Annie Chen is a vocalist, composer, and bandleader from Beijing, based in New York since 2013. Her distinctive style draws on a rich continuum of musical traditions from
Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This creative vision – showcased on her releases Pisces the Dreamer (2014), Secret Treetop (2018) and Guardians (2024) – is supported by years of experience in China’s jazz, blues, and funk scenes as well as active study and collaboration within New York’s vibrant jazz community.

A lifelong student of music, Chen began her study of classical piano at the age of four, attending Beijing’s prestigious Central Conservatory of Music. After developing an
interest in jazz, she traveled to New York in 2010 to study privately with Nancy Marano at Manhattan School of Music. She later obtained a Master of Music degree from Queens College, where she studied with Charenée Wade, Antonio Hart, David Berkman, and Michael Philip Mossman.

Annie is an experienced educator, having offered extensive, recurring masterclasses on vocal jazz performance and jazz appreciation as part of her residency in Hangzhou, China. In addition to online private and group lessons, Chen was recently commissioned by Beijing’s Ear King Music Company to produce Jazz Singing Masterclass Vol.1, an educational video series intended for students in China. As part of her mission to forge connections between distant musical worlds, she is also producing JZ Club on Air, a radio show dedicated to exposing Chinese audiences to the diverse and forward-thinking jazz currently emerging from New York.