Aaron Choulai

As his official record label bio puts it, "Aaron Choulai is unique. He is the only Papua/ Chinese/ Polish/ Jewish/ Australian albino." Indeed. He also happens to be one of the most interesting young jazz musicians around.

PNG-born, Melbourne-raised and now living in New York, Choulai was exposed to a diverse range of music from infancy (blues, gospel, Jewish sacred music and more).That diversity is evident in his eclectic, open-minded approach to composing and playing piano.

He plays solo as well as in several bands and ensembles. For the 2007 Queensland Music Festival he created the show We don't dance for no reason, in which he performed with a traditional Motuan choir from his ancestral PNG village.

Aged just 26, he has already released three albums with various band combinations and is now signed to hip US-based Sunnyside Records. To hear him with the choir click here. To hear selected tracks from each of the three albums, click here.

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