Club Room favorite David Zheng has been wowing audiences with a forward-looking mashup of musical styles. “I think of everything I make as one music with a lot of dialects,” the contemporary keyboardist says of his nimble sonic stew. “For me it all comes from one source. Jazz, R&B, neo-soul, gospel, house; they’re not a bunch of separate genres to me. They’re one continuous lineage of Black American Music, and improvisation is a common thread running through all of them.”
Zheng came-up studying the language of jazz legends like Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau, but he’s equally influenced by D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Kaytranada, Thundercat, and Anderson .Paak.
“When I sit at the keys or build a track in the studio, I’m trying to honor that whole family tree at once,” he explains. “I like being able to stretch out over modern jazz harmony one minute, and lock into a dance groove the next, and it all belongs together. That’s the whole point: the jazz, the neo-soul, the dance music, it’s one tradition. I’m conservatory-trained and I appreciate the analytical rigor and formal genius of the music, but the goal was never to gatekeep. It’s about making something that moves your mind and your body at the same time and that everyone can enjoy.”
Book your table now to catch David’s next performance at Club Room on Friday, July 10 with sets at 7:30PM and 9PM. Reserve HERE.
