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David Ling

David is a Malaysian composer, performer, and educator based in the US. A graduate of Berklee and the New England Conservatory, he is an in-demand presence in the Boston music scene. He has performed with Grammy-nominated vocalist Debo Ray and drummer Charles Haynes, award-winning saxophonists Grace Kelly and Seba Molnar, and is a fixture of the Charles River Jazz Festival, appearing annually since its inception in 2021. He recently co-produced the album Encontro by Brazilian-American duo Caio e Jess, featuring Michael Mayo on vocals and Laura Perrudin on harp.

As a composer David led the 16-member Wally’s Jazz Orchestra at their monthly residency at Boston’s historic Wally’s Cafe, and was awarded the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2019.

David Ling And The New Pulse Of Boston Jazz

Source: Frank Gazerro
July 22, 2026

Boston’s jazz scene is defined by profound resilience. For decades, the city thrived as a northern sanctuary for the genre. This is the city where George Wein opened Storyville in 1950, handing the microphone to Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. It is the city where Miles Davis famously tore the roof off the Jazz Workshop. But the late 2010s and early 2020s threatened that momentum. The beloved Beantown Jazz Festival collapsed in 2018, stripping the city of its “biggest block ...
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