Musicians from more than 20 countries are putting on jazz shows across the Jing'an District in Shanghai. It's all for the annual jazz feast entitled "JZ Spring". The opening performance was by Grammy award-winning vocal group "New York Voices". Sun Caiqin takes us there.

The opening performance by the New York Voices at Shanghai Center Theater began with the swing-era jazz song "Sing, Sing, Sing". The group is known for its close-knit vocals and harmony. Founded in 1987, the show was the first by the New York Voices in China.

DARMON MEADER NEW YORK VOICES "This is our first time in Shanghai, very excited, first time for New York Voices. And the concert tonight is going to be a mixture of a lot of different styles. We like to embrace different styles. There'll be some swing, there'll be some straight ahead jazz, there'll be some older pop tunes that we reinvented."

KIM NAZARIAN NEW YORK VOICES "I mean our original objective was to bridge the gap between instrumental and vocal jazz. And I think that you hear that instrumental influence when we sing. But we do pay a lot of attention to the lyrics as well."

2018 also marks the centenary of jazz music in Shanghai. "JZ Spring" presents over 20 shows in total in three days from street performing to music concerts across Jing'an District's shopping centers, parks and music venues. Organizers said except three master performances like the New York Voices, others are all free of charge.

HUA XIANGYI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR JING'AN CULTURE BUREAU "Jazz has deep ties with Shanghai. It was introduced to Shanghai 100 years ago from overseas, and the first performances were in Jing'an District. Over the past 12 years, we have been building up 'JZ Spring' because it represents a piece of Jing'an's culture. We started with just one show at one place, but now, we are spreading all over Jing'an along West Nanjing Road."

The festival will wrap up tomorrow night with a closing performance by Shunzi & JZ Big Band at Shanghai Center Theater.