There is a particular kind of quiet that falls over a room when one person walks out with one guitar and no band to hide behind. On Tuesday 4 August 2026, Martin Taylor does exactly that at Hong Kong's Xiqu Centre — and he brings Eugene Pao, this city's own guitar hero, out with him.
If you only go to one jazz gig in Hong Kong this summer, this is a strong candidate. Here is what is happening, where, and how to get there.
In This Guide
The gig: what's actually happening
Jazz Signatures is the West Kowloon Cultural District's jazz strand, staged in the Xiqu Centre's Grand Theatre and built around single, well-chosen international names rather than festival sprawl. Past editions have brought in players such as Ambrose Akinmusire and Grace Kelly.
This one is billed by West Kowloon as a solo presentation of timeless jazz standards from a multi-award-winning guitarist, featuring special guest Eugene Pao. That last detail is the reason locals should care: it is not a touring act passing through, it is a meeting.
Jazz Signatures: Martin Taylor Solo – Special Guest Eugene Pao
One of the world's most decorated solo jazz guitarists, playing standards without a net, joined by Hong Kong's most recognised jazz musician.
Who is Martin Taylor?
Taylor is a British guitarist who built his reputation on something most players avoid: playing entirely alone. He handles melody, bass line and chords simultaneously, which is why a Taylor solo set sounds like a trio and looks like a magic trick.
The swing comes from his apprenticeship. From 1979 to 1990 he toured the world with the French violin legend Stéphane Grappelli, recording more than twenty albums together — the longest tenure of any guitarist Grappelli worked with. His 1992 solo record Artistry then made him an international name in his own right. He was appointed MBE for Services to Jazz Music in 2002, and has collected a record fourteen British Jazz Awards; his own biography fills in the rest.
The style is warm rather than showy. He is not trying to win an argument — he is trying to make a standard sound like it was written yesterday.
Eugene Pao: the local hero
Booking Eugene Pao as special guest is the smartest thing about this bill. Pao is, simply, Hong Kong's most publicly recognised jazz musician — the man whose name has been synonymous with jazz here for over thirty years, since he came back from studying in the United States in the mid-1980s and started playing around town.
The résumé is not local-hero padding either. He has recorded with Michael Brecker, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Eddie Gomez and Marc Johnson, made albums in New York and Copenhagen, and played Ronnie Scott's, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Jazz Festival. Crucially, he has shared a stage with Taylor before — the two played together in the Guitar Legacy Trio with Ulf Wakenius back in December 2017.
So this is not a courtesy cameo. These men know each other's playing.
The venue: Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon
The Xiqu Centre (戲曲中心) is the building with the curved, curtain-like façade at the corner of Canton Road and Austin Road — the first venue completed in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Its day job is Cantonese opera and traditional Chinese theatre, which makes a jazz guitarist an appealing intruder.
The Grand Theatre is the room that matters here. It is mid-sized and built for unamplified voices, which is precisely the acoustic you want for one guitar. Nothing gets lost.
Getting there and tickets
Getting there is easy, which is not always true of Hong Kong arts venues. From MTR Austin station, Exit F, it is roughly five minutes on foot through the pedestrian underpass. You can also walk from Jordan station, or arrive directly from the Hong Kong West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus if you are coming in from the mainland.
At a glance
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| What | Jazz Signatures: Martin Taylor Solo – Special Guest Eugene Pao |
| When | Tuesday 4 August 2026 |
| Where | Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, 88 Austin Road West, TST |
| Getting there | Austin MTR Exit F (~5 min); also Jordan MTR / West Kowloon HSR |
| Tickets | Via westk.hk — price and start time to be confirmed |
| Best for | Guitar players, standards fans, anyone who likes a quiet room |
Where to drink afterwards
West Kowloon empties fast after a show, so plan. The simplest move is back on the MTR one stop to Tsim Sha Tsui and into one of the rooms in our guide to the best bars in TST and Kowloon.
If the guitar has put you in the mood for more of the same, keep going — our guide to Hong Kong's jazz bars and clubs covers where the city plays live jazz on an ordinary Tuesday, and the best live music venues in Hong Kong maps the rest of the circuit.
Martin Taylor in Hong Kong: your questions answered
The verdict
Hong Kong gets plenty of stadium-sized music. It gets far fewer nights where a world-class player sits down in a good room and simply plays — and fewer still where the city's own best guitarist walks out to join him.
4 August. Xiqu Centre. Clear the evening.
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