Traveling Canadian "subway artists" play on the accordion to pin nostalgia

Canada's "subway musician" accordion sends nostalgia

Seven days

Traveling accordionist, Montreal, Canada "Top Ten Metro Artists"

In the subway station in Montreal, Canada, there are more than 200 "subway artists" active, who either play or sing, forming a unique landscape. Among them, there is a Chinese elderly man in his seventies who performs Chinese and Western famous songs on the accordion at the subway station, attracting passengers who are in a hurry to slow down and stop to listen.

He is Jiang Bin. Immigrated to Canada 19 years ago to reunite with his family. Unwilling to eat idle meals, he once worked everywhere, and in the end, he picked up his beloved accordion and walked into the subway to perform. He is one of the very few Chinese in montreal's subway musicians in the cosmopolitan metropolis. In 2004, the local French-language subway newspaper Metro held the "Top Ten Metro Outstanding Artists" selection, and Jiang Bin ranked fifth.

Today, Jiang Bin still wears his accordion every day and plays it at various subway stations in Montreal. The sound of his piano is the spiritual food of the hurried pedestrians, and it is also the sustenance of many Chinese people's endless nostalgia.

1 Hobby became a lifelong skill

The first time I met Jiang Bin was at the Lionel-Groulx subway station at 5 p.m. one day. In the bustling crowd, the author heard the tune of "the north wind blows, the snowflakes flutter" from a distance. Following the prestige of the violin, I saw an old man with a typical northern Chinese face sitting on a stool he had brought with him and playing the accordion intoxicatedly.

I had a few small talk with him and agreed to go to his home in the Verdun district for an interview.

Born in 1947, Jiang Bin entered the Dalian Technical School in Liaoning Province in 1964 to study electricians, and after graduation was assigned to the Dalian Electric Power Bureau. In 1982, he was transferred to the Liaoning Provincial Foreign Trade Bureau (later the Liaoning Provincial Foreign Trade Corporation), worked as a driver, and worked in infrastructure, offices, canteens and other positions until he was laid off in 1995.

Jiang Bin, who was laid off, picked up the accordion and joined the Dalian Amateur Russian Choir. How can Jiang Bin, who is an electrician, play the accordion? It turned out that when Jiang Bin was studying at dalian electric power school, he met Wang Guozheng, who later became a famous accordion player in China. Jiang Bin said: "As soon as I heard Wang Guozheng's performance, I was fascinated, how can I play such expressive music between my ten fingers?" I pestered him to teach! He wasn't too happy at the time and offered to play a game of table tennis with me, and I won before he would teach me. ”

Jiang Bin won the game. Since then, Jiang Bin has followed Wang Guozheng to learn the piano. But Wang Guozheng only let him watch from the sidelines, and did not teach directly, but relied on his own thinking.

During that time, Jiang Bin practiced the piano for an average of 10 hours a day. Two months later, Jiang Bin began to perform on stage. Since then, he has often used his spare time to participate in performances. Jiang Bin's best is to solo Soviet and Chinese folk music, many professional groups have wanted to recruit him, although in the end for various reasons did not succeed, but the accordion has become the favorite to accompany Jiang Bin throughout his life.

In 1982, Jiang Bin spent more than HK$20,000 to buy an Italian brand accordion, and this 14-kilogram guy has since accompanied him across the ocean, from China to Malaysia, from Canada to Cuba.

Since joining the Dalian Russian Choir in January 1996, Jiang Bin has been the principal accompanist. In 2001, when former Russian President Yeltsin visited Dalian during his visit to China, the Russian-language choir was invited to perform for Yeltsin. A series of soviet songs made Yeltsin's eyes burst into tears.

2 From Malaysia to Cuba, to the piano friends of the world wide

The accordion is Jiang Bin's hobby, his inseparable companion, and his bond to make friends around the world.

In late 1998, Jiang Bin traveled to Malaysia with a friend to attend a folk trade fair in Sarawak, intending to do some business. One day at noon, Jiang Bin picked up the accordion and pulled up "Fifteen Moons" and "Honghu Lake Waves"... The melodious sound of the piano immediately attracted the attention of everyone, and not long after, more and more people gathered, surrounding Jiang Bin's booth. Jiang Bin simply started the "Exhibition Hall Concert" and played for two hours. By the end of the exhibition in the afternoon, many Malaysian businessmen invited Jiang Bin to help them with various activities. Since then, more Sarawak people have come to know this accordionist from northern China, which also contributed to Jiang Bin's subsequent years of residence in Malaysia.

Jiang Bin was invited to the radio station to do programs, attend various celebrations in the local Chinese community, and participate in the celebrations of the Chinese consulate. Malaysia's International Daily and Sarawak Evening News also held an accordion music appreciation meeting for him in Kuching South, Sarawak, where the local Chinese mayor attended the concert and cut the ribbon.

Jiang Bin relied on an accordion and made many business friends in Malaysia.

In 2003, Jiang Bin, who had already immigrated to Canada, traveled from Montreal to Havana, the capital of Cuba. At the end of each day, Jiang Bin, who returned to the hotel, played the accordion to the travelers. One day, when "Returning from a Target Shot" was played, the sound of the piano attracted the hotel owner. The boss told Jiang Bin that his father liked Chinese music and asked Jiang Bin if he would like to go to his house to play for his father. When he arrived at the hotel owner's house, Jiang Bin learned that the boss's father, Eric, was the Cuban minister of fisheries, a former comrade-in-arms of Castro, had been a subordinate of Guevara, and had raised his descendants for many years after Che Guevara's death.

Eric has visited China many times and has always been grateful to China for its selfless assistance to Cuba. Eric has always been fond of Chinese music, and he took out his collection of music records such as "Jasmine" and "Caiyun Chasing the Moon" and put them on Jiang Bin. Jiang Bin introduced the characteristics of southern Chinese folk music and northwest folk music to Eric, and also played a northwest folk music "Orchid Flower" on the accordion. At the end of the 8-minute song, Eric and the others listened to it like crazy.

Immediately, Jiang Bin played a famous Cuban song "Pigeon". After listening to the song, Eric told jiang bin about the origin of this song. In the 19th century, a Cuban boy living in Mexico fell in love with a Chinese girl who also lived in Mexico, and he wrote this song, and the pigeon in the song was the embodiment of the Chinese girl. In honor of the author of the song, later generations titled "Dove" cuban national music.

At the end of the party, the excited Eric invited Jiang Bin to have a chance to come back to Cuba. Knowing that Jiang Bin used to work in the foreign trade system, he entrusted Jiang Bin to return to China to help contact Chinese investors to operate resource-rich seafood in Cuba.

3 Awarded Montreal 'Top 10 Metro Artists'

The most prominent label on Jiang Bin's body now is "subway musician". This is rare among the local Chinese.

Jiang Bin immigrated to Montreal, Canada in 2002 to reunite with his family. Not wanting to eat idle meals, he first washed and cut vegetables in restaurants, and then went to work in a local food factory. In the food factory, Jiang Bin wears gloves every day to handle frozen ingredients. After half a year, the once flexible fingers became numb, and for a long time they could not play the piano. Until he was "unemployed" again, 58-year-old Jiang Bin went to school to learn French again.

In his spare time, Jiang Bin regained the accordion and often played it to relieve boredom. Gradually, friends around him became aware of his craft, and enthusiastic people recommended him to participate in activities in the Chinese community. On China National Day in 2003, Jiang Bin was invited to participate in the community carnival program and played music such as "Singing the Motherland". After the party, he was suggested to go to the subway station to try it out, because there were a lot of street performers there. Old Ginger was moved.

In Montreal, wherever the Hute logo is on the subway, performers can apply for paid performances. However, to choose a good time period, you must get up early to register. Jiang Bin took the first subway every day, went to several large subway stations in Mengshi to sign the timetable, seized a good time, and then went to these stations on time to play the piano.

Jiang Bin's beautiful piano sound and devoted expression attracted passengers in and out of the subway station. Even the police in the subway often walked up to Old Ginger and gave him a thumbs up to show his appreciation for the sound of his piano.

How much can I earn from a subway performance? Ginger said that for two hours a day, the lowest income was only $2, and the average income was about $25 to $30. "It's just enough to buy groceries, but I'm happy."

Jiang Bin said that when playing in the subway, he can often encounter things that move him. Once, an old lady who was blind in both eyes walked up to him trembling and forced herself to give him $1 cadence. He was flattered and even said, "No! No！ But the old lady insisted on giving, and tears were faintly visible in the corners of her eyes. Old Ginger did not resign. He said: "The old lady was blind and didn't really see my performance, she was listening attentively and was touched by the sound of my piano. ”

There is a Chinese girl who often listens to Old Ginger's performance in the subway station. Once, when Jiang Bin was pulling "On the Field of Hope", the girl couldn't help but cry. Old Ginger comforted her with concern and asked if she was homesick. The girl choked and said, "My father also plays the accordion, and when I heard your piano, I remembered my father, and I remembered everything in my hometown..."

"There are so many stories like this." Jiang Bin recalled: "Some foreign friends invited me to my home to help with the birthday party. Here, people never think that people who perform on the streets or subways are poor. Many parents will put change in the hands of their children and let them give it to artists. ”

Almost everyone who has taken the subway in Montreal knows that there is a rich Chinese accordionist playing beautiful Chinese music. For the Chinese, Lao Jiang has become their most familiar friend, and the sound of Lao Jiang's piano has pinned their deep nostalgia. In 2004, the local subway newspaper Metro newspaper "Metro" newspaper evaluated the top ten subway artists, and among more than 200 subway artists, Lao Jiang ranked fifth.

A few years ago, Jiang Bin's wife took a step first, leaving Old Jiang alone. The accordion became his only sustenance, and his performance in the subway allowed him to immerse himself in music and temporarily forget the pain of parting. Fortunately, Lao Jiang met a confidant again and married him happily in November last year. Today, in his 70s, he still takes the first subway every morning and checks in at the Lute piano in the subway station to seize the ideal time. Accompany yourself with the sound of the piano, and also use the sound of the piano to touch others.

Source: Xinmin Evening News