Peter van Binsbergen (left), senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., and Pat Metheny, the BMW Master Hall's newest honorary artistic advisor and Grammy award winning master of jazz

Pat Metheny performs on stage. Photos: Courtesy of BMW

With three gold albums and 20 Grammy Awards under his belt, Pat Metheny is idolized by lovers of jazz around the world. Every fan dreams of attending one of his concerts. Now, thanks to the BMW Master Hall and its new "Open for All" concept, over 3,000 participants had the chance to enjoy this jazz master and his band, the Pat Metheny Unity Group, perform at the BMW Experience Center on October 17.

As an important part of this year's Shanghai JZ festival, the BMW Master Hall arranged a world-class lineup of performers for the show, including jazz musician Marcus Miller, regarded as one of the three best bass guitarists in the world; Snarky Puppy, the instrumental fusion band that won this year's Grammy award for best R&B performance; Dutch singer Laura Fygi; and Australian virtuoso guitarist and singer Tommy Emmanuel.

At the scene, Peter van Binsbergen, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., said that the charm of "Open for All" lies in the fact it allows the public to enjoy top performances free of charge in a large open space. He added that the program exemplifies BMW's ambitions to establish personal connections with music lovers.

As one of BMW's leading art support projects, the BMW Master Hall has been working to benefit the public by providing various art events from operas to concerts. Heading into the future, the BMW Master Hall will promote art appreciation by continuing to hold free, public events in China under the "Open for All" banner.

After his performances, Metheny explained that he had wanted to visit China for 40 years, and that, thanks to BMW, he was finally able to make his dream come true. He added that he felt "Open for All" was a new innovative concept for promoting art communication that gave people the opportunity to experience live music in an intimate venue. "For me and every one below the stage, it was a unique experience. I hope that 'Open for All' will continue to build bridges between people and musicians." he said.

He also shared what he felt was the criteria for ideal music. "What is music? It's an open sky. And I want it to be fantastic, you know, BMW level music," said he.

Both in China and around the world, BMW has been working for years to boost cross cultural communication, popularize high art and support contemporary art. From "Opera for All" in Berlin to the BMW LSO Open Air Classics series in London, BMW plans to continue working with top artists, performing troupes and organizations to present free art shows in the future.