Jazz riffs were once again dancing through the corridors of the Peace Hotel after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the Open Door Policy of Deng Xiaoping . 1980 was the year today ’ s jazz band started playing at the Peace Hotel . Despite its new phases of renovations , the steadfast band members remain as a lively musical ensemble .
In 2016 , the Peace Hotel continues to operate as one of Shanghai ' s premium hotels not just because of its historical and architectural interest , but our old friends — the Old Jazz Band . The current Old Jazz Band is made up of six veteran musicians whose average age is 82 and the youngest member is now 79 . Each of the musicians has been playing jazz since the 1940s . Each of the members , like jazz itself , showcases individuality , creativity and spontaneity . In China , these qualities were viewed with skepticism for many years . Against all odds , these legendary jazz granddaddies have never lost their love for music . Through it all , the band plays on . They keep it alive and it , in turn , keeps them alive . Nowadays the Old Jazz Band has drawn a wide audience of locals , international travelers and celebrities . The Band also took part in various performances as part of China ' s cultural diplomacy , playing for former US presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan , Queen Elizabeth and numerous other heads of state . The lives and times of the Old Jazz Band musicians were also recently made into a documentary “ As Time Goes By ” by German filmmaker Uli Gaulke .
Today , Shanghai is known as the City of modern China . Seen through the window of its Pudong district , it features a cityscape like something out of a science fiction movie . The Peace Hotel is restoring its glamorous past that continues to fascinate imaginations — a time of adventure , entrepreneurship and dazzling style during the 1930s . This period is epitomized by the Peace Hotel with its famous address on the Bund .
Now in their seventies and eighties , the Old Jazz Band musicians have literally seen the world transformed around them . Through decades of political upheaval , this group of musicians has served as a living link to Shanghai ' s jazz heydays . Closing my eyes at the writing desk , I can vaguely visualize socialites floating on the dancing floor in the plushy bar on the Ground Floor of Peace Hotel , immersing themselves in the melodies of “ Moon River ” and “ As Time Goes By ” played by the Old Jazz Band . This is the story of the oldest band in the world that will never lose faith and belief in their music .