From a long line of traditional Chinese musicians, Jie Ma began studying music and playing the pipa at age 5. She became a professional musician at age 14. Jie received her Bachelor of Music degree from one of China's top music schools, the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, in 2001. Jie also studied in China under celebrated pipa masters Wang Fendi, Liu Dehai, and Kuang Yuzhong, and ruan master Jilian Liu. Jie was also an adjunct professor in the music department at Liao Ning Normal University, and she has taught Pipa to a wide range of students in China and the United States.

After coming to the United States, in 2004, Jie began exploring the possibilities of blending traditional pipa technique with Western and other sounds. In addition to working with classical musicians and composers, Jie has worked extensively with jazz and rock musicians on experimental and improvisational projects. Jie enjoys playing traditional Chinese arrangements, creating her own works, and fusing Chinese and other styles to create a unique sound that is all hers.

In pursuit of her passion for music and the pipa, Jie has performed in China, Japan, and throughout the United States, as a soloist, in ensembles, and as a featured performer. In 2009, Jie was referred in the U.K. newspaper, the Guardian, as one of the "notable" pipa players in the West.

In 2008, Jie was invited to perform at the Los Angeles Center for the Arts at Eagle Rock where she shared the stage with avant-garde musicians such as Vinny Golia on clarinet and Alex Cline on percussion. In 2008, Jie was invited to perform Zhou Long's "Farewell for Pipa, Erhu, and Ensemble" with the Seattle Chamber Players at Town Hall, Seattle. In 2007, Jie performed with the San Francisco Girls Chorus in its season premiere themed "Magic Strings." In 2006, Jie was invited to perform in an avant-garde project entitled "Sound for Picture" with the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, in which the sound of pipa narrated the history of San Francisco through the eyes of early Chinese experience during the Gold Rush. Jie also performed in the New York Winter Jazz Festival in 2006 where she gave a duet performance with percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. In 2005, and again in 2007, Jie performed at the Pan-Asian Musical Festival at Stanford University. In 2005, she also played with the Citywinds Woodwind Quintet in San Francisco in a concert that combined modern chamber music with Chinese traditional ensemble.

In San Francisco, where she lives, Jie frequently collaborates with avant-garde musicians such as Philip Gelb on shakuhachi, jazz musicians such as Jeffrey Chin on piano, and jazz fusion musician Gary Schwantes on saxophone and Chinese bamboo flute. In her continuing effort to push the boundaries of the pipa in many different contexts, Jie has played with a wide variety of musicians from a number of different genres, including jazz, country, blues, and rock.

Beyond what is outlined above, her performance history is wide and varied:

• Summer Solstice Music Festival 2009, with Kyle Bruckmann, Chris Brown, Phil Gelb, Shoko Hikage, and Tim Perkis.
• April 2009, experimental/improvisation show at Ivy Room with Michael Zbyszynski, Bruce Bennett, Bill Langton, and Byron Diel.
• February 2009, Temescal Arts Center, Oakland, with Philip Gelb (Shakuhachi) and Tim Perkis (computer).
• March 2008, With Philip Gelb (shakuhachi) provided duet concert at the Meridian Gallery in San Francisco, CA. The music was selected in the Gallery's first album: Ten Years of Meridian Music: Composers in Performance.
• Summer Solstice Music Festival 2007: Garden of Memory 2007, with Philip Gelb
• 2007 to present, Jumping Buddha Ensemble, annual concert in De Young Museum in 2007 and 2008
• 2004 to present, working with Melody of China. Have performed with this group in different venues such as Herbst Theater and Asian Art Museum:
• A Musical Dialogue with Dancing Lions, San Francisco, CA May 2004
• "Songs from Mongolia" concert June 2005
• A Musical Dialogue with Dancing Lions, San Francisco, CA May 2004
• Oct 2006, Asian American Music Showcase, Monkey King Records. Jie Played with Chinese American hardcore band, Say Bok Gwai.
• Jie is also one of few main musicians in the CD SILK ROAD by Vincent Flores

Jie's impressive technique, exotic sound, musical curiosity, and tremendous stage presence are not to be missed.