Tracy Yang Embraces Her Multi-Cultural Background in Composition

Tracy Yang is intimately familiar with the significance placed on identity in music. However, this awareness has not stopped the Taiwanese American composer from embracing all of her musical gifts, regardless of style. It is a choice that in just a handful of years has led Yang to a number of awards and recognition for her work, including the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition prize in 2021, the Benny Golson Award while attending the Berklee College in Boston and Golden Melody in 2025. Her 2024 release, OR (BJU Records), puts Yang's artistic instincts as a composer, pianist, improvisor and bandleader on display across eight original tracks.

"I used all of my multiple cultural and musical identities as an inspiration in order to write original music," Yang said. She counts Chopin and Duke Ellington among her influences and shyly admits to liking as a youth rock bands such as Linkin Park. "This was more a reflection of my personality at the time."

For her childhood years, music held an appeal to Yang in a significant way. "I was unserious when I was in grade school, maybe later," affirmed the artist. She furthers the sentiment again later in our conversation, stating that she became "interested in the classical tones of the piano and violin," but then had a lull in it. She pursued studies in medical imaging technology and later in cognitive neuroscience, but music was never buried in the recesses of her mind even while studying, interning and finally working as part of a team in the operating room. "However, during my time as a radiographer, I discovered that the reality of the work environment didn't align with my passion for medicine," she said. while conveying that her character traits lean toward emotion. "This emotional nature isn't particularly beneficial in the medical field. I promised myself that I would only pursue work that could truly fuel my passion."

Yang discovered that music had always been her most tactical mode of expression. "I think once I left the operating room and started studying music, it felt like there was a large landscape of stuff that had been left undiscovered that doesn't feel possible in medicine," she explained. "It can be more ever-expanding into improvisation, which is not so good in the OR." Ideas that had been resting in her subconscious were awakened in school. This was her genesis. "I was really struck by how immediate and exciting music was for me," she revealed, "and it felt like the most immediate thing that had happened maybe in my life."

Her first recorded effort was the self-produced trio album, 217 Diaries (2021), named for her birthdate. Then with the guidance of New York composer Darcy James Argue, she carved out her mark conducting a 17-piece orchestra on the OR album. "During the recording session, the control room, the talk-back mic, the monitor, the surgical light, the equipment, the podium, the teamwork from every professional ... everything felt so familiar compared with my time working in the hospital," Yang said in a Facebook post. "It symbolizes this transformative journey and reflects the whole album concept—a dream-to-dream realization."

The flag of Taiwan reflects nature in its broadest sense—Blue Sky with a White Sun is the National Coat of Arms emblem. Nature played a dominant role in her first full album in pieces such as "Sea Clouds," "Sea Swell" and "Melting Arctic." What comes next is waiting to be discovered. For most of 2025, Yang has spent her time as a dance accompanist while dreaming of her next project.

All About Jazz: The natural world often blends with the world of music in your compositions. How did you create the spectacular opening to "Melting Arctic?"

Tracy Yang: I have a clear vision of the scene and the intensity I want to achieve. While I provide text and verbal instructions, much of the outcome depends on the interpretation from each musician and the interactions during each take—especially with the rhythm section: Martha Kato (piano), Sebastian Noelle (guitar), Matt Clohesy (bass) and Peter Kronreif (drum set). I guide the process through my conducting during the recording and provide feedback for improvement for the next take. We completed four different takes, each unique in its own way, making it challenging to choose just one. But that's also part of the beauty of jazz—the freedom, spontaneity, and the precious interactions between musicians and the music canvas.

I should also mention that I've exaggerated some effects during the post-production process. While some might view this as less organic, the post-production process is still an integral part of my creative process. Achieving the vision I have in mind was only possible with the help of some of the best engineers in the field: Brian Montgomery (sound engineer, editing, and mixing) and Mark Wilder (mastering engineer).

AAJ: Your name in Mandarin (Yu Yang Chen) combines the two major styles of t'ai chi—Yang style and Chen style. Your compositions flow as if the orchestra becomes a group of people practicing t'ai chi. How do you achieve this so smoothly and with such grace?

TY: When I was young, I would play naturally. I kind of know how to compose as no one taught me, but for me that feels more like improv. We have this electric dictionary for me to translate English. It's a very Asian thing and there is a recording function on it, so I would use that. Actually, some of my friends sent me the recording from back then, and it has this old quality, which I actually really like. I didn't know how to write it down. I was trained classically, but I didn't really have the talent or skills. There was a time I wanted to have formal training in Taiwan, but I kind of failed and didn't get the year training, so I didn't end up going that route. Also, the future that I saw from that route is just being a teacher or professor, and that's not what I wanted. So, I kept on learning piano and then eventually I picked up jazz and was crazy about it.

This brought me to the US, to Berklee in Boston to study. I didn't know what subjects to study at the time. I thought about jazz composition and maybe jazz performance, but at the time, I was also really just crazy to learn everything about jazz. But in the first year we don't need to declare a major. After a while, I realized I'm not very comfortable on the stage. I like to be more behind the scene and have time to really think about the music and process through so I can modify if I don't really like it. Then I have a chance to go back to fix things. That's where my formal training took place.

AAJ: Moving all the way to Boston from Taiwan must have had its challenges. Did you know someone to help with the transition?

TY: I came by myself. I took a jazz piano lesson when I was in Taiwan, and my piano teacher, who graduated from Berklee, she recommended me to the school. I knew nothing about this, but I really liked my teacher. She told me that you can try this five-week course, which was more like a summer camp to see if you like it. Then at the end of that camp you can apply with Berklee. I did that and got in. So, when I really moved back to Berklee, I knew a little bit of the teachers and some friends.

AAJ: You say directing an orchestra is like the OR in a way—the operating room. And as the operating room, it is important you have to follow strict guidelines. You did radiographic work. Jazz is freer, flowing, expansive. You do not follow the guidelines so much. What do you say about that?

TY: I guess that's also part of why I feel more of a fit to make music because you are more allowed with your errors. In the medical situation, it's almost zero tolerance. And I remember that feeling when I made a mistake, and I completely felt horrible and didn't know what to do. In the recording studio, the error is allowed. We can just retake, which is not going to happen in a medical situation.

AAJ: Hopefully not.

TY: If you do make a mistake, you actually will have to reopen it, which is a little bit crazy. One time that I was in cardiac, and that was very similar to a recording studio because you have this room like the control room. You see through glass and talk back by the mic, and the engineer tell you what to do. Everything feels very similar.

AAJ: What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of being a creative person?

TY: I think it's the freedom. To begin with, that's actually one of the main reasons I was really crazy about music. But I don't feel like I can just create a completely new form, a new genre of music. I'm not at that level. I like to have structure, but within this structure and frame, having that little bit of freedom to just deliver thoughts. I don't know which feels safer, but then you also are allowed to express emotion or things like that.

AAJ: Is your orchestra made up of individuals you recruited or one that was established?

TY: When I came to New York in 2016, I joined BMI, the jazz composers' workshop. You meet monthly and that allowed me to develop good relationships with musicians. They saw the growth in my music.

AAJ: What do you look for when searching for the right musicians?

TY: I think being able to blend with other people is very important. And I feel like my music is very emotional, so I really would like people who have a little more artistic expression. I picked up a lot of the BMI musicians because I had very limited time, basically only two days of rehearsal and then we went into the recording studio.

AAJ: What role did Darcy James Argue play in the development of this record?

TY: Darcy is very special, though I actually never studied with him, but I did work alongside him during some other artists' recording sessions. I got to sit next to him and see how he works in the recording studio. He's very detailed. I always think of him as my mentor. He doesn't talk much, but whenever he talks, he's very on point. It's really great to have Darcy, who truly believes me and is there to guide me through the process.

AAJ: Being in the medical field, the pandemic must have touched you. Is that reflected in The 2017 Diaries?

TY: In 2019, I felt my career was finally taking flight, and I applied for an artist visa. The day I got it was the day the pandemic started. It was frustrating because everything that was supposed to happen now wasn't going to happen. I stayed in the US for a while teaching to support myself, but it seemed everything I loved about New York was completely gone. And I didn't know the point in staying. So, I took everything and moved back to Taiwan, sending my things on a cargo ship. It was good because Taiwan wasn't affected much by the pandemic. But then it got worse and I saw all my friends still in the medical field going to work while I was locked down at home. It was very frustrating.

AAJ: So, it was like that illustration where there is a drawing of dotted lines going all over the world. You came back to New York.

TY: There were some things that I needed to finish like the Charlie Parker Award performance. It felt like a reunion.

AAJ: Is it because you grew up on an island that water seems to come into your compositions often?

TY: I love the sea even though it's a vast world that I think is very scary and unknown. It provides that very special unlimited scene, an endless kind of feeling. In Taiwan when I was depressed or sad, I always rode my scooter to the sea and just sat, and it had a calming effect. The sound of the waves, the vast expanse, and the sense of the unknown has inspired me to help with overcoming obstacles. I don't know if I should say this bluntly, but for instance, the "Sea Swell" is really a reflection of some of the very recent geopolitical tension. As it is surrounded by the ocean, hopefully that protects Taiwan.

AAJ: Your music is evocative as if you are composing from images. Is that how you start?

TY: Maybe not an image as much as the emotion I'm feeling. But then during the process many images come up. The music comes as imaginary images that exist in your memory.

AAJ: Could you break down how the combination of images became your piece "Sea of Clouds?"

TY: I was living in Queens surrounded by the rich diversity of culture, and that was frustrating because I didn't know which culture I represented. I mean, Taiwan has special food like bubble tea, and the semiconductor business is well known. I wanted to reflect all that, and I began with "Sea of Clouds." Taiwan is becoming a lifelong project of mine, and that piece was the first to come out. When I thought about Taiwan, the first thing that came to my mind is that Taiwan is based on a highly dense mountain. And I thought even in a city, you can see the mountains are always somewhere around a corner. And so "Sea of Clouds" is intended to have people think of hiking and a kind of certain kind of green in the mountains. There is also a rich indigenous culture inside that I feel, and I love it a lot. I think it is very percussive-ish and reflects in the music that really earthy, grounded vibe.

AAJ: You spoke of imaginary images coming to you. I wonder what you saw while composing "A Step to My Dream."

TY: This one is a very special piece for me. It was my first attempt at an original big band jazz orchestra format. It was during my last year in Berklee. I had to learn the harmony from scratch for the arrangement and all that. Three years goes by really fast. So, when the last semester came, that piece was intended to be played by the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra led by Greg Hopkins, who only teaches high-level classes. I was very lost at the time. I was about to graduate and I felt like I'm so far behind, very desperate actually, and very ashamed of myself that I didn't know what I was doing. You wonder if this dream could ever come true. Anyway, it felt very hard in the practice room, but eventually I finished at the last minute and then they actually played it. That fulfilled my little dream and goal at Berklee. It became very meaningful because after that I submitted it to the Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra, and that was my first jazz award and also helped me to get into the BMI Jazz Composers' workshop. It aligned my path as a jazz composer. Without that piece, I think I wouldn't be here.

AAJ: Is the music on OR completely organic, no overdubs?

TY: The percussion effect on "Sea of Clouds" was added, and I had to work a little more on "Melting Arctic." Everything was recorded live, but I did add some layering and enjoyed doing that.

AAJ: On your first recording, what does the number represent in The 217 Diaries?

TY: This is my birthday. But that piece is actually about my scooter because Taiwan is a very scooter island. My parents didn't want to get me a scooter when I was in college, even though all my friends had one to go to classes. One day my mom finally agreed to take me and my sister to this secondhand shop. We were deciding between two when my sister told me, oh look, the plate is 2 1 7, and I thought that's destiny. So that music was reflecting the time when I was very emotional riding my scooter around the city, just sort of wondering. So, the record is more like my scooter life diaries.

AAJ: Also on that EP, one song is called "You Little Monsters." In America, that is what we call children when they are misbehaving.

TY: Yes, that's very good to ask that. I didn't have a tutor myself and I'm not really great at being one. But in New York, I taught for a long time in private school, and those kids are the little monsters because I feel like sometimes they just destroy me in a way. But they also share that creative mindset. Sometimes the fact that they just couldn't play it right made me so nervous that after the lesson I had play on the piano to calm myself. These students are so cute sometimes, but they're also get on my nerves.

AAJ: For some reason, the piece that followed—"Here's to the Past"—also evoked children, though maybe not so much monsters. Is that wrong?

TY: Wow! I mean, no one ever asked me that, but this is actually about my family. And it is quite private. It is about my brother, who suffers from some kind of mental illness. And growing up I felt the effect of it. Personally, I also struggled with that, even though I never went for further diagnosis. That music is for the past but also dedicated to people who suffer depression.

AAJ: Do you find inspiration in other art forms?

TY: I'm also a photographer. I shoot for the Manhattan School of Music, and sometimes I just happen to shoot the symphony. I was there just a few days ago and they were playing Shostakovich. Now I'm going back to listen to a lot of his classical music, or Stravinsky. I'm not sure if this is leading me to a new direction, to more symphonic writing. I think it's more that I can bring the jazz side of me to that. It is a new perspective for me.

AAJ: What has been the most satisfying part of your musical career so far?

TY: I think it was the time in the recording studio making that album with "Sea of Clouds." It is going to certain heights when you are surrounded by clouds, and it feels like you're flying. I think that's what I wanted to portray, and in the moment, it made me feel like I was flying.

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