Su Chang | Saxophone Teacher

Su Chang is a jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator from Beijing, China. He is currently teaching at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy. Su is also a council member of China Saxophone Association. In summer 2019, Su received his doctorate in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), which makes him the first doctor in jazz from China.

As a performer, he is highly influenced by bebop and hard bop music. As the lead alto player of UNC Jazz Lab Band 1, Chang has had the honer to make music with Chris Potter, Deborah Brown, Joey DeFrancesco, Sheila Jordan, Greg Gisbert, Dave Liebman, Dee Dee Bridge Water, Randy Brecker, and Bob Sheppard.

As a composer, a unique sound combining the heritage of jazz and oriental elements is what keeps Chang’s music interesting. His first album Chasing the Dream was released in July 2018, which features six of his original jazz big band compositions. One of his big band compositions “Forbidden City Garden" won the 2017 Jazz Education Network Young Composer Showcase Award, and it was also selected to be performed at the 2017 International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers conference.