Campus jazz fest marks 17 years<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Jazz Goes to Campus (JGTC), the University of
\nIndonesia's annual jazz concert, celebrated its 17th anniversary
\nby thrilling some music lovers and disappointing others last
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
For the second time in its history, the concert was held on
\nthe new vast campus of the University's School of Economics in
\nDepok. The event used to be held in the university's
\namphitheater.<\/p>\n
JGTC gave the audience of 3,000 people, mostly from the middle
\nclass, a mixture of fusion, blues, and ethnic-jazz that was
\nperformed by top Indonesian jazz musicians, such as Bill Saragih
\nand members of the Jakarta All Stars, Java Jazz and the Krakatau
\nBand.<\/p>\n
Although the festival satisfied the majority of the audience,
\nthe fans of Coco York faced a big disappointment. The Dutch jazz
\nstar, whom fans say has the voice of an angel, did not show up as
\nscheduled.<\/p>\n
\"She's having a problem with her visa,\" one of the committee
\nmembers explained.<\/p>\n
This festival was meant to celebrate the event's \"sweet 17th\"
\nanniversary with a display of its journey from the past to the
\npresent. But the 17 years of experience weren't as noticeable as
\nsome jazz fans might have hoped.<\/p>\n
Some complained that there were too many ear-buzzing mistakes
\nwith the sound-system for a concert of its experience and status.<\/p>\n
\"The sound-system was terrible. There were an array of
\ndisruptions just to fix the sound that made the event longer than
\nscheduled,\" Ismail, a student from Depok, said.<\/p>\n
\"And I think the committee did not expect it would go on till
\ndark,\" he commented when the entertainment continued without
\nproper lighting.<\/p>\n
Besides providing a flashback to the past, JGTC had another
\nmission. The event wanted to prove that jazz music is not only
\nfor yuppies and other upper class members, a phenomenon happening
\nin Jakarta today.<\/p>\n
Tickets were sold for Rp 2,000, a very low price for an event
\nthat presented several leading local jazz stars and guaranteed
\neach ticket holder a bonus pack of cigarettes from the sponsor.<\/p>\n
What with the general appearance of the crowd, mostly students
\nof UI and neighboring universities with BMWs, Italian shoes and
\nGucci bags, it is difficult to say the concert hit the target in
\nthat respect.<\/p>\n
Even though the festival did not function as an arena to
\nintroduce jazz to the grassroots, that did not seem to bother the
\naudience too much. \"We're here to experience the JGTC legend that
\nhas existed among the university students in Jakarta and to watch
\nthe fashion demonstrations from the people that came here,\" noted
\na couple of UI students hailing from Sumatra. (23)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/campus-jazz-fest-marks-17-years-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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