Home » Member Page
VINCENT HSU
About Me
Vincent Hsu
Double bassist/ Composer
vincenthsujazz.com
Vincent Hsu is a jazz bassist, composer and radio host. Born in Changhua,
Taiwan, and raised in Kaohsiung, he launched his musical career in New York
City, where he lived for eight years. His debut album, Homeland, won Best Jazz
Album at the 2014 Golden Indie Music Awards and was nominated for three
Golden Melody Awards in 2015: Best Album, Best Composer, and Best
Producer (Instrumental). His second album, Lullaby for the Youth, with Harold
Danko on piano and Billy Drummond on drums, was also nominated for three
Golden Indie Music Awards in 2017.
Vincent Hsu’s latest album In Our Blood featuring Victor Mendoza, with Soy La
Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band, won the Best Jazz Single with Vincent’s
composition “Dreamer's Blues” at the 2018 Golden Indie Music Awards. In
2019, In Our Blood was honored with the Global Music Awards’ Silver Medal
for Outstanding Achievement. In 2020, Vincent’s composition “The Era” was
selected by International Songwriting Competition (ISC) as the finalist.
Hsu was awarded a master’s degree in Jazz Performance from New York
University and a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance from City College of
New York, where he previously earned a master’s degree in TESOL. He studied
acoustic bass with legendary musicians, including Cecil McBee, Victor
Venegas, Andy González, and John Schaeffer (former Principal Bassist for the
New York Philharmonic). He also studied bata drums with Yagbe Awolowo
Onilu, Pedro Pablo Rodríguez Mireles, Daniel Rodriguez, and Mauricio Herrera
Tamayo. Vincent Hsu’s musical styles cross between jazz and Afro-Cuban
music.
Hsu has performed at various jazz venues, such as Blue Note New York, Blue
Note Beijing, Jazz Gallery, St. Nick's Pub, Nuyorican Poets Café, Puppet’s Jazz
Bar, Deer Head Inn, Arturo's, Aaron Davis Hall, and Smalls. The musicians he
collaborated with include Luis Perdomo, Harold Danko, Billy Drummond,
Jerome Jennings, Helen Sung, Ivan Melon Lewis, Georvis Pico Milian, Bobby
Martinez, Wayne Escoffery, Frederic Borey, Tomoko Ohno, Alex Terrier, Andy
Jaffe, Chris Wabich, among many others.
In addition to performing, Hsu is committed to the outreach of jazz culture
and original compositions, actively promoting jazz and Afro-Cuban music
through projects in education and international exchange.In recent years, he
has been heading different bands appearing at jazz festivals to present his
original music, including Madrid International Jazz Festival, Busan Jazz
Festival, Downriver Jazz Festival, Taichung Jazz Festival, Taipei Jazz Festival,
National Theater & Concert Hall Summer Jazz Festival, and Macau Jazz
Festival, etc.
Official Website: www.vincenthsujazz.com
Vincent Hsu Fan Page:https://www.facebook.com/homeland.vincenthsujazz/
Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band Fan Page:
https://www.facebook.com/soylaleyjazz/
My Jazz Story
In 2000, I met Cecil McBee in Taiwan, 2 years later I studied with him in New York, when I was 25 years old. Mr. McBee brought me to buy my first bass, gave me my first bass lesson….he opens the door of jazz world to me. For the 8 years in New York, I started my journey of study music(jazz, latin, classical). It's been a great fortunate to be able to study with Cecil McBee, Victor Venegaz, John A. Shaeffer. John Pattitucci, Andy Gonzalez, Marc Johnson, Brian Lynch and Billy Drummond.