陳若玗 Jo Yu Chen
Jazz Piano
從紐約茱莉亞音樂學院一路古典音樂科班出身到哥倫比亞大學音樂博士的高學歷，陳若玗決心打破框架，走入另一端的爵士自由世界，他可以是橫走古典音樂到爵士樂的超完美結合。
目前旅居紐約的台灣音樂家陳若玗，是首位被列入百年鋼琴品牌史坦威的藝術家名人堂，並成為史坦威國際藝術家（Steinway Artists）的台灣爵士鋼琴家。陳若玗也是大華人地區第一位簽約國際唱片公司索尼音樂的爵士鋼琴家。
她的音樂才華及專輯獲得歐美日媒體的高度肯定，除了在美國重量級的爵士雜誌《Downbeat》、《Jazziz》及《All about Jazz》、法國的《Rolling Stone》、《Jazzman》、德國的《JAZZTHETIK》、《Jazz thing》、義大利的《MusicaJazz》、瑞士的《Le Temps》、挪威的《Dagbladet》及《Dagens Næringsliv》、日本的《Jazz Japan》（前身Swing Journal）等均有極大的回響之外，她也曾獲選為法國《L’Express》的2014年度最佳25張專輯之高度肯定，並多次接受歷史悠久的《ジャズ批評》和台灣的《Muzik古典樂刊》深度專訪。陳若玗大膽得將紮實的古典底子運用在自己的創作中，古典樂的細膩與爵士樂的不羈，造就了她渾然天成的獨特色彩。她也以創新的思維與不妥協的執著，透過音樂創作呈現出帶著豐富層次與細節的黑色浪漫，並在國際音樂市場佔有一席之地。
睽違樂壇五年，2019年3月陳若玗再推出第四張個人作品《野蠻的美麗》，用音樂剝開其外冷內熱的內心世界，身處在紐約看似繁華的大都會裡，似有距離武裝的都會女性，卸下盔甲下的另一面向。專輯概念緣起於音樂家參觀已故的英國鬼才設計師Alexander McQueen 於紐約大都會博物館「野蠻之美」紀念展，創作曲風冷冽神秘充滿性感魅力，力邀曾為UNIQLO拍攝廣告片的當今最具影響力的薩克斯風大師之一馬克透納Mark Turner精彩演繹多首作品。
Jo-Yu Chen’s fourth trio album “Savage Beauty,” featuring special guest saxophonist Mark Turner, has been released on March 15, 2019 by Sony Music. She is the first Taiwanese jazz artist signed to a major record label, and has also joined the distinguished international roster of Steinway Artists.
The title composition "Savage Beauty" was in memory of the British avant-garde fashion designer Alexander McQueen. “Musically, I’ve always wanted to express myself as delicate, dramatic, and playful but ultra-powerful. McQueen mixed strength and fragility to create a picture of an empowered woman warrior who is ultra-feminine yet powerful. I found myself deeply resonating with McQueen’s aesthetic approach and the dark romanticism of his style. I also respect how he challenged the market by staying true to himself as an artist in such a commercial and consumer lead fashion industry. “, says Chen.
A native of Taiwan, New York-based pianist and composer Jo-Yu Chen began her formal musical training on piano at the age of five. Later, at the age of nine she also began studying the oboe. Despite picking up a new instrument, she always remained deeply committed to the piano. After moving to New York City to study oboe and piano at the prestigious Juilliard School, she discovered a diverse musical scene thriving in the heart of the city and decided to take the leap from classical music to jazz.
This adventure began when Chen enrolled in the New School to study Jazz for two years. During that time, she studied with some of today's great jazz piano masters, including Jason Moran, Sam Yahel, and Kevin Hays. While there, her talent was quickly recognized.
Chen has been featured in jazz magazines internationally. Her previous Album "Stranger" was voted "25 best albums of the year" in French weekly magazine "L'Express".
She received rave reviews in Downbeat, Jazziz, All About Jazz, Jazz Inside in the US and also appeared in Japanese magazines, such as "Jazz Japan" (formerly Swing Journal) as "Star of the Month", and Jazz Critique (ジャズ批評) with a 3-pages in-depth interview. Others include center fold publication in the Norwegian newspaper "Dagbladet" , Macao Daily News (China), Rolling Stone (France), Jazzman (France), JAZZTHETIK (Germany), Jazz thing (Germany), Mnet (Korea), MusicaJazz (Italia), All About Jazz Italia, Jazzflits(Netherlands), Dagens Næringsliv (Norway), Le Temps (Switzerland), China Times News (Taiwan), and Muzik(Taiwan).