A rising star on the international music scene. The US-based, 19-year-old Chinese pianist A Bu just held his first solo concert in his hometown Beijing, at the Poly Theater on Monday night. The young musician formed his first jazz trio at the age of 13, and won the Jury's first prize and the Audience Choice at the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition in Switzerland at the age of 16. A Bu is seen by many as a jazz lion with a promising future ahead. Our reporter Song Yaotian had a front row seat at A Bu's concert and brings us this report.

An emerging talent and a real musical prodigy, A Bu treated his hometown audiences to a two-part concert. In the first part, he played tunes composed by Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Kapustin, a musician hailed by fusing classical and jazz music and a long-time inspiration for A Bu. The second part saw A Bu playing nine of his original jazz compositions.

The young musician began to learn playing the piano at the age of four and went on to enroll at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at the age of nine. Outside his classical music studies, A Bu was also fascinated by jazz, Latin music, and improvisation.

A BU PIANIST "Many people recognize me as a Chinese jazz pianist, because in China there are not many jazz musicians, especially on the international stage, there are only a few that are often being talked about."

A Bu says in the music world, he is acknowledged both as a pianist and a composer.

In 2014, at the age of 15, A Bu was invited to play alongside legendary American jazz musician Chick Corea in a piano duet, at Corea's solo concert. A year later, he performed with Moscow Jazz Orchestra at the Chaichovsky concert hall.

Now the promising star is living in New York and has just graduated from the Julliard School's pre-college. He was performing in Beijing months ago at the East Shore Jazz Club in a quartet, but Monday's concert in Beijing marked the first time he has given a solo performance in his hometown.

A BU PIANIST "I wish I would feel relaxed, because this is home. This is where you don't have to think about anything. But for me, this concert had a big program, so I must think a lot. It's very good to be performing in Beijing, and it's good to be back."

After returnining to New York, A Bu will start his college studies at Julliard, in addition to fulfilling a demanding performance schedule. It is unlikely he will have time to slow down.  But he thinks the advantages of performing outweigh the disadvantages. It's safe to say that audiences can see more of the young jazz star on the international stage in the future. Song Yaotian, CGTN.