Improvisation was, and always has been, one of those things in life that never came easily to me. As a jazz musician, I always struggle against the urge to solidify everything that ever comes to mind before I get up onstage to play. But if jazz music can teach us anything about life, then improvisation, in all forms, is about as important as respiration. With no exception, this story begins with a toss of the dice.

In the summer of 2009, I had the opportunity to study Chinese language in Beijing, China. During most of the program, I was so focused on my language studies that I had little time to explore the city. One night (dig this, cats), I just couldn’t bring myself to study any more Chinese. I realized that when characters start looking like animated cartoons, I am probably not going to learn anything from a book. I decided I needed to find out what China was like at 11 p.m. on a Friday night. I threw down my pencil, grabbed my backpack and walked out the dimly lit gate of the college.

20 minutes later, when I walked into East Shore Live Jazz Club in Hou Hai, my expectations were low. The gimmicky sign reeked of western appropriation, and the dingy stairs to the club were cramped and creaky. But I rolled with it. As soon as I pulled back the curtain and walked in, my jaw dropped. Standing front and center was my soon-to-be best friend Nathaniel Gao, blowing away all my expectations with his alto saxophone, joined onstage by pianist, friend and mentor Xia Jia, bassist Zhang Ke and drummer Izumi. I couldn’t have left even if I had wanted to — I was so astounded that such vibrant, modern and hip music was flowing from musicians in this city of flashing neon lights, ugly concrete dwellings, grungy dumpling dives and gaudy karaoke bars. That was where all of this began.

I soon discovered that Beijing had a small but vibrant, jazz scene. Local musicians had formed a community, providing for each other and enjoying an all-around camaraderie that I felt was largely missing in other U.S. cities that call themselves homes to jazz music. Henry Zhang, a banker working as vice president of investment banking at Barclay’s Capital in Hong Kong, offered me $5,000 to bring a band back to China.

I decided to return in January of 2010 with a band of Oberlin Conservatory and double-degree jazz majors, under the moniker The Terry Hsieh Collective, to explore this community and see what it had to offer. Throughout the fall semester of 2009, I secured financial aid from the Winter Term Committee, the Tuckership Fund from the East Asia Studies Department, the Study Abroad Office and, of course, my dear friend Henry. Our tour proved that Beijing’s music scene was starving for growth and it provides a unique opportunity for Oberlin jazz majors to find work upon graduation. Indeed, it only took five weeks of playing in Beijing for drummer Alex Morris OC ’10 to convince himself to save up for a plane ticket and book a one-way flight to Beijing. He’s been doing extremely well.

Our first tour showed me how much the musicians in China needed new players and new musicians around. Musicians feed off of each other; Energy comes from synergy, and when one cat is raging, he raises the level of performance for everyone else.

This January, I returned again, with yet another band. We’re a six piece ensemble: Will Miller on trumpet, Conservatory sophomore Alexander Cummings on alto saxophone, myself on trombone, double-degree fourth-year Julia Chen on piano, Conservatory junior Brandon Gaoiran on bass, and double-degree fourth-year Cory Rogers on the drums. We supported ourselves with over $7,000 of grant money from the Conservatory Initiative Grants Supporting Imagination and Excellence, the Winter Term office, the Study Away office and, again, with the support of Henry.

I guess none of this would have happened if I just sat still. Improvising is one of those fine arts that make you think on your feet. You roll with the changes, try to keep up, and, every once in a while, a gem comes out.