Kengchakaj (Gheng/chAH/kad), a New York-based award-winning composer, pianist and improviser is born in Bangkok. A 2015 Fulbright Open Competition Award recipient. Kengchakaj is a musician whose work uses improvisation-based music to foster collective participation and empathy towards others. His idiom is rooted African American-derived music with the aesthetics and flavor of “Thai”. Kengchakaj is currently researching the topic of contradiction in identity and thoughts. His name, “Lak Lan,” comes from a Thai word which can be translated to mean juxtaposition, dichotomy or paradox. Kengchakaj won many international awards, including the Best Soloist award at the Thailand International Jazz Conference Solo Competition in 2013 and the First Prize in the Ensemble (2013) as well as Individual Performance (2011) categories in the Thailand Jazz Competition. Kengchakaj earned his Master’s degree in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music in 2017. from https://kengchakaj.info
