Few musicians are as accomplished as Francis Wong, considered one of “the great saxophonists of his generation” by the San Francisco Examiner. A prolific recording artist, Wong is featured on more than thirty titles and has performed his innovative brand of Asian American jazz with numerous ensembles for audiences in North America, Asia, and Europe. But to simply call the Bay Area native a musician would be to ignore his pioneering leadership in ethnic communities throughout Northern California. Wong’s imaginative career straddles roles as varied as performing artist, youth mentor, composer, community activist, music producer, and college teacher.
While some artists will take a year away from touring in order to work in the community, Wong has made “artist in residence” his full-time profession. Under that rubric, in 1987 Wong co-founded Asian Improv aRts, a recording label and arts production company, and is executive producer of Asian American Jazz/SF, San Francisco’s longest-running jazz festival. As president of the Justice Matters Institute, he has also created cultural programs related to social justice and given technical assistance to Chicano, African American, American Indian and Asian Pacific Islander artists and other young talents, providing entrée to the field for musicians who traditionally face steep obstacles. Wong, who grew up in the Bay Area, also has taught at San Francisco State, University of California at Santa Cruz, and other local institutions.
“I choose for my work to build the community and take on the challenges that mean exploring how I, as an artist, can contribute to those challenges. In the Asian American community, the biggest challenge is continuity of culture and the impact of assimilation. I seek to have some sense of continuity between tradition and innovation. Innovation generally has meant assimilation, but it doesn’t have to,” says Wong. He also sees music as a bridge, or interface, between cultures, noting that Asian American musicians owe a huge debt to African Americans, because “swing music gave us entrée to be American.”
Some of Wong’s current projects include a three-year stint on a Meet the Composer New Residency in Oakland’s Chinatown, where he works with Asian Pacific Islander youth promoting advocacy and leadership, and a collaboration in San Francisco’s Japantown to develop a performing arts component for a community revitalization project. He has been a Wildflowers fellow since 1999.