Annie Chen – voice, compositions
Alex LoRe – saxophone, flute, bass clarinet
Fung Chern Hwei – violin, viola
Marius Duboule – guitar
Jacob Sacks – piano
Jeong Lim Yang – bass
Satoshi Takeishi – drums
Annie Chen Guardians is a new project born in 2022, a septet of jazz and improvised music featuring some of New York’s finest musicians. The repertoire is based around a central suite that gives the band its title, “Guardians,” a questioning of the destructive behavior humans have on the planet and its impact on animal life. Through this unique set of music, Annie and her band question the relationship between humans and nature and its consequences: crisis, loss, and the possibility of hope.
The band is an explosive combination of nationalities and cultural backgrounds (Chinese, Brazilian, Japanese, Korean, Swiss, American, and Malaysian) brought together with a focus on orchestration, sound texture, energy and improvisation. With a thematic and sometimes theatrical approach, the band explores the drama of modern society through a multiethnic lens.
