Family matters for R&B singer Ingram<\/p>\n
Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Attending a gala dinner with James Ingram was the best way to
\nspend New Year's Eve, not only because of his songs that took me
\nback to the '80s, but also to fulfill my curiosity to see a live
\nperformance by the 1981 Grammy winner.<\/p>\n
The ballroom of the Hotel Mulia Senayan was packed with almost
\n750 people on Tuesday evening. It was only four hours before
\nmidnight, and everyone was gearing up to welcome 2003.<\/p>\n
A performance by Bandung-based comedy group Project Pop
\nmanaged to charge the atmosphere before the real star of the
\nevening appeared onstage.<\/p>\n
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome James Ingram...!" the MC
\nannounced at a quarter to eleven. While all eyes were glued to
\nthe stage, the R&B singer entered unexpectedly from the rear of
\nthe ballroom.<\/p>\n
Despite his three-year hiatus from recording new albums,
\nIngram successfully riveted the audience to their seats as he
\nperformed his hits, including Just Once -- the song that won him
\nthe 1981 Grammy, I Don't Have the Heart, Somewhere Out There,
\nWhatever We Imagine, Baby Come to Me and R. Kelly's I Believe I
\nCan Fly.<\/p>\n
Watching Ingram's performance on stage reminded me of our
\nconversation a day earlier when he gave an one-on-one interview.<\/p>\n
Ingram's manager and wife, Debbie Ingram, warmly welcomed me
\nwith an initial question as to my pregnancy, then went on with
\nstories of their six children.<\/p>\n
"But you'll have more joy than headaches every time you look
\nat your children," she said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Ingram himself, sporting a black suit by Moschino, also spoke
\nabout his children, showing himself as a family man.<\/p>\n
"There's no doubt that my family influences my music. Do you
\nremember my record Whatever We Imagine?" he asked me. Then he
\nstarted singing, "Don't be afraid\/I can meet you halfway... I'm
\nsinging it to my children.<\/p>\n
"Do you remember the movie, The Godfather?" he asked me again.
\nI nodded.<\/p>\n
"When people ask for a favor, the godfather says, 'How much
\ntime you spent with your family and children?' (imitating Marlon
\nBrando's voice). Remember that? 'Mafia' means 'my family' in
\nItalian. Even when you're a gangster, family is still important."<\/p>\n
Ingram -- who won Best Pop Male Vocal and Best R&B Vocal at
\nthe 1981 Grammy Awards -- gave an unusual answer when asked about
\nhis reason for coming to Jakarta despite the travel advisories
\nissued by several countries, including the United States,
\nfollowing the Bali bombings of Oct. 12.<\/p>\n
"(It's because) you look like me and I look like you. In other
\nwords, I could be an Indonesian. You are my people and I'm not
\nafraid of my people.<\/p>\n
"There are many people and many governments with their plans,
\nbut there's only one God. And I asked Him to find my place in
\nGod's planet.<\/p>\n
"As I read in the Bible and the Koran, the objective of all
\nreligion is to be obedient to God. And my obedience to God is to
\nserve, so I came here to serve with the best show that I can."<\/p>\n
Many had speculated that Ingram would cancel his performance
\nhere just like other international artists -- including Red Hot
\nChili Peppers, Oasis and Guns n' Roses -- after the bombings.<\/p>\n
"No man can kill me, because I'm on a mission to do the work
\nof God. I don't fear men, I fear God. That's why I'm here.<\/p>\n
Ingram said such bomb threats in Indonesia were meaningless
\ncompared to the racism faced by African-Americans in the United
\nStates.<\/p>\n
"You've got to understand that I'm a black man who grew up in
\nthe United States... I've been terrorized all my life by the Ku
\nKlux Klan and all that stuff. What do I mean by terror to me or
\nto other black men in America? We grew up with the terror. We're
\nsecond-class citizens, terrorized all our lives with racism and
\nall that. That's nothing new for me.<\/p>\n
"I was born in a country that looks at me as second-class.
\nI've been second-class since I was a baby. Michael Jackson, I
\ndon't care how many millions of dollars he's got, he's still a
\nsecond-class, black man in America," said Ingram, who co-wrote
\nP.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) with singer\/songwriter\/producer
\nQuincy Jones for Jackson's 1982 smash hit album Thriller.<\/p>\n
After the performance, Ingram returned to his home in Los
\nAngeles, California, on Jan. 2 to finish his new album, which is
\nscheduled to be released in the summer or fall of this year.<\/p>\n
"My next album will be a big band record with currently four
\nor five songs. We're going through another jazzy mood but still
\nin soulful with big band arrangement around it. But first we must
\nfinish it. Picking up the songs is the most difficult thing," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising, since Ingram is known for his eternal
\nquest to find a song that will outlive him.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the music industry these days, Ingram sees it
\nas being cyclic in nature, as "the music today is not like the
\nmusic when I grew up."<\/p>\n
"Now, 25 percent is music while the rest is tracks. It's not a
\nbig deal for me to be an artist, as long as I stay true to who I
\nam, as an artist.<\/p>\n
"People can program stuff right now. It's like the science is
\ndominating the art. But the art will dominate the science like it
\ndid before. As an artist, I will defend my music."<\/p>\n
However, Ingram's opinion regarding piracy was quite
\nsurprising. While many artists are against piracy, Ingram simply
\nsaid, "Why not pirate mine?"<\/p>\n
"You can't stop piracy, so if you're going to pirate someone's
\nrecord, why not pirate mine? Even with a pirated copy, you still
\nhave to buy my records for US$2.50. Piracy means people enjoy my
\nmusic 'cause you can't sell junk to nobody."<\/p>\n
Born in Akron, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 1956, Ingram began his music
\ncareer with his group Revelation Funk before moving to Los
\nAngeles after high school.<\/p>\n
He also used to play the organ for Ray Charles, who taught him
\nproduction skills.<\/p>\n
His life turned 180 degrees when he sang a demo of Just Once
\nfor ATV, for a mere $50.<\/p>\n
"Quincy Jones asked who sang the song and wanted my number,"
\nhe recalled.<\/p>\n
Ingram also performed a duet with Jones in the 1980 album, The
\nDude.<\/p>\n
"By February 1981, I had won two Grammys with Quincy's label.
\nIt turned my whole life upside down. I've been blessed with a
\nworld-class record label with Quincy," he said.<\/p>\n
During his performance, Ingram spontaneously sang a song for
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"We didn't rehearse for this," he said before, singing the
\nsong while playing the keyboard.<\/p>\n
This song reminded me of his statements on why he loves to
\ncome to Jakarta, particularly on New Year's Eve.<\/p>\n
"It's my first time out of the country on New Year's Eve. New
\nYear's Eve and Valentine's Day are the two biggest days for
\nperforming, so I can't leave the country.<\/p>\n
"But I love Southeast Asia, which has embraced me as a family
\nmember. We're like brothers and sisters. We're people of God. Any
\ntime I have the chance to come to Southeast Asia -- Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, Singapore or the Philippines -- I come if I can.<\/p>\n
"Whether you like it or not, I'm here."<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/family-matters-for-rb-singer-ingram-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }