Liu Yuan

Liu Yuan (, pronounced ; January 1, 1960 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese musician, who plays tenor and baritone saxophone as well as the Chinese wind instrument called suona. He is recognized as one of the two most prominent jazz musicians in China, the other being the saxophonist Du Yinjiao. Biography His father was a player of the suona, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, and this was also Liu's first instrument. At about the age of eight, he began his performing career, playing in a government-run children's musical group. He continued his suona studies at the Beijing Art School, graduating at age 19, at which time he entered a danwei (work unit) called the Beijing Song and Dance Troupe. With this group, Liu had the opportunity to travel, both inside and outside of China. In 1978 and 1980, the troupe toured Europe, performing in Romania, France, Switzerland, and other nations. While in Romania, in a city near the Hungarian border, Liu and some friends went to a cafe where they heard jazz performed live for the first time: