Saturday Mornings: Singapore’s Jazz Surge, The Talent, the Ecosystem & the New Sound of a City

On MoneyFM 89.3’s Home Brew Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen sits down with Singapore legend Jeremy Monteiro to unpack Singapore’s jazz surge. Pianist, composer, educator, and one of the architects of Singapore’s modern jazz ecosystem, Jeremy explains how two decades of institutional support have transformed the scene. Esplanade’s Jazz in July (now in its 19th year), the Mosaic Jazz Fellows, and the Jazz Association Singapore have built a talent pipeline producing internationally placed musicians from Sean Hong Wei (Dizzy Gillespie Band) to Maya Raisha (Queens College) and drummer Yap Ting Wei (Tribeca Jazz Camp). We explore the rise of three‑generation ensembles, the shift toward straight‑ahead jazz vocabulary, and why young Singaporean musicians are now sounding authentically “New York” before adding multicultural flavours like erhu, tabla or Chinese drums. Jeremy also breaks down the economics of the streaming era, the reality of hybrid careers, and why Singapore’s venue landscape is stronger than cities three times our size with a new Esplanade jazz club opening later this year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.