On a high note

The youth sounds out

Met star brings Confucian ideal to recital

"We visit our families in the US once a year, but neither of us wants to go back to the US yet," she says.

"We see something to be improved both in the US and in China, but we think that we can do more to help in China. Here we stand out with his music and with my abilities to change people's ways of thinking."

She has been helping overseas Chinese students blend into foreign communities since 1984. She helped establish an English-teaching center in Zhuhai with a Chinese friend in 1998, which led the couple to settle in the city.

The Bellows don't have children in China - just a cat - but never feel lonely because they have so many Chinese friends and "families".

"China has shown me so much love, respect, adulation plus has given me a chance to finalize my career in this great land," Bellows writes in his autobiography.

"Small children come by to greet me. My manager and bodyguard hover over me. I am a star in China. If I do not have it all together now, when (will I)?"

He says, smiling: "Chinese audiences are wonderful. They will shout 'Wo ai ni (I love you)' to me."

He believes "a good performer is having a love affair with the audience while onstage". So he practices flashing grins at the mirror.

"Jazz makes people happy. Yet it is still not popular in China," Bellows says.

"I want to promote jazz to Chinese people."

He has made TV appearances on China Central Television's Channel 3 and the Shanghai-based Dragon TV's 2012 Spring Festival gala. He also lectures Chinese college students.

Bellows' mellow voice and jovial stage presence have made him popular on his international tours through the United States, Russia, Europe, Mongolia, Japan and Africa. But it's in China that he finds the most devoted fans.

"I've got more opportunities to perform on a big stage in China and thus received louder claps and cheers," he says.