Daniel Chu 朱肇階

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.

朱肇階是一位出生於香港的鋼琴家、作曲家、編曲家、唱片監製、音樂總監及學者。朱氏在年僅20歲時以最高榮譽從伯克利音樂學院畢業，獲得音樂學士學位。在美國波士頓求學期間，他受教於著名爵士鋼琴家George Russell Jr.、Tim Ray、Kenny Werner以及資深詞曲作家Sarah Brindell、Jimmy Kachulis和Pat Pattison的門下。在學期間屢獲殊榮，包括伯克利成就獎學金及伯克利閃亮之星獎。

在2024年，朱氏在香港中文大學完成了音樂哲學碩士學位，專攻民族音樂學。研究期間，他曾向劉長江教授和余少華教授等民族音樂學家學習。他的論文題目為「挖掘香港爵士樂圈：歷史、現況及人物。」這份論文具開創性，主要探討香港爵士樂圈的重要歷史、當代發展及人物關聯。Adam Kielman教授稱讚該論文是「一項巨大的成就，對爵士樂研究和香港爵士樂圈本身有重要貢獻。」

朱氏憑著過人的音樂才華與各種不同的藝術家及音樂人合作。他擅長於創作、編曲、製作和演奏流行音樂，曾與鄭秀文、衛蘭、衛詩、麗英@小薯茄、Kiri T等知名歌手合作。在2018年，他與聲音設計師hirsk和鼓手Blue Kwok共同創立了電子原音音樂三重奏「manvsmachine」，並在歐洲和亞洲的音樂場地演出。在2019年，他應邀為畫家藤村真在台灣的《歌中之歌》展覽會上即興演奏。

在2021年，朱氏在自由空間的黑盒舞台上呈現了他的原創作品《樂戲》，該作品由他與九名弦樂演奏家合奏。同年，他於香港大會堂音樂廳舉行了一場名為《Extremes》的鋼琴獨奏音樂會。在2022年，他擔任《林家謙 x 雷同二友 MOOV Digital Concert》的音樂總監。此外，他為《自由空間樂團越流行：再現Kraftwerk》擔任鍵盤手，並為自由爵士音樂節其中一位主要音樂家。在2023年，他擔任《HKT西九音樂節：異色煙火張國榮》的音樂總監，向香港傳奇人物張國榮逝世20週年致敬。再者，他亦擔任自由爵士音樂節的客席策展人，主持名為《爵話》的對談系列，邀請了來自古典音樂、流行音樂和音樂劇背景的知名音樂人分享對爵士樂和即興演奏的看法。

朱氏的音樂藝術特點在於協同，包涵多元的世界文化、音樂傳統和演奏技巧。他有豐富的自由即興經驗，並受正統的音樂訓練，作品橫跨古典、爵士、流行、騷靈、福音、民謠和實驗等不同音樂流派。