[rleitch]

There is nothing about this young woman I don't like...except maybe that she'll only earn a fraction of the money (and reach a fraction of the young audience) that a "star" like Katy Perry will.

for the sake of contrast

 

[playatsax]

So many truly gifted musicians fail because they don't look good or play the "wrong" kind of music, while others "succeed" because they have a particular look or quirk that stands out. I truly believe that MTV ruined the commercial music industry.

I really hope Grace can succeed.

 

[Nefertiti]

Wow, great singing! I really enjoyed that.

 

[JohnGalt]

Some would interpret her success as a direct result of what she looks like.
This will be a test of the intellectual civility of this site:

If she wasn't an asian female, would you know who she is?

 

[GT]

If it wasn't for SOTW, I wouldn't know he she was. I don't spend a lot of time surfing the net. Was that intellectually civil? (Seriously, I'm not sure I understand the intent of the question).

 

[rleitch]

Some would interpret her success as a direct result of what she looks like.
This will be a test of the intellectual civility of this site:

If she wasn't an asian female, would you know who she is?

I'm not sure what intellectual civility is, but I can try to answer your question: no and yes.

That is, I discovered Grace a few years ago when I was looking for youtube videos to use as a writing and speaking prompt for a class. I was actually looking for examples of role models for teens, and I wanted some Asian or Asian North American female examples (the "no" part). If this hadn't been the case, I'm pretty sure I would have heard of her on this website (the "yes" part). Anyway, I think she's great.

I hope that's an answer. Your question is a bit confusing: if she weren't Asian and female, who would she (he?) be?

 

[RootyTootoot]

That's not my cup of tea. She does have a very pretty voice and of course she can play the sax extremely well. But that music just isn't my cup of tea. I'd no more listen to an album of that than an album of Katy Perry.

What her being Asian has to do with anything, God only knows..

Of course, being young and pretty doesn't hurt marketing. But that is stating the obvious.

 

[JL]

If she wasn't an asian female, would you know who she is?

I didn't know who she was until I saw this thread!

Kinda cute video and easy-listening music. She plays very well, like I said easy on the ears. Not really my thing, but I'm pretty jaded, cynical, and I like an edge to the music, but that doesn't take anything away from this nice young musician.

Now, that second video...............I'm glad I never heard of whoever that is, and hope I never do again!

 

[JohnGalt]

By intellectual civility I refer to a tendancy on this site to flame the questioner, in other words some will get mad that I even ask the question, that I have an agenda or personal gripe.
The question: If she wasn't a girl, and asian, would people care about her playing? Same sound and ability on some 20 year old white kid from Westchester County ... would he get the same recognition?

 

[JohnGalt]

Part II: Same asian girl with same playing ability who comes from a back ground with no wealth .... would anybody know who she is?

 

[JohnGalt]

I enjoy her playing btw.

 

[rleitch]

I enjoy her playing btw.

Thanks for sharing! FWIW: There are lots of wealthy young Asian and Asian American girls in the world, but I'm pretty sure Grace is the only one wearing Phil Woods' hat.

 

[JohnGalt]

It certainly is statistically unusual for a young asian woman to have a Phil Woods hat and play sax at her level.

 

[rleitch]

It certainly is statistically unusual for a young asian woman to have a Phil Woods hat and play sax at her level.

:scratch: From what I gather, he liked her playing so much he gave her his hat. That's 1 Phil, 1 Grace, 1 Hat, and 2 heads. Right?

 

[Dr G]

It certainly is statistically unusual for a young asian woman to have a Phil Woods hat and play sax at her level.

It is statistically "unusual" for any person to have a Phil Woods hat (especially when it came from Phil Woods) and play sax at that level.

 

[hakukani]

I like her well enough, the song is sorta meh...the mix is dated. All those handclaps!!

 

[CooolJazzz]

I wonder if anyone else has stumbled across this one yet. Grace at 10 years old, 6 weeks after starting on the saxophone.

 

[kavala]

Doesn't miss a note - well done.

 

[Dr G]

What amazes me is that she is already developing good support and shows a good sense of time - sounds better than a lot of people with many more years on the horn.

There's some latent talent going on there.

 

[Nefertiti]

Some would interpret her success as a direct result of what she looks like.
This will be a test of the intellectual civility of this site:

If she wasn't an asian female, would you know who she is?

I don't think you can separate it like that. They are who they are. What good does it do to ask these hypothetical questions? It's like asking if Barack Obama would be president if he was white................who knows. Who they are is tied to their race and gender.