KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Malaysian vocalist Janet Lee and jazz pianist Tay Cher Siang are inviting music lovers to join them for Tea for Two.
After working together for over 16 years, Lee and Tay recently released the intimate jazz album Tea for Two, which featured 12 meaningfully selected tracks.
The songs included covers of He Was Beautiful, Que Sera Sera and Mother’s Love which captured the experiences they’ve gone through individually over the pandemic.
Lee is an experienced performer known as Malaysia’s Queen of Shanghai Jazz and one third of The Shang Sisters jazz trio. (Incidentally, The Shang Sisters will be holding their first Malaysian concert at PJPac on January 7, 2024.)
Tay has been a longtime composer and musical director and has toured with his jazz band the WVC Jazz Ensemble who were featured in the blockbuster film Crazy Rich Asians.
The two have travelled around Malaysia, Macau, and Hong Kong holding live jazz performances of the songs from the album.
On January 31, 2024 the duo will be performing the live version of Tea for Two at Jao Tim in Kuala Lumpur. Before that, they will perform at Heeren Mansion in Melaka on January 13.
Local jazz lovers can expect classic tracks from the 1940s to the 1980s sung in English, Malay and Chinese and enjoy the company of two old friends sharing the ups and downs of life.
Lee and Tay recently spoke to Malay Mail on the challenges of making the album and the tributes to lost loved ones behind specific tracks.
The vocalist said that the pandemic was a ‘blessing in disguise’ as it gave her and Tay more time and less pressure to work with a new set of songs.
"We were not rushing any deadlines to complete or finalise all the arrangements and little details,” Lee said.
"So when we eventually got to leave our homes to be on the road or in live stream studios to perform (late 2020 and early 2021), we performed those songs in the spirit of jamming, discovering and experimenting.”
"I enjoyed that very much, allowing myself to discover new ways to sing those repertoire, trials and errors, surprises and affirmations.”
In late January 2023, the ‘MCO-home-recording’ songs the duo had shared on social media from 2020 to 2021 were chosen for different meaningful reasons.
One of them, Mother’s Love was a touching tribute to Lee’s late mother that was made in May 2020 as an ‘ode to mothers’.
"The decision to include Mother’s Love on the album was a deliberate one and a no brainer,” the jazz singer said.
"Dedicating a song to my mum on the album is our way of commemorating her legacy and to remember that phase in my life when I was most close to my mum. Preparing for the recording of that song has been cathartic.”
The duo also shared that tracks like Doris Day’s Tea for Two (the album's title track) were very different from the original version, making them harder to record.
Lee said the track had ‘a complete facelift’ from Day’s original version and featured Latin grooves, structured scat lines and a challenging arrangement by Tay.
However, the duo are more than ready to take the challenges head on, with Lee relentlessly practising under the tutelage of vocal producer Isabell Jia.
"There are several arrangements that are totally new, and Janet is always game on tackling them, which I am grateful for,” Tay said.
"On the other hand, as a perfectionist Janet Lee has gone through heaven and hell crafting her vocal performance in the studio with various producers. Maybe I am to be blamed (for the tough arrangements?)”
Finally, Lee and Tay hope that listeners will be drawn closer to them and the album by relating to the emotions of the songs and their lyrics.
"Music is about storytelling, and via stories we learn things, and hopefully become wiser, and hopefully know that in life there are always uncertainties, but we should also stop and smell the flowers,” the composer said.
"What I cherish about my work is that it showed me the 'Tao', it showed me my own vulnerability and strength. But most of all it lets me connect with the many people I get to share our music with.”
"In every album that I make, I hope the listeners get a sense of the artists’ spirit and philosophy,” Lee added.
"I wanted a full circle experience of life’s ups and downs, light and darkness, warts and all - to be captured through listening to the album, and to remind us all that life is but a case of Que Sera Sera.”
For more updates on Tea for Two, follow Lee and Tay on Instagram at @janetleemusic and @jazzzzaj.
