Francis Wong

Francis Wong has had a hand in guiding the San Francisco Bay Area Asian Improv label, along with such musicians as <a href="spotify:artist:7tOCQ2A8BllrnxnN0vsShe">Mark Izu</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5D9FBKavLCqvTmVNcfMd98">Jon Jang</a>, and the late <a href="spotify:artist:1cZW3NKv2zT57wB9ZFsCSw">Glenn Horiuchi</a>. Wong has been a member of both <a href="spotify:artist:7tOCQ2A8BllrnxnN0vsShe">Izu</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:5D9FBKavLCqvTmVNcfMd98">Jang</a>'s groups. He also leads groups of his own, including the Great Wall, the eight-piece Asian Improv Arts Composers Workshop, and the trio Ming. Wong has worked to integrate jazz and traditional Japanese and Chinese music, and is a founding member of the San Francisco Gagaku Society. As a saxophonist, Wong acknowledges <a href="spotify:artist:2hGh5VOeeqimQFxqXvfCUf">John Coltrane</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1VEzN9lxvG6KPR3QQGsebR">Sonny Rollins</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:00SOiqZ0YGY2JhjSPxZMZg">David Murray</a> as models. He has recorded extensively for the Asian Improv label, both as a leader and sideman. ~ Chris Kelsey, Rovi