We experienced an unforgettable afternoon of Chinese Fusion Jazz at Clements Place on Oct 26, 2024. The mesmerizing sounds of the Summer Breeze Ensemble was led by Vince Di Mura & Lina Zha. We were immersed in a unique blend of traditional Chinese folk and contemporary jazz music. We just sat back and let the music transport us to another world. it was an extraordinary musical experience!

Rutgers IJS and Gregory Burrus Presents: Summer Breeze Chinese Fusion Ensemble featuring Vince Dimura and Lina Zha.

Lineup was

• Vince Dimura – Piano
• Lina Zha – Mezzo-soprano Singer
• Yang Jin – Pippa
• Alex Laurenzi – Saxophonist
• Kai Gibson Bass

Background / History

Summer Breeze Chinese Jazz Fusion Ensemble was formed in early February 2023 by creative director, Wenya Fan, pianist/composer Vince di Mura and vocalist Lina Zha, to create a unique meeting of Chinese popular and tradition music with the elements of Latin jazz.  

After its first performance in May of 2023, the group has performed prolifically including concerts at Rutgers and Princeton Universities, The China Institute in Manhattan, the Philadelphia Art Museum and many more. The ensemble’s sound is rooted in the traditions of John Coltrane, Carlos Santana, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Tito Puente, and Gato Barbieri.

In the first year alone, they have recorded and released three CDs, six music videos, and an award-winning documentary. Most recently, the group won 2 silver medals from the Global Music Awards, in the categories of best music video and most outstanding CD recording. 

Meet The Summer Breeze Ensemble

Vince’s Di Mura

Vince di Mura is a concert jazz pianist, composer, arranger and musical director; appearing on concert stages and theaters throughout North America, Canada, Europe and Latin America. He is currently the Resident Musical Director and Composer for the Lewis Center of the Arts at Princeton University, where he has served since 1987. He has conducted theater seasons at The Bethesda Nederlander Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, El Portal Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, the Augusta Barn Theatre, Artpark and Company, Tennessee Repertory, The Asolo Theatre Company, Florida Studio Theatre, American Stage, Passage Theatre, Act II Playhouse, The Arden Theatre Company, The Muhlenburg Summer Theatre Festival, The American Theatre Group, The Barter Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, Blowing Rock Stage, The Little Theatre in the Rockies and Vince spent an enjoyable summer in 2019 in Lynchburg as musical director for Endstation Theatre.

Best known for his arrangements for Summerwind Productions, his shows have had close to 1000 production nationally and internationally; shows include “My Way: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra,” “Christmas My Way,” “Simply Simone” and “I Left My Heart: A Tribute to Tony Bennett.”  Vince has fulfilled numerous compositional commissions from Princeton University’s Department of Theater and Dance, Rutgers University, Rider University, the Pingry Foundation, the University of Colorado, The Scioto Society, Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Arkansas Shakespeare Theater, Passage Theater, the University of Northern Colorado, American Stage, Princeton University Ballet, The Jazz Disciples and a host of scores for People’s Light and Theater Company.

Mr. di Mura is also the author and curator of “A Conversation With The Blues:” A 14 part web instructional series on improvisation through the Blues, produced by Soundfly Inc. He holds composition and jazz fellowships from the William Goldman Foundation, Temple University, Meet the Composer, CEPAC, the Union County Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Puffin Cultural Forum and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Vince has 6 CDs on the market including his most recent release, “Meditations on the Sacred Heart,” all of which are available at any number of internet outlets.   

Yang Jin

Yang Jin was born in Datong, Shanxi in 1982. At the age of 11, Jin was admitted into the world-famous Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with the highest national score, and remained in first place through the 14 years of school until graduating in 2009 with her master’s degree. A performer of incomparable technique and exquisite musicality,

Yang Jin has won numerous international and national competitions. With rigorous training for decades and diverse performance experiences, she is reputed as a leading and most passionate Pipa soloist of her generation.

Alex Laurenzi

Alex Laurenzi (b. 1998) is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator from Mountain Lakes, NJ. He was a student of Jazz House Kids and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Jazz Program, working with teachers such as Mike Lee, Bruce Williams, Oscar Perez, Ted Chubb, Julius Tolentino, Radam Schwartz, Michele Rosewoman, Jim Saltzman, and Jeremy Manasia. A graduate of African-American history at Princeton University in 2020, Alex was an active member of the Jazz Program during all four years, working with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Darcy James Argue, and Ralph Bowen. Alex received the Isidore and Helen Sacks Memorial Prize from the Princeton Music Department for his contributions to the musical community at Princeton.

His awards include two Downbeat Student Soloist Awards, 2016 for High School Best Soloist and 2013 for Junior High School Best Soloist, runner-up in the 2019 Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, two honorable mentions from YoungArts Foundation, and two soloist awards from the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival. Alex was a member of the 2015 Grammy Jazz Session Big Band, the award-winning Jazz House Kids Big Band for three years, and toured Peru in April 2016 with a select group from Jazz House Kids on behalf of the U.S. Embassy. Since moving to New York in 2020, he has performed at venues such as Dizzy’s, Birdland, the Django, Room 623, Drom, Close Up, and the Iridium with his trio and his sextet, along with the Christian McBride Big Band, Rachel Z, the Ed Palermo Big Band, the George Gee Orchestra, and many of his peers. He was the music director for the Jazz House All-Stars with their engagement on the Blue Note at Sea Cruise in January 2023.

Alex spent most of his summers during college traveling and composing for mixed chamber ensembles. In 2019, Alex received funding to compose a suite based off of Claude Monet’s Nymphéas in the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. His “Waterlilies Suite” debuted in late August of that year and after a brief hiatus during the pandemic, his new-look sextet brought the piece back to life in late 2022. He was also a participant in the Lake George Music Festival’s Composer’s Institute in August 2022, where he wrote his first piece for string quartet, and the Ravinia Jazz Fellows program in 2023 led by Rufus Reid, Billy Childs, and Steve Wilson. He won a Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2024 for his song “Do You See My Brother and My Sister?”

Kai Gibson

Kai Gibson is a bassist from Princeton, New Jersey. He attended the Berklee College of Music jazz studies and performance program and graduated in 2021. The Kai Gibson Trio is a musical group known for their engaging performances. He has experience playing across the Tri-state area and the Boston Bay area. He is fluent in many genres of music including: jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock, Latin, and many other styles.

Jazz Around the World

We highly recommend you experience the captivating Summer Breeze Chinese Jazz Fusion Ensemble. Led by award-winning pianist/composer Vince di Mura and mezzo-soprano Lina Zha. This mesmerizing performance showcased Pipa player Yang Jin, rising star Alex Larenzi, and skilled bassist Kai Gibson. Don’t miss their next show!