Imagine this. Playing the simple form of jazz with spontanity right in the middle of society, surrounded by houses and the residents who do their daily activities as usual. That’s always been the concept of NGAYOGJAZZ, that has been prepared since 2006. Following the success of the previous Ngayogjazz, this year Ngayogjazz is on again. Located at Pasar Seni Gabusan Bantul Yogyakarta, this is an event that believed will bring jazz down to earth, blending harmoniously with local people. If you still think that jazz only suits the rich and exclusive class, you got to check this one and see that actually jazz can be friendly and accepted in open arms by just about everyone.

The concept came from an artiste Djaduk Ferianto, that found his calling to change this wrong perception. He believes jazz is an open and dynamic music, flexible, and surely could be appreciated by all segments existed in the society, also by all the different local cultures. That’s why from him we got several surprising jazz events in the most unlikely places, like Jazz Gunung (Mountain Jazz) at Java Banana Bromo, 2000 m height an the mountain last July, and of course this series of Ngayogjazz. The results proved him right. Jazz IS an open and dynamic form of music that can touch the heart of everyone.

This year’s Ngayogjazz Festival will be held at Pasar Seni Gabusan Bantul, Yogyakarta. Check the map below.

Many outstanding artists will perform there, blending together with the local residents. These artists including:
Dwiki Dharmawan
ESQIEF a.k.a Syaharani & the Queenfireworks
Dewa Budjana
Harri Stojka and Claudius Jelinek (Austria)
Albert Yap & Bassgroove 100 (Malaysia)
Philosophy : Bintang Indrianto, Arief Setyahadi and Gerry Herb
David Manuhutu
I Wayan Sadra & Sonoseni Ensemble
Komunitas Jazz Kemayoran (KJK)
Purwanto & Kua Etnika
Komunitas Jazz Jogjakarta
Jur@sik Brass Band ISI Yogyakarta

Not only jazz will be served, but you can also find some more interesting stuff, such as Jazz Market, traditional music performances, CD launching of Jazz Jogja Compilation, Ngayogjazz Photography Festival and the gathering of jazz communities of Indonesia.

Save the schedule!

Gladi Ngejazz Music Clinic
Date: Friday, November 20, 2009
Location: Rumah Budaya Tembi
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Ngayogjazz main event:
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009
Time: 3:00 pm – midnight
Location: Pasar Seni Gabusan Bantul, Yogyakarta

FREE EVENT!

If you want to have a new experience in enjoying jazz performance, this is the event you don’t want to miss! See you there.

For more info log on to Ngayogjazz official website

A wonderkid is ready to hatch. His name is David Melchias Manuhutu, or better known as David Manuhutu. I saw him first of all last year at Padjadjaran University playing in a group called Bop Vivant. Imagine this. He was still 16 at that time, yet he could play bop style without any problem, with complex variations and the ability to interract musically with the rest of the band. From that moment, I knew that this kid would be big. All he needed was just a little more time to grow, more stage experience to play in front of the audience. For the whole year he appeared anywhere. He performed in several editions of KlabJazz’ Jazz Break Revival,  Halaman Monthly  Jazz at Cafe Halaman, playing with the living legend, the virtuoso Bubi Chen, many other senior jazz giants in Indonesia like Oele Pattiselano, Arief Setiadi, Riza Arshad, Nial Djuliarso, Jeffrey Tahalele and many more. He has played with some international stars like Lewis Pragasam and Australian jazz band LOGIC, also got a prestigious shot to perform at the Axis International Java Jazz Festival. In such a young age he has achieved that all. We know that this kid has something not every musician has. He was born to play music. He was born to jazz.

We’ve got a few wonderkids in their own time who has made something so phenomenal, something that couldn’t be explained with logic. We got Indra Lesmana that surprised the audience with his piano skill when he was still 10 years old, we got Eldar Djangirov in USA, and some more, but we see the fact that this is not an ordinary case. We don’t find this phenomenal kid every day. That’s why when I saw him last year, I knew soon enough he would be ready to enter the big and wonderful world of jazz.

David got his DNA from his father, Venche Manuhutu. Venche is a senior jazz musician that owns a music school named Venche Music School (VMS). Living in a musical family, his talent was spotted very early. He started learning classical piano when he was just 5 year old. Later he continued to focus his learning in more specific field, in jazz to be exact. He learned it at his father’s school. From 2005 he’s been trained by one of the finest jazz pianist, Imam Pras, and in fact it still goes on until now. He was shaped very fast, thanks to his natural talent, and continuously stunned everyone with his tremendous play.

Tonight was the night for him to celebrate. Located at the Auditorium of CCF (Centre Culture Francaise) Bandung,  David got his first event where he became the highlight. We call this an inagauration night. The event called “Touch of 17 by David Manuhutu”. He just reached his 17 years of age last June. Unlike most of the kids in his age, David is ready to face the challange, to build his career seriously and professionally in jazz. He’s ready to face the world, he’s ready to roll.

For this very special event David was supported by many jazz greats from Bandung and Jakarta. There were Rudy Zulkarnaen (bass), Arifandi “Aru” (drums), Boyke Priyo Utomo (Sax), Imam Pras (keyboard), another young talent Yonathan Godjali (piano), Edward Prasetya (guitar), Kanggep Kusuma (guitar) and Brury Effendi (trumpet). Also featuring Lia Amalia and the senior Indonesian jazz vocalist Lita Zen. Acting as the music director is David’s own teacher, Imam Pras. The treat tonight was this: David was the central player, and he would play in many formats, from solo, duet, trio to small ensemble.

As the rain poured hard all through the day, we arrived late. David had just finished two songs when we appeared at the entrance. The room was fully crowd, it was completely full. It was even difficult to open the door because all the space was taken by the standing audience. We still saw David Manuhutu duet with Kanggep Kusuma on guitar playing “Blues for Papa”. Arifandi appeared for the third song, while Kanggep left the stage. Together the trio played David’s own composition, “Rhytmico”. The next one was the all time famous “Spain” in seriously cool version with many twists and turns from the players. Edward Prasetya was also there joining the group.

Boyke Priyo Utomo, one of the finest saxophonist in local Bandung jazz scene started the tune in solo and then followed by the rest of the band, bringing the song called “Lotus Blossom” originally brought by Joe Henderson. Cool surprise came, they brought a famous evergreen song written by Ismail Marzuki, “Rangkaian Melati”, twisted it in cool jazz. This time the trio David, Rudy and Arifandi got Boyke on sax, special performance by the music director Imam Pras on electric piano and Lia Amalia on vocal.

The night turned deeper into jazz as the trio together with, saxophonist Boyke,  trumpeter Brury Effendi and Sankis, the percussionist brought Miles Davis‘ song “So What”. They continued to roll on this time with samba flavor on the post bop. It was Wayne Shorter’s “Black Nile”. That was the end of first session.

After 15 minutes break, “Freedom Jazz Dance” was brought on stage. Indonesian Youth Generation, that was the name of this newly formed group that also included David as the pianist. David moved to electric piano, with Enos on bass and Demas on drums. All of them are still very young, and it was really cool to see these young musicians has emerged as complete musicians. It was a totally spontaneous performance. They just discussed what to play seconds before they started, but still they played perfectly. This amazing teenage group continued their session with the famous Herbie Hancock song, “Cantaloop”. What a lively play, they went on exploring the wildest side of jazz in stunning improvisations,leaving the original and made it their own.

A stunning duet between two amazing young jazz pianist came next. It was David together with Yonathan Godjali with “Straight no Chaser”. It was great to see them having fun, playing the playful ragtime style. David and Nathan now joined with Brury, Sankis and Rudy on stage. They played Dave Grusin’s “Five Brothers.”

Lita Zen, the very famous jazz singer appeared on stage with the huge applause from the crowds. Almost all the playing musicians tonight also joined them. Together they brought the jazz standard, Morgan Lewis‘ “How High The Moon”. What a voice, felt like Natalie Cole was the one on stage tonight. Lita took time to thank Venche, David’s dad for teaching her jazz, long before she joined Elfa’s Singers. She still remember the time when she came to Venche’s house with guitar to learn. The next song came, it was another all time jazz standard “The Old Devil Moon”. The next song was taken from Maluku (Molucca), a very famous folk song called “Panggayo”. In medley, the song turned to samba with “Rame-Rame”. As how the jazz event used to end, the cool jam session appeared. The first song was Herbie Hancock’s “The Eye of the Hurricane” and closed with Cal Tjader’s “Bye Bye Blues”.

It was stunning night, a very successful and well done show. The audience loved it, wide smile of happiness appeared from Venche’s face. It’s surely a blessing to have such talented boy like David. The set of various formats were perfect tonight to capture different colors and atmospheres of jazz. Just simply lovely. Congratulation David, we wish you all the best, may you achieve what you’ve been dreaming on, and go make your parents proud. Let’s show the world what you’re capable of. Jazz needs someone like you to paint up the jazz sky. If this is the new generation that holds the key to our jazz future, we really don’t have to worry. Congratulation once again to David Manuhutu, and all the great musicians and vocalists of the night who gave their best. We’re waiting to see more contribution from you in the future. David, keep up the good work man!

See more picture:

Reporter: Riandy Kurniawan, Adott Jumbo
Photographer: Eghi Gabred

Notecracker Music & Cafe La Carmela
in cooperation with
The Color Cure, CHEF2GO, Medique, Jo Lim Photography,
VRC Creative Events Management
and TangerineSkies Artist PR & Entertainment Gateway
presents:

“MIO mART (Mio + my Art): A Post Halloween Benefit Bash for 5 year old Aspiring Artist & Cancer Survivor MIO MENDIOLA”

MIO + my Art : a dedicated one stop shop + benefit concert showcasing Art Ko Art devoted to cancer survivor and aspiring artist, Mio Mendiola.

3B’s: Tres Benes (Bene (n) : pray)
Benefit, Benefactor and Beneficiaries

Mio Mendiola is 5, and he aspires to be an artist. At five, he also faced with a terror unknown and unfamiliar to not just the average kid, but also the average Filipino: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.

As Filipino Artists ourselves who wish to revolutionize the local industry by supporting and promoting Pinoy-made music and art, and more importantly, as People who place a very high premium on the gift of life, we support young Mio and fight his battle against the big bad C.

The Mechanics
How You can Be One of Mio’s Gladiators this Halloween without Having to Dress in Metal & Mesh

Though Mio mART is a dedication and a celebration of Mio and Life itself together with an exclusively select group of local Performing and Visual Artists, MIO mART is also dedicated to YOU. And since we aren’t literally gifted with healing powers, we’re treating Mio and you with a different form of healing.

This halloween, why settle for the same old tricks and treats when you can go for Art Ko soul treats and good eats?

Be a Mio gladiator and a very glad patron of the arts by coming to MIO mART and treating yourself to:
1. a brilliant Art Ko showcase of Manila’s youngest and most exceptional talents
2. a sumptuous dinner buffet prepared by La Carmela de Boracay’s Cafe la Carmela on the 30th of October 2009.

Avoid the holiday rush and shop early for ultra special limited edition Art KO Music & Art available only at MIO mART.

Co hosted by :DJ Syde of 99.5 RT & Ms Jessica Fernando of Glisten
Time: November 13,2009
Location: Cafe la Carmela
38 Jupiter St. Bel-air, Makati
Time: 7 PM – onwards

KEY FEATS

Visual Art
Feanne Hontiveros Mauricio
Mio Mendiola
Teacher Aubrey’s Students

Performing Art
Dianne Elise
Toto Sorioso
Melomanila
Milkfish
Souljive
Layag
Cellar Doors

and the launch of special edition CD for Mio produced by Notecracker Music exclusively for MIO mART.

Inspire and be inspired! Come in your coolest, craziest costume and get Php 100 off your ticket! For inquiries, pledges and reservations, contact JEFF at +639178451318

For inquiries and sponsorship
tel: +632 473 0020
cel: +63915 625 1652
email: notecracker@gmail.com

For reservations
tel: +632 899 5551, +63922 876 6446
email: cafelacarmela@yahoo.com

a portion of the proceeds from entrance tickets and special edition CDs will be dedicated to Mio Mendiola through www.miofightscancer.com

Following the success of Jazz Night 1 (December 2008) and Jazz Night 2 (March 2009), now the third edition is coming. It used to be Jazz NightJazz Legacy but now it’s called . It was  brought by Sony’s Music Studio owns by Yason Gunawan, the playing musician for tonight as half of C & G Project.

Using the title Jazz Legacy 3 : The Series, Yason started the show using saxophone in a duet with Krisna Setiawan. Krisna is a contemporary musician, he played the piano so well. They played 2 songs “All about Love” and “Kalih”. Kalih is an original composition by Krisna Setiawan that means two in Javanese.

Yason Gunawan moved to the piano, joined by Benny Chen on drums, and Rio featuring Thya Anhar as vocalist. They played “Falling in Love with Love”.  It was a great combination on the stage.  Unfortunately at the next song, an error occured on the audio system.  The sound system gave a very loud noise. This situation forced the band to play it unplugged without any vocals. They didn’t want the audience be disturbed by the problem, so they decided to improvised with the situation, making sure that the show must go on and that was they actually did, with the power of jazz. The show was saved by one thing that no other kind of music could get easily, and that is improvisation, one of the thing that famously related to jazz. What a great spontaneity, Yason, Benny and Rio still continued to improvised playing their instruments while the crews were hardly trying to get the sound system back to normal. Yason Gunawan was the man of the show since he always tried to be positive  in convincing the audience to stay and enjoy the show no matter what the sound quality turned out to be. The claps from audience showed how they understood the situation nobody wished to happen, and showed their big support for the band.

In the next session, Yason and Benny presented two guest musicians Simon Tan, a prolific bassist from Philippines and Tots Tolentino as saxophonist from USA who is currently active in Asian jazz circuit. They kept playing songs no matter what. Still playing with confidence and kept inviting audience to enjoy their performance. We really admire their efforts and spirit. Finally, the sound systems went back to normal  and they successfully hypnotized the audience with a classical Beethoven in Jazz style. They were all so creative! Tots played his saxophone in full energy.

Eryka the newcomer from Surabaya and Dyan Alvin were unable to perform in Jazz Legacy 3 caused by the sound system problem and of course the limited time. After playing Beethoven’s composition, Yason invited Benny Kartono to sing “Lir Ilir”, a traditional Javanese song. It sounded so playful and cheerful. The combination of Yason, Benny, Simon and Tots were truly fantastic! They showed such a great performance in the tradition of jazz mainstream and post bop. The last song was “I Will Wait For You” and Yason said to audience “i’m so sorry about this inconvenience and see you in Jazz Legacy 4 on March 2010″.

From the back stage after the show, Yason Gunawan stated that the Jazz Legacy will perform regularly at Surabaya and  the next show its gonna be on March 2010. His C & G  group with Benny Chen are focusing on pure jazz. When we asked him why they choose the mainstream, Yason explained that they had a mission to focus on becoming strong players that rooted deeply in jazz. He believes that if they succeed mastering the basic, they can bend it in any jazz genres, As all jazz lovers know that jazz is the undisputed source for improvisation, Yason Gunawan also agreed with it and said that was the reason why he choose jazz in the first place for his music. “I can express my feeling, and my heart through this kind of music”, he said. Those were the statements from a man who were once learned jazz in Canada for 4 years. His passion to jazz music and his big love to his city Surabaya are always the energy to keep him going. We are sure he will be able to rebuild the jazz scene of Surabaya with this continuous event. As Yason said, Surabaya seems to be on its way to have jazz music as one of city’s main entertainment, where many jazz event will come up and make the town sparkling with jazz.  Keep the spirit up, guys! We know you can. See you all again on Jazz Legacy 4 on March 2010!

See more pictures:

Reporter: Dyaz Chan
Photographer: Apey Idris

Editor : Riandy Kurniawan

Jakarta International Jazz Festival 2009 (JakJazz 2009) is on the way! As you have read in the JakJazz 2009 First Announcement we posted before, here comes the information about ticketing.

Ticket price:
Daily : IDR 250.0000
3 days : IDR 600.000
Student : IDR 150.000*

* Student tickets are only available at JakJazz Office, Jl Danau Bekuan, Blok C1/50, Pejompongan, Jakarta Pusat. Phone: +62 21 5720417 Don’t forget to bring your valid Student ID.

You can get the ticket at:

WartaJazz.com +6221 8310769
Rajakarcis.com + 6221 8282137
Aquarius Mahakam + 6221 7208413
Aquarius Pondok Indah +62 21 7238759
Detik.com +62 21 7941177
Disc Tarra +62 21 25536483
Duta Suara +62 21 5825035
Ibu Dibyo +62 21 31931178
Society +62 21 2554068

Here are the lineups so far:

USA:
Dave valentin Triple Play ft Dave Valentin
Bill O’Connell
Richie Flores

Brazil:
Lica Cecato
Valtinho Anastacio

Malaysia:
RTM Jazz Orchestra
M-Jazz Trio

Holland (Erasmus Huis):
Pigalle 44 Gypsy Jazz

France (CCF):
Jean My Truong

Vietnam/USA/China/UK/Germany/Ghana/Thailand/Singapore/Malaysia:
Curtis King Blues Band

Italy:
Roberto Ruggeri
Mattia

USA/UK/Swiss/Norway:
Janek Gwizdala Project

Japan:
Galaxy Big Band

Stay tune for more update! For more info log on to JakJazz’s official website or contact them at  +62 21 5720417

Pre-Event 32nd JGTC, Erasmus Huis, November 7, 2009
Press Conference and the 3rd JGTC Award

As the 32nd Jazz Goes to Campus (JGTC) is getting nearer, one of the pre-event was held at Erasmus Huis last Saturday, November 7, 2009. It was made as a press conference and also to hand the 3rd JGTC Award in 4 categories.

PRESS CONFERENCE
ARTIST : ESQIEF a.k.a. SYAHARANI AND QUEENFIREWORKS, MALIQ & D’ESSENTIALS AND KULKUL
GUEST : Mr Heri Sutanto, a representative of Trading Department

From the press conference room came some news regarding the upcoming JGTC. Mr Heri Sutanto, the representative of Trading Department gave a little speech. He hoped that JGTC could support and pushed the creative industries sector, where music is one of its 14 elements.Right now they are pushing the music world, both major and indie to grow, and JGTC would be a perfect place for that occasion.

Maliq & D’Essentials gave the next speech. Angga Puradiredja explained that they are going to participate in JGTC for the second time. Angga says that JGTC is not just student-made event, but it’s always been a big event, important and highly appreciated. Maliq & D’Essentials are going to sing some songs from their most recent album, “Mata Hati Telinga” with new re-arrangement. They will keep their soulful style, or in their words “we play what we want to play”, and they are going to perform in one hour. They wished JGTC success, getting more crowded, proudly presenting 21st Night and Soulvibe, also hoped the goverment will keep supporting the music.

Syaharani came representing ESQIEF together with the new drummer. As ESQIEF (Syaharani and the Queenfireworks) are currently in the studio for their new album, they are going to play some of the songs from the soon to be released album. When asked about her decision to move from solo to group, she explained that ESQIEF is an open group like Simply Red, everyone can go in and out without any restriction. The main personnel of ESQIEF are Syaharani herself, Donny Suhendra and Ahmad Fareed “Didit” Saad. By establishing the band, Syaharani hopes to raise her performance, because she can always keep learning in a band. ESQIEF is the place to grow, she keeps on creating more and more concepts, which allows her to create her own artistic world.

KulKul stated that they would use JGTC as a place to promote their upcoming first album.

The organizers appeared in front and ready to explain something about this year’s 32nd JGTC. The Project Officer: Nachita, Vice PO : Manda and Program Manager: Faris. If some people wonder why they use “Sense of Rejuvenation” as the theme, the answer is this. Rejuvenation means revitalization, and by using this they wish to bring something new, not just following the previous ones. The organizers wished to see how jazz would be in the future, that’s why they invited mostly young musicians for this year’s JGTC.

The 3rd JGTC AWARDS

JGTC Awards were given in 4 categories

Most Dedicated to Jazz Awards is given to a person or institution that contributes a lot to jazz. The winner is KLCBS Radio, a Bandung-based station.

Most Prominent to Jazz Awards is given to outstanding jazz musician and widely respected among jazz lovers. The winner for this year is Jeffrey Tahalele.

The Rising Star Awards is given to young jazz musicians under 30 years that have grown their popularity recently. The winner for this year are Barry Likumahuwa, Irsa Destiwi and Dion.

Lifetime Achievement is given to the musician who has been consistantly playing in jazz for at least 20 years, and the winner is Victor Rompas.

From the entertainment side, the JGTC Awards presented Sketsa, guitarist duo with stunning skill like Depapepe. There were also Indra Aryadi and Friends, with Saad Syah on flute, Demas on drums, Shadu Rasjidi on bass and Yessi Kristianto on keyboards. G/E/T from KlabJazz Bandung were also there to entertain the attendance.

Now check out the next JGTC pre-event schedule:
JGTC Roadshow:
Jogjakarta:
UGM (Gadjah Mada University) featuring 21st Night, Endah n Rhesa, Jazz on the Street and ESB (Economic Society Band UGM), November 11, 2009, 2 PM – 5 PM
Bandung:
ITB (Bandung Technology Institute) featuring Syaharani, Sketsa, Indra Aryadi and Friends, ITJazz, ApresITB. November 18, 2009, 4 PM – 9 PM
Jakarta:
Margo City, Depok. Featuring Margo Friday Jazz, Komunitas Jazz Kemayoran (KJK), Likumahuwa Brothers, Soulvibe and 21st Night
All Free of Charge
Jazz Clinic
“Feel The Rhythm and Get The Groove”
Clinicians: Oele Pattiselano on guitar, Barry Likumahuwa on bass, Riza Arshad on keyboard and Sandy Winarta on drums
Pisa Cafe Mahakam, Jakarta, November 21, 2009, 11 AM – 5 PM
Tickets : Early Bird IDR 35.000.
H-2 IDR 45.000

Jazz Competition:
Judges: Oele Pattiselano, Barry Likumahuwa, Frans Sartono

And also the brand new Children Workshop

Check out the complete schedule here.

The main event, 32nd JGTC will be held at:
Date: Sunday, November 29, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM – 00:00 PM
Location: Campus grounds, Faculty of Economics University of Indonesia (Depok), Jakarta

For more infos and updates, log on to JAZZ GOES TO CAMPUS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The countdown is on! Make sure you’re a part of this event! Stay tune for more updates at Jazzuality.com.

See more pictures:

Reporter: Novan Yahya Renatal
Photographer: Bayu P Warjiyo
Editor: Riandy Kurniawan

It’s been an amazing year so far. As I predicted earlier at the dawn of 2009, this year becomes the year of jazz revival in Indonesia. I predicted there would be more events as jazz got more power to capture the interest of music lovers, and that’s what exactly going on. The thing that excite me is, not only we got much more events than the previous years, but we also got many events that have such a unique concept. One of the most recent just happened last Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the UpperRoom, Annex Buliding called Djakarta Artmosphere: Arts for a Better Indonesia.

If you notice the art words, you’d guess that there’s something more than just a concert behind it. And that was what the organizers meant to. Djakarta Artmosphere ended up as an outstanding and unique event that spoke loud of art in general. The performers came from various different genres, the artists were from different generations, and not only that, this event also provided photography exhibition too. Musics and paintings, both are undoubtedly specific forms of art. Joining these two would give something new to the attendance, and I’d say it was a very creative move.

Jakarta is the biggest and also the capital city of Indonesia. It’s the place that holds millions of lives who came from different backgrounds and cultures, which are always giving something to create something new in many segments of life, including art. All these different cultures and backgrounds are living under the same roof, under one atmosphere. How would the art shaped today in Jakarta? That’s the question, and that’s what we got with this event. In here, differences are not meant for hating each other, but all presented in egalitaire concept, believing in equality of all people, in which all are wise enough to respect the difference. That’s why we saw different styles of pictures, and different genres of music that night. And we are very happy to see that jazz, as a part of world’s culture was included to give its contribution in this event.

Located at the 9th floor parking space, we were greeted by the food stalls on the way to the next floor, where the mini stage stoods tall. The first band to start the show was “Angsa dan Serigala”. This is a retro style group both in musicality and dress. They used some instruments that you won’t often found in a modern band such as xylophone, pianica and violin. The next performer was “Tembang Pribumi” that appeared with Balinese traditional bandana and batik. They also decorated the stage with some Wayang Kulit equipments. They were energic on stage and successfully captured big applause from the crowds. Continued with the duo that are famous among the indie fans, Endah n Rhesa. Things got hotter when the heavy rocker group Anda with the Joints came on stage, followed by series of cool heavy blues courtesy of Gugun and the BlueShelter entertained the audiences who sat on the floor. Another indie rock band Grips appeared, and that was the end of performances at Mini Stage.

The crowds knew that the main event would start really soon. Everyone queued to enter the hall that had already prepared nicely with lovely stagelights and cool sound system. There were photographs attached on the wall from the first entrance to the main hall. Sarah Sechan and Soleh Solihun were the MCs for tonight. It was time to see very interesting and rare set of collaborations, the combination of artists that you’d never think of. After a short introduction they presented SORE to the stage.

SORE is a fast-rising indie band with unique concept. It’s always difficult to fit them in any specific genre. Their music style is something in between The Beatles, Morrissey, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, Interpol, Gino Vannelli, Antonio Carlos  Jobim, Burt Bacharach, Masaru Satoh, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Procol Harum, America, Paul Simon, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Ludwig van Beethoven, Krzysztof Komeda, Michael Franks, Keenan Nasution, Yockie Suryoprayogo, and Gil Evans. Pop with absaurd-electic touch with some obscure Indonesiana of the 70’s. The personnel of SORE (in English means “late afternoon”) are Awan Garnida (bass,vocal), Ade Firza Paloh (guitar, vocal), Gusti Pramudya (drums, vocal), Reza Dwiputranto (guitar, vocal), Mondo Gascaro (piano, keyboard, vocal), Dono Firman (keyboard, synthesizer).

They started with their own song “Bogor Biru” and then brought one famous song written by Ebiet G Ade, “Menjaring Matahari.” After this song, the legendary Ebiet G Ade arrived on stage and got huge applause. He said “just behind me stands the new generation that we all have to support.” And Ebiet was right. These are the generation that has their time right now to give something for the better future of our music.

Ebiet G Ade is a legendary musician, singer and songwriter that is famously known as someone who always inspired by the nature and social problems. His ballad style suits him as an icon, plus his unique voice character that will be recognized right away when one hears him sing. His songs are all poetic and prestented in the tradition of folk. The collaboration between SORE and Ebiet started this rare combination between artists across generation, from different era and background, still they could join together in harmony. Ebiet started with solo guitar playing his own song “Jakarta”. Not the song that we used to hear from him, but nonetheless this song was perfectly suit the theme of this event. “Jakarta” is a social critic song that speaks about the darker side of Jakarta. It’s a city that might not be that friendly for some people, as what Ebiet felt when he first came to Jakarta.

Then one of 4 series of the classic “Camelia” was played. It was “Camelia II”, appeared in really nice re-arrangement. The touch of SORE made the song sounded like Deep Purple’s. The last song of their collaboration was another classic “Berita Kepada Kawan”. When their session reached the end, all gasped and agreed that it was such a collaboration that you would never dreamed of.

The next pairing was just as surprising as the first one. White Shoes and the Couples Company (WSATCC) is a very interesting band that has a crossover retro style. With 7 personnel Aprilia Apsari (vocal and finger snaps), Rio Farabi (acoustic guitar and vocal), Saleh Husein (electric guitar and vocal), Ricky Surya Virgana (contra bass, cello, bass,vocal), Aprimela Prawidyanti (piano, viola, synth, keyboards, vocal) and John Navid (drums and vibes), they are clearly influenced by the Indonesian movie soundtrack from the 70’s and also inspired by the acoustic spirit of the jazz scene in 30’s. Not only those, but they are also present their style in classic strings arrangements, retro disco beat, easy listening, acoustic ballads and also some sounds from vintage keyboard toys that were made in the ’70’s.

The intro described their style of music, and it was cool. WSATCC brought their own songs,“Windu” and the famous one that became a radio hits “Aksi Kucing”. Then they called the senior jazz guitarist on stage. It was the legendary Oele Pattiselano. Oele Pattiselano is one of the most influential legendary jazz musician. He’s started it all 40 years ago and still active until now. 4 decades career has shaped him as a remarkable guitarist with sharp instinct and intuition plus a very clear taste of jazz that comes from every tune he played with his guitar. If you wonder whether they could collaborate nicely or not, the answer is yes. It was stunning and beautiful. WSATCC and Oele played another WSATCC original song called “Kapiten”. Then Oele played the intro of a song that is very familiar to Indonesian. It was “Sabda Alam”, one of the masterpiece from Indonesia’s famous composer Ismail Marzuki. Right after the intro, WSATCC colored it fully with their style. The arrangement were made in retro ’70s disco style.

Fariz RM is one of the very popular singer representing the second half of the 70’s and still continued on being famous through the 80’s. He is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He’s mostly famous with his pop jazzy style and also one of the trendsetter for the 80’s rare genre in Indonesia called  ‘Creative Pop’.. Not only singing, he’s also capable to play many instruments. From keyboards, guitar, bass, to percussions and drums, he can play them all nicely. All through his career that still goes on until now he has released no less than 20 solo albums, 72 collaborations, 18 soundtracks and made 27 albums as a producer. Many of his songs becomes an all time classics such as “Barcelona”, “Nada Kasih”, “Susie Bhelel”, and many more. The crowds gave big hands when Fariz appeared on stage. After setting his keyboard for a while, he was ready to start!

Fariz RM and WSATCC presented his all time famous hits “Selangkah Ke Seberang”. The cheerful retro scene of jazz funk/disco in the late 70’s or early 80’s was presented nicely. It was really fine as I started remembering the moment when this style was very popular among youngsters back then. Fariz RM hadn’t lost his touch on keyboard. He was on fire with his fingers, also sang the song together with Aprilia. They continued to burn the stage with another composition written by WSATCC themselves, entitled “Senja Menggila”. “WSATCC is my favorite, because I’ve been wishing to go back to that certain era, but I never made it..they went on and succeed with it.” Fariz said. And then came the wonderful surprise. Oele Pattiselano came back on stage and together they all brought the classic “Barcelona”. The crowds popped, danced and sang together. Imagine the song appeared with the original writer and performer, then got the signature of Oele Pattiselano and WSATCC. What a superb collaboration. Great one!

If you think those two rare collaboration between different generations were enough, wait until you hear the next one. It was the time for Tika & the Dissidents to show what they got. Started with just using her name, Tika released her debut album “Frozen Love Songs” in 2005. Tika & the Dissidents was the most recent formation made by Tika, which has just launched the latest album “The Headless Songstress” went into the market. This independent group was built with some other skillful musicians. Among them were Susan Agiwitanto on bass, Okky Rahman Oktavian on drums, Luky Annash on piano, plus Nikita Dompas, the manager and completely skilled guitarist also acted as the playing musician for tonight. I’d say Tika is the most dangerous girl to look for. She is very smart in writing the lyrics. If you listen to “The Headless Songstress”, you will absolutely get the different atmosphere of music. It’s theatrical, it’s like a cabaret on Broadway, but it’s also dark, mysterious and sometimes scary. The critics she threw in the album are sometimes sarcastic and straight to the point. And that what makes Tika appears differently in the music scene.

After she delivered two songs from her latest album, she took Vina Panduwinata’s famous song entitled “Cinta”. Then came the surprise, I’d say it was very much the highlight of the show. Tika took another song of Vina, but she twisted it very far. It was “Di Dadaku ada Kamu”, that originally appeared as a cute pop jazzy song. Tika twisted it and brought it in such concept that you wouldn’t dare to dream. It was still theatrical, but she gave a psychotic concept on it, it was spooky, it was haunting, it was gothic, it was dark and scary. Yet, it was so imaginatively outstanding. It was like the darker side of Streophonic’s “Mad About You” or Portishead’s “Give Me The Reason” style, but with the appearance of Nikita Dompas, this song got some jazz flavor in it. What an arrangement that shocked everyone in the hall. Even the original singer, Vina Panduwinata the real Indonesian Diva gave her best compliment on that very brave attempt.

Vina said it when she entered the stage. Vina showed tonight that she was still great just like she ever was, She prooved that she could perfectly followed this gothic theatrical style of Tika without any problem. She even showed her ability to improvise in bluesy jazz. From the contrabass, saxophone and Nikita’s guitar Tika got the taste of jazz, but from the other personnels she carried the post rock/alternative style,  often with roaring guitar and also some delightful touch of electronic. The last song they brought was “Surat Cinta” which was appeared as rockin’ cabaret. And what a perfect performance! It was really ultimate!

The last band performing was Efek Rumah Kaca, means Green House Effect in English. Efek Rumah Kaca is an alternative indie band. They brought two of their original songs, in which one of them got a real ballerina. Imagine a ballerina danced through rock song. Can you imagine that? Doel Sumbang arrived on stage. Doel Sumbang is a legendary Sundanese artiste that often made social critic songs. An excellent song writer that know how to present the social problems in many styles. Sometimes sarcastic, ironic but in other times funny and playful. He has made many songs both in Sundanese language and Indonesian. He started with a song written by Remy Sylado called “Martini”, a parody about a son who got a female-like name. The audiences laughed many times when this song was brought. After some songs in nice collaboration, the TNI AD Brass Band appeared on stage together with all the performers. They all brought the legendary tunes “Indonesia Pusaka”. Artists from different genres gave their improvisations, and it was fascinating, just like when we are listening to “We Are The World”.

Collaborating our own talents from different genres and eras, it was a night of twist and surprise. This could create ways to widely introduced the indie talents and deliver shows with unlimited creativity, and we’re also happy that jazz held big parts in it. Salute to the conceptors of this event, whoever behind this, I think they’re either crazy or unbelievably creative. Let’s hope next year would bring another Djakarta Artmosphere on our list of regular events. Bravo!!

See more pictures:

Reporter: Riandy Kurniawan, Daniel Irawan
Photographer: Reska

Time goes on so fast. Feels like we just passed Java Jazz Festival 2009, just like it was yesterday, but now we already got the news from Java Festival Production (JFP) regarding the ticket pre-sale. Yes, the JAVA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010 (JJF 2010) is on the way, it’s going to be held in 4 months from now. (5,6,7 March 2010).

Projected artists have appeared on Java Jazz Festival official website . You could see some very well known faces appear on the front page, such as Al Jarreau, George Duke, David Sanborn, Lee Ritenour, Ivan Lins and the Brazilian Project, Jane Monheit and Colbie Caillat. Some other names will surely follow soon.

Java Jazz Festival 2010 will be held in a brand new venue, Jakarta International Expo (JIEx), Pekan Raya Jakarta, Kemayoran, North Jakarta. Make sure to write down the new address.

Here’s the news. JFP has just announced that now you can start buying the ticket with a very special price!

Here are the ticket prices for JJF 2010 :

DAILY PASS Friday: IDR 115,000
DAILY PASS Saturday: IDR 115,000
DAILY PASS Sunday: IDR 115,000
3-DAY PASS: Rp 287,500

this offer lasts until 15 December 2009.

NOTE: Prices above exclude SPECIAL SHOW(s) and are only available for online purchase at www.javajazzfestival.com/2010/ticketonlineorder.php

Go on, book your tickets now!

Month after month, Jazz Break Revival has continuously appeared with different stories. Different stories, but each one resulted with the same ending, success. Last month was the moment when the audiences got a new experience by enjoying arts from two directions, through paintings and musics, by the very special performance of Henning Sieverts Quartett translating some of the legendary collections of “Der Blaue Reiter”. This time, when Jazz Break Revival reached its 16th edition, the theme was ITB Jazz. ITB, or Bandung Technology Institute is one of the best university we have here in Indonesia. Many successful people started their journey right from this university. Not only people, but ITB has also contributed a lot for jazz. From generation to generation we have seen many famous musicians appeared from there. Today ITB has a very strong jazz community, ITJazz, who have been coloring the jazz scene for quite awhile. KlabJazz and ITJazz has the same passion, and when both are stationed in Bandung, why don’t just collaborate together to make something special? And that seems to be the occasion for tonight, at Jazz Break Revival XVI. Both KlabJazz and ITJazz who have been partnered for couple of times proclaimed another special collaboration. KlabJazz, Balai Pertemuan Bumi Sangkuriang and Melinda Hospital, in cooperation with ITJazz presented Jazz Break Revival XVI tonight, November 4th, 2009.

Let’s go back for a while to see the connection between jazz and ITB. For jazz lovers, ITB is known as one of the important forerunner of jazz in Indonesia. It’s been a friendly place for music especially jazz to grow. Long time ago, the students of ITB held many events at their West, East Wing and the open Veranda LFM. Jack Lesmana family who once lived near ITB was often included at these concerts. In other times, the students came to Jack Lesmana’s house to discuss or just listening to jazz together. As time goes on, ITB and jazz are still related strongly until today. Many big names in jazz were once the students of ITB. Riza Arshad, Imam Pras, Doni Suhendra, Ferina are just some of the name who have always been attached to ITB.

Featuring lists of musicians who are related to ITB, Jazz Break Revival XVI started with The Straightline. Smooth jazz is one of the jazz sub genre that usually has the power to reach different segment of listeners. While for some people listening to serious jazz pattern can be difficult, smooth jazz can always be understood, acceptable and most of all, enjoyed. The Straightline is a group playing smooth jazz consists of ITB’s new students as its members. Matius on bass, Juan on guitar, Desal on drums and Hariman on keyboard. Eventhough they are new, yet they have shown their capability to bring smooth jazz in such quality. And yes, series of cool and calm, lite funky smooth jazz and lite fusion were presented by the stage. “Night Rhythm”, Casiopea’s “Meet Manhattan” and Chick Corea’s “Spain” appeared in 4 person group form.

The night got a little bit heavier by the second performer “Buy 3 Get 4″. Led by the pianist with a new haircut, who was just graduated from ITB recently, Bayu Kristanto, this group with very interesting name is the runner up of Jazz Goes to Campus (JGTC) Competition 2008. The fact that they won the second place eventhough they just formed a couple of weeks before the competition shows how good they are as a unit. There were some changes in the formation tonight. Beside Bayu, the band are Tuwuh Sasroprasojo on bass, Athar was back on guitar and a new replacement on drums. They brought Joe Henderson’s “Recordame”, “Stolen Moment” and they closed their session with Sonny Rollins‘ “Pent Up House”. It’s always nice to see them, giving serious compositions but not difficult to listen.

It was time to see the new project between the soulful Grace Sahertian from “Palm from Moodytunes” and complete guitarist from “4 AM Quartet”, Edward Prasetya. With Gallang Pradana Dalimunthe on acoustic up right bass, they gave the first song taken from Chiara Civello’s album “Last Quarter Moon”, “Here is Everything”. The night got intimate with this song.The second song was “Love You Long Time”, originally by John Scofield, brought only by guitar and bass plus the little kid Adya on percussions. It was a composition with wide space of exploration, taken superbly by Edward. Grace came on stage again and the continued with John Coltrane’s “Naima”. The last song was special, because they re-arranged the famous ambonese folk song, “Bulan Pakai Payung” (The Moon Wears an Umbrella). It’s a new formed group, but they have known each other for long, so it wasn’t difficult at all for them to find their chemistry with each other.

Contra Indigo came next. It’s been a long time not to see them playing in the community where they emerged. This is an exciting nu-groove band that came from KlabJazz. The last time we heard from them was at Java Jazz Festival 2009 last March. They performed not only at the main event, but also at one of the Java Jazz on the Move program that took place at Blitz Megaplex, Grand Indonesia Jakarta. Contra Indigo appears with big amount of personnels. Kandria Kananta (Keke) on guitar, Bayu on drums, Rizky on keyboard, Taufik on bass, Bubu on vocal, plus two backing vocals. In the spirit of Monday Michiru, D’Sound, Maliq & d’Essentials and the likes of them, they delivered one of the most modern style of jazz that especially loved by youngsters. They kicked out with the first song, a delicious funky groove song from Tortured Soul entitled “Fall In Love”. The song continued in medley with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” re-arranged in lovely groove texture. It was actually nice to see Kandria appeared with different style than the one he used to give with his fusion band, “Sekapur Sirih”. The third one was another famous song from Tevin Campbell, “Can We Talk”. Two of their original song came next. “Don’t You Know I Never Fall” and “Bosan” (Bored). Contra Indigo delivered something different for tonight. Keep on groovin’ guys!

ITB Jam Set came next. With Tuwuh (Ojo) on guitar, Veronica on sax, Fahri on violin, Argo on flute, Dory on vocal, Yopi on piano and Rino on drums. The first song was the all time classic “Route 66″. Unique compositions of the instrumentalists on stage has given a different texture for this song. Started with violin, the next song came on. It was another classic, “Summertime”. It wouldn’t be perfect if we had no latin, but no worry, because this interesting ITB jam set closed their session with the classic “Agua de Beber”.

The closing band was the most senior one for tonight. Imelda Rosalin Trio, featuring the amazing female jazz pianist with her long time friends, Rudy Zulkarnaen on acoustic up right bass and Arifandi on drums. They have known each other and performed together for many years. They all have high understanding with each other and know how to deliver something special to the audience. I always think no matter what they play on stage, they will always find their comfort zone immidiately. They all have high understanding with each other and know how to deliver something special to the audience.The first song was a Cole Porter’s classic, “In The Still Of the Night.” What a lovely version, very lively, and the crowds applauded right away. It was the ferocious Imelda Rosalin Trio we got tonight. They were really on fire! The next song was from the famous vibraphonist BobbyHutcherson, “Little B’s Poem”. A soft bossa song came next, “Estate (Summer)”. Imel continued with a song she wrote herself called “Pie in the Sky”, presented in a cute reggae style. They close their session with another Cole Porter’s masterpiece, “All of You.” The free for all jam session came next. Edward Prasetya and Athar joined them on stage. “If you want to join, just bother us..” Imel joked. But nobody came on stage, since everyone were hypnotized with their plays.

When you have the same passion and mission, instead of competing in rivalry, it’s best to join hand together to reach your goal. Klabjazz, ITJazz, Margo Friday Jazz and some other communities, all of these communities have the same mission to bring jazz up to the front. And it’s really great to see them helping each other in order to fulfill their dreams. That’s the lesson learned for tonight, and I feel very happy to see two jazz communities could work together hand in hand presenting a quality show. As usual, another well done show. Our sincere thanks to KlabJazz, Melinda Hospital, Bumi Sangkuriang and also ITJazz for their consistant and persistant effort to bring jazz to the surface, to the place where it deserves to be. With this special collaboration, I’m sure jazz has a very bright future not only in Bandung but also in Indonesia. Our sincere thanks as usual to everybody who has been given their all to make this monthly event stay in best quality. We look forward to see the December’s edition. Keep on jazzin’!

See more pictures:

Reporter: Riandy Kurniawan
Photographer: Eghi Gabred

Today, there have been a rapid growth in the musicality in Indonesia, but there are not much events that can help theoritical and practical knowledge for musician to improve their musicality. BSO Band FE-UI, as the only music based organization in FEUI will held MUSIC CLINIC 2009, with the theme of “Beat Up Your Music”, to help the musician with lessons, consist of knowledge about music and the musical skill itself.

2009 has been a very interesting year. So far I have seen the rapid growth of jazz everywhere in Indonesia. From the big cities to smaller ones, even to villages and mountains, we see jazz events everywhere which many of them received huge success. Events will still keep on coming, I dare to say that in 2010 we’ll have a lot more events, as jazz becomes more and more acceptable among different segments of listeners.

In this momentum, it’s really important to provide not only the side of entertainment, but we also have to think about the educational side as well. That’s why we happily accept the invitation to be the media partner of this event that touch the educational side of music. MUSIC CLINIC 2009 is an event made by BSO Band from Economy Faculty of Universitas Indonesia (FE-UI), the only music based organization in there. They realize that there are not enough events that can help theoritical and practical knowledge for musicians to improve their skills. It’s very important in order to keep the momentum.

Holding the theme “Beat Up Your Music” the organizers wish to provide something totally different from other conventional music instrumental clinics, because here they are focusing on the essence of harmony between the Bass and Drum. As the note from the organizers say: “Music Clinic 2009 is totally different from other conventional music intrumental clinics, because here we carry the essence of harmony between the Bass and Drum to make them united.”

And you’ll get it from two of the best talents in Indonesia, drummer Rayendra Sunito and bassist Barry Likumahuwa as the clinicians.

Bass and drum have their very own beat, their very own rhythm, and their very own music, but find out how these rhythm sections blend together in such beauty and harmony. If you want to find that out, this clinic is a must.

Purposes of the Event
1. to Develop and evolve music knowledge and skill of the participants.
2. to facilitate the society in music appreciation
3. to arise the awareness in the music society that beat of the music comes firstly from the harmonization of bass and drum.

SAVE THE DATE!

Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Time: 11:00 AM till drop
Place: Aula Student Center FEUI, Depok

Fee: IDR 25.000

TARGET PARTICIPANT:
Music lovers and musicians, especially bassists and drummers, university and highschool students.

Schedule:

First Session (In-depth Training Bass and Drum)
Each clinician will share the theory and practical knowledge related to the harmony in music. Then they will demonstrate the material lessons. Q&A is provided.

Second Session (Beat Up Exhibition)
The peak of this event, where clinicians will collaborate to demonstrate how bass and drums work together to creat the harmony. The main focus is to make the combination of these two rhythm sections become more attractive.

For inquiries, please contact
Arif 085719317147
Ponco 0811918161
Kiko 081807425674

This event is open for public