Chan was born in Concord, California on November 23, 1970,[1] and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[2] Over the next few years he worked in a variety of musical settings, including with the large group named the Big Fun Philharmonic.
[2] Chan moved to Chicago in 2002, where he studied with the saxophonist Jimmy Ellis and worked with Asian American musicians.
[2] Chan's "work evinces an awareness of the Asian American experience, embracing non-Western cultures and traditions while engaging with the central tenets of collective jazz improvisation.
"[1] His "improvisational language takes root in the expansive structural and harmonic approach of Dewey Redman and Ornette Coleman.