Chinese jazz singer Situ Jiawei, better known as Jonas Seetoh, will present a night of classy swing music at Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center.

Seetoh’s sound has been compared to “dark beer” by Shanghai’s JZ Music Club, which called it “mellow, with a bit of bitterness, but not as strong as whisky.”

In 2014, Seetoh released his debut English album, “The Island,” a standard jazz album that sees him deftly add his own touch to 11 classic jazz songs that draw influences from funk, fusion and bossa nova.

Born in 1988 in Guangzhou, he studied pop singing at Xinghai Conservatory of Music, but later found himself extremely interested in jazz.

“Diana Krall and Frank Sinatra were my earliest jazz influences. I listened to many popular jazz songs at that time, such as ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and ‘The Look of Love.’ I was totally absorbed by the mood of them, which sometimes is very sexy, and sometimes naughty,” said Seetoh. In 2011, he studied jazz piano and jazz vocals at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Britain.

Switching from pop to jazz was not difficult for Seetoh, as before he learned jazz he had already been singing soul music and loved improvising at shows. In Britain, he was lucky to have one of his favorite artists, jazz singer Tina May, as a tutor.

“My experiences in Britain changed my life,” said Seetoh. “Before I went there, I thought I would probably be a bar singer for my entire life, but that stay encouraged and inspired me to be a professional musician with my own compositions and albums.”

Seetoh now teaches jazz at JZ School in Shanghai.

Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 15

Tickets: 100-280 yuan

Venue: Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center, 2106 Nanshan Boulevard, Nanshan District (南山区南山大道2106号南山文体中心)

Metro: Line 1, Taoyuan Station (桃园站), Exit B

(SD News)