Ep 73 | Jazz Trombone Player Peter Lin: A Mix of East and West

May 4, 2020

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Peter Lin, is a trombone player, leader of the jazz band, The Lintet, and music teacher. He is a man who wears a lot of different hats! In March of 2018, Peter spoke with me about his career as a professional musician, the difference between being a bandleader versus a sideman, and how he met jazz legend Slide Hampton. We also talked about the Lintet’s first upcoming album, and the connection between Jeremy Lin, Linsanity, and The Lintet- all of which incidentally are not related to me.

Peter shared why he describes jazz as democratic, and a barometer of the United States’ social climate. In his first album, The Lintet introduces Taiwanese music to jazz listeners and jazz music to the Taiwanese.

Two years later, we’ve invited Peter back on to Talking Taiwan to let us know what he’s been up to, how he’s been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to share some advice for how musicians can get through these tough times. Our follow up interview is coming up on the next episode of Talking Taiwan.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Peter got started playing the trombone
How he decided to become a professional musician
Where the band’s name The Lintet came from
What Peter does as a bandleader
How jazz has historically reflected the social climate and race relations in the U.S.
How The Lintet incorporates Taiwanese and Chinese songs done in jazz style at his performances and on their first album
The twofold purpose The Lintet’s album to introduce Taiwanese to jazz music and to introduce jazz listeners to Taiwanese and Chinese music
Peter’s observation that more Taiwanese people are becoming interested in jazz

Here’s the sound clip from one of the Lintet’s 2018 Lunar New Year performances. It’s a rendition of a classic Teresa Teng song: