Ping Pong Gintonería is pleased to present a jazz concert by
Daniel Chu (piano) and Michael Schiefel (vocal)
at Second St 129, L/G Nam Cheong House,
Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. @PINGPONG129
18th Sept 2025
Concert: 1st session at 20.00 + 2nd session at 21.30
Reservations +852 9158 1584. Email [email protected]
Ping Pong Gintonería + Hong Kong Sinfonietta Present: Out of the Blue
Michael Schiefel
COMPOSER/ VOCALIST/ IMPROVISER
Inspired by a desire to join the emerging post-Wall jazz scene, Michael Schiefel moved to Berlin in the early 1990s to study at the renowned Berlin University of the Arts. Since then, he has dazzled his fans at home and abroad with an array of solo and band projects that have yielded a dozen albums over the past decade.
To date, Schiefel has released four solo albums, and the first of which – Invisible Loop (1997) – was hailed as one of the most promising début albums of the decade. His more introspective second album I Don’t Belong (2001) was met with equally critical acclaim. The other two albums, Don’t Touch My Animals (2006) and My Home is My Tent (2010), feature songs about love and life in the big city, as well as travelling between the continents.
Apart from solo performances, Schiefel collaborates with musicians of different genres including JazzIndeed (funk and pop music), Thärichen’s Tentett (classical-inspired big band), David Friedman and the Platypus Trio featuring Hungarian cimbalom virtuoso Miklós Lukács. His multifaceted voice receives consistently high praise from audiences and critics alike.
In 2001, Schiefel became Professor of Vocal Jazz at University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar, thereby becoming the youngest music professor in Germany. He also appears at numerous festivals and teaches masterclasses in Europe, and performs as guest artist of Goethe-Institut throughout the world.
Michael Schiefel Official website
Daniel Chu
PIANO
Daniel Chu is a Hong Kong-born pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and scholar. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music at the young age of 20, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. During his time in Boston, he studied under pianists such as George Russell Jr., Tim Ray, and Kenny Werner and songwriters such as Sarah Brindell, Jimmy Kachulis, and Pat Pattison. Daniel received prestigious accolades, including the Berklee Achievement Scholarship and Berklee Shining Star Award.
In 2024, Daniel completed his Master of Philosophy degree in Music, specializing in ethnomusicology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Throughout his graduate studies, he had the opportunity to learn from ethnomusicologists such as Frederick Lau and Yu Siu Wah. Daniel’s thesis, titled “Digging the Hong Kong Jazz Scene: Past, Present, and People,” is a groundbreaking scholarly work that explores the history, contemporary development, and musical lives of the Hong Kong jazz scene. Professor Adam Kielman has praised the thesis as “a tremendous accomplishment, and an important contribution to jazz scholarship and to the Hong Kong jazz scene itself.”
Daniel’s extraordinary musical talent has enabled him to collaborate with a diverse range of artists in various capacities. He possesses expertise in writing, arranging, producing, and performing pop music, having worked with famous singers such as Sammi Cheng, Janice Vidal, Jill Vidal, LaiYing@Pomato, Kiri T, and many more. In 2018, he co-founded the electroacoustic music trio “manvsmachine” alongside sound designer hirsk and drummer Blue Kwok. Together, they have performed across music venues in Europe and Asia. In 2019, Daniel performed improvisation sets as an opener for painter Makoto Fujimura’s Song of Songs exhibition in Taiwan upon invitation from Artrue Gallery.
In 2021, Daniel presented his original work Game Play for piano and nine string players at The Box, Freespace. He also delivered a solo piano recital, “Extremes,” at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. In 2022, Daniel served as the music director for Terence Lam and The Absent Brother’s MOOV digital concert. Additionally, he played keyboards for the “Freespace Ensemble Pop Plus: Kraftwerk Reimagined” concert and headlined the Freespace Jazz Fest. In 2023, he took on the role of music director for “HKT x WestK Pop Fest: I Am What I Am — A Tribute to Leslie Cheung,” a three-day concert series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of Hong Kong legend Leslie Cheung. Furthermore, in 2023, Daniel served as a guest curator for the Freespace Jazz Fest, organizing a conversation series titled “Talkin Jazz,” where he invited leading musicians from classical, pop, and musical theatre backgrounds to share their perspectives on jazz and improvisation.
A defining aspect of Daniel’s artistic identity lies in the synergy he creates. His music celebrates diverse world cultures, musical traditions, and playing techniques. His experience with free improvisation and the formal architecture of music gives him a unique outlook that encompasses classical, jazz, pop, soul, gospel, folk, and experimental.
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