GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: Jazz has been known in China since the roaring '20s. Today, musical ambassador Wynton Marsalis is helping to bridge the cultural gap. CNN's Lisa Weaver reports from Beijing.</s>LISA WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has been playing to global audiences for a decade and it took that long for it to reach China, the world's biggest potential audience for America's home-grown musical form. But however large China's jazz following could become, the point now is simply to resonate with the spirit of the music.</s>WYNTON MARSALIS, MUSICIAN: If we reach 100 people or 100 million, it really doesn't make a difference to me. I would like to reach a lot of people, but I'm not willing to compromise the music to do that. The message in this music is just as warm and as sweet and soulful as it was when they first invented it.</s>WEAVER (on camera): The orchestra didn't just come to Beijing to play jazz for a Chinese audience, instead they came to swing with local musicians in the capital's own thriving jazz scene. (voice-over): The interaction begins with teaching about musical balance, and the dialogue between beat and bass. The orchestra also wants to teach local jazz musicians not to get caught up in the conventions of the form, instead, to project a musical personality. Then it's time to jam. Liu Yuan (ph), a musician and manager of a popular jazz club, says Chinese audiences still need to figure out where jazz fits in with all the other musical forms from the West. But for now, it's enough just to tune in to the joy of jazz. Lisa Weaver, CNN, Beijing.
Jazz Musician Wynton Marsalis Takes Sweet and Soulful Sounds to China