsui River" (淡水暮色), "Dark Sky" (天黑黑), "Harbor Farewell" (港邊惜別), "Peach Blossom" (桃花過渡), and "Night of the Southern City" (南都夜曲), alongside original compositions like "Invierno" by Spanish bassist Eugenio Ibarz and "Freedom Friez" by Japanese saxophonist Haruka Yonezawa, with the band sharing the cultural stories behind each piece before performance.
"I've known about Blues Alley since I was 20," Shinyi Lee said, reflecting on the milestone. "After 30 years, finally getting to perform on this legendary stage feels like a dream come true." Looking ahead, Shinyi Lee mentioned that she hopes to bring even more cross-cultural collaboration into the band's work, with members co-creating new music across Taipei, Tokyo, and Madrid.
The setting added to the significance of the night. Blues Alley is housed in a historic carriage house tucked down an alley in Georgetown, and its intimate room is known as "the house that Dizzy built," a nod to jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Over the decades, the club has hosted jazz greats including Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan, and many artists have recorded live albums on its stage. Hearing classic Taiwanese songs in a room with that much jazz history made the evening feel like a meeting of two musical traditions.
The shows drew a lively crowd of music lovers from across the D.C. area, including many local American music fans as well as overseas Taiwanese who came out to show their enthusiastic support. Several of the overseas Taiwanese in the audience said it was their first time at Blues Alley and described the night as a unique experience: hearing songs from home performed on one of the best-known jazz stages in the nation's capital.
Among the audience was Erick Rivas, a student from the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning (TCML) who shared after the show: "Music, much like food, is one of the easiest and best ways for foreigners to learn Mandarin and truly understand Taiwanese culture."
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