Alice Day performs from the heart<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Regent is having a party. And it is not just
\nany party but a jazz party. In fact the party started nearly four
\nmonths ago with the arrival in town of the melodious Monica
\nCrosby, Florida's first lady of jazz.<\/p>\n
Monica returned home recently after having converted a
\nconsiderable number of people here into hardened jazz fans with
\nthe promise that Alice Day will continue to provide to the city
\nits daily dose of jazz.<\/p>\n
At a unique hand-over concert at the hotel's bar Alice and
\nMonica sang in electrifying union to the accompaniment of the
\nlocal jazz giant Kiboud Maulana and his Blues Band.<\/p>\n
Most of those who witnessed the singing went home that evening
\nsaying that they had not had a musical experience like this one
\nin a long time in Jakarta. All of this was followed by the
\nRegent's first impromptu jazz party when Alice jammed with the
\nbest musicians in town -- Ireng Maulana, Bubi Chen, Idang
\nRasjidi, Syaharani, Embong Rahardjo, Jefry Tahalelel, Benny
\nMustapha and Deviana -- making music till the early hours of the
\nnext morning, the effect of which was to say the least,
\nmesmerizing.<\/p>\n
This might give the impression that a lot of jazz is already
\nover. This is true but the good news is that the best is perhaps
\nstill to come, for example when Bill Saragih pays tribute to
\nLouis Armstrong from 10 pm onwards on July 4.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Jazz Mama Alice who is the new resident singer at
\nthe hotel continues to shatter the silence at the Regent Bar and
\nwill do so till the end of August with her sonorous singing. She
\nhas traveled all the way from her native Florida, USA, for her
\nfirst visit to Jakarta where audiences have been swept off their
\nfeet watching her oozing endless vitality and a sense of humor
\nthat is infectious.<\/p>\n
A natural entertainer, Alice has been singing the Blues for
\nover 40 years starting as a back-up singer to the great Julian
\n\"Cannonball\" Adderly.<\/p>\n
While growing up in Miami Alice took to singing at church at
\nthe age of three years and immediately attracted attention for
\nher sonorous voice.<\/p>\n
Over the years jazz has become an inseparable part of her
\npersonality.<\/p>\n
Today she goes around the globe on lecture and performing
\ntours with the belief that if jazz, as a distinct form of
\nAmerican music, is to thrive, then it must be shared worldwide.<\/p>\n
Apart from the superb quality of her voice, seeped in decades
\nof experience in Gospel and Blues music, the other wonderful
\naspect of Alice is her instant rapport with her listeners who are
\nnot only entertained but also teased endlessly by her.<\/p>\n
Ireng Maulana, 55, who has participated in numerous
\ninternational festivals and has dedicated his entire life to
\npromoting not just jazz, but all kinds of music, told The Jakarta
\nPost that he experiences a special kind of joy performing with
\nAlice.<\/p>\n
\"She is not calculating. She does not think. Alice performs
\nfrom the heart. She is spontaneous and straightforward and it is
\na pleasure to share the stage with her\".<\/p>\n
Thrilled at the countless crowds that thronged to the jazz
\nparty, Ireng is watching with bated breath the increasing
\ninterest of the city in jazz music. After having been introduced
\nto jazz by the Dutch, most of the young Indonesian musicians
\nmoved on to more lucrative professions from playing in bands at
\nclubs and bars patronized by the colonial powers before
\nindependence. While jazz has thrived in other parts of the world
\nin the last half century, in Indonesia it is still struggling to
\nkeep even the small niche it occupies.<\/p>\n
Jack Leksmana, the father of local jazz refused to let go and
\ndied playing music. But not before the grand old musician's love
\nfor music had given birth to a small group of jazz addicts,
\nincluding son Indra, and other admirers like Ireng and older
\nbrother Kiboud.<\/p>\n
With the end of the New Order regime of former president
\nSoeharto two years ago there seems to be a rekindling of
\ninterest for jazz here. Three years ago Ireng was invited by
\nShangri-La to play once a week at Bats, the hotel's funky bar
\nwith an ambience of a New York eatery after dark.<\/p>\n
\"I love spending my Sunday evenings playing at BATs but
\njamming with Alice is something else...,\" says Ireng looking
\nforward to many more performances together.<\/p>\n
The other jazz performances to look out for at the Regent is
\nthe New Orleans Dixieland Barbecue Night every Saturday, the mid-
\nsummer concert of contemporary jazz with Deviana Daudsjah and
\nfriends on July 21, saxophones in concert with Embong Raharjo,
\nDidi SSS and Sutrisno, the thunderous three tenors on August 18
\nand Japanese fusion jazz with on Sept. 9.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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