Indra Lesmana: A jazz player, composer and producer<\/p>\n
By Helly Minarti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At 33, jazz musician Indra Lesmana is still
\nconsidered young, but he is already too big to be ignored. Being
\nthe only son and youngest child of the late Jack Lesmana -- a
\nlegendary jazz guitarist of the 1970s and 1980s -- Indra has
\nearned his own reputation in the world of jazz, both as a player
\nand a composer, and now, increasingly, as a producer.<\/p>\n
Jazz has, indeed, surrounded Indra.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe in the womb when I was conceived,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yet his father did not seem to be aware of Indra's talent
\nuntil, \"One day, when I was still a kid, I just climbed up in
\nfront of the piano and played a jazz composition,\" recalled
\nIndra. His father was really surprised since he had not taught
\nIndra how to play that music. Indra himself said that even now,
\nhe does not know how he did it.<\/p>\n
\"My father then enrolled me in a private piano course under
\nIravati Sudiarso (the reputable Indonesia's classical composer)
\nand then with a Russian, Ms. Valentina,\" said Indra. Since then,
\n\"jazz has been a way of life. It teaches me about freedom and how
\nto connect with people by playing in an ensemble.\"<\/p>\n
Soon, little Indra started performing solo. He released his
\nfirst album at 12, titled Ayahku, Sahabatku (My Father, My Best
\nFriend), was hailed a \"jazz whiz kid\" and gradually became known
\nmore as \"Jack's boy\". A year later, at 13, he won a scholarship
\nto study at the Australian Conservatory of Music in Sydney. His
\nfamily -- his father, his mother Nien Lesmana and older sisters,
\nLani and Mira -- moved to the new city so the little jazz wizard
\ncould pursue his music. He studied until 1983, taking jazz
\nstudies as his specialty.<\/p>\n
Then the world was introduced to Indra when he signed up with
\na U.S. recording company for his debut album, No Standing, which
\n-- not surprisingly -- made an entry on the chart of the
\nprestigious U.S. music magazine Downbeat. His next album, For
\nEarth and Heaven, also recorded in Los Angeles, is still
\nconsidered his jazz masterpiece.<\/p>\n
Back home, Indra was warmly welcomed by fans, who crowded his
\noccasional gigs during his short visits. In 1983 his family moved
\nback to Jakarta and Indra didn't wait to immerse himself in the
\nlocal music scene. But instead of recording a jazz album, he
\nwent pop.<\/p>\n
\"The condition at that time was not supportive of jazz. Though
\njazz seemed hip and alive onstage, it was very hard to put down a
\njazz record. If any of us wanted to do so, we used to have to
\ncollect some money since there was no professional producer who'd
\nwant to do the job,\" said Indra.<\/p>\n
Besides, \"I was unavoidably influenced by pop music -- being
\nyoung and that. And it seemed that people, the general public,
\nappreciate my pop side more at that time,\" he reasoned. So he cut
\na solo debut pop album, which was followed by album after album.
\nHe also produced many hits for new artists, including (then)
\ngirlfriend Titi DJ, followed by (then) wife Sophia Latjuba and
\nMalaysian pop star, Sheila Madjid.<\/p>\n
But jazz has been and always will be his roots. Even while
\nbusy with his pop projects, Indra developed his own circle in the
\njazz scene -- sometimes bringing in more senior players to share
\nthe stage. He also occasionally showcased playing with
\ninternational jazz musicians like Jan Garbarek and Chic Corea.<\/p>\n
Indra has joined and founded many groups, like the jazz-rock
\nfusion group Krakatau, and has had the occasional jam session
\nwith the group GIF (Gilang-Indra-Fariz), as well as collaborating
\nwith an array of musicians -- in and out jazz. Yet, Indra's
\nmusical chemistry seems to click best with a certain combination
\nof players. They are his best friend Gilang Ramadhan (drums),
\nEmbong (sax), Donny Suhendra (guitar) and Mates (bass), with whom
\nhe formed Java Jazz in the early 1990s. \"Maybe because I have
\nknown each of them for a long time -- since the mid 1980s,\" said
\nIndra of the closeness.<\/p>\n
Emerging first as a jam session group, Java Jazz has also had
\nits share of new members. \"With other performers, we went to the
\nNorth Sea Jazz Festival in 1994 and released a limited album for
\nthe occasion,\" Indra said. But it was with the original set he
\ncut a second and well-produced album titled Sabda Prana (old
\nJavanese for Voices of Soul), last April. This also marked
\nIndra's withdrawal from the pop genre.<\/p>\n
\"Three years ago, I decided to concentrate on jazz. I was just
\nhitting 30, and I thought I should do something serious at that
\nstage of my life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides being known as an eloquent keyboardist and jazz
\ncomposer, Indra is also blessed with a Midas touch as a jazz
\nproducer. With his own label, Funk U Production, he now intends
\nto produce only jazz albums. \"This year, I just finished an album
\nfor Ermy Kulit and some sets for other projects,\" he declared.
\n\"It's a much better time for jazz to go on record,\" he said.<\/p>\n
While selling a decent amount of copies -- 1,000 CDs and
\n10,000 cassettes in Indonesia alone -- Java Jazz has just signed
\na contract with a major label which will distribute the new album
\nto nine countries in Asia and in the U.S. Now the group is
\nlooking forward to performing in jazz festivals in 2000.<\/p>\n
Indra Lesmana, also inheriting from his father the ability to
\nteach, now also gives private lessons to young people on general
\njazz studies. A true admirer of John Coltrane, Indra has an
\naffable openness to welcome other musicians -- mostly younger --
\nwho come to him for advice and guidance.<\/p>\n
This also means that he is more approachable. Once he was
\nspotted playing a few numbers with his jazz peers in a celebrity-
\npacked party celebrating a decade of the pop-rock group Dewa 19.
\nOn another occasion, he played solo keyboard at a cafe gig for
\nPotret Band. He is like a bottomless well for musicians who are
\nthirsty for the latest musical enlightenment.<\/p>\n
Married to Sophia Latjuba in 1992, Indra has a daughter, Eva
\nCelia (who will be 7 next September). \"Eva is very musical. She
\nhas an incredible voice and has asked for a violin for her next
\nbirthday,\" he said with sparkle in his eye. He is doing for Eva
\nwhat his father did for him. \"I am not pushing her into music.
\nShe wants to be a veterinarian, and I think it's a noble
\nprofession,\" said Indra of Eva, who is now in Sophia's custody.<\/p>\n
After his divorce from Sophia, Indra married Virta Dwi
\nHandaryati Trihandojo (Hanny), 25, earlier this year. His new
\nwife, who is now his manager, is three months pregnant. Indra
\ndeclined to comment on the current media fuss on Sophia's latest
\nsituation, after she posed for sensual photographs in a magazine.
\nThe magazine is being charged with printing pornography and
\nSophia was recently questioned by the police as a witness. \"It's
\nher business. She's an adult, she knows what she's doing.\"<\/p>",
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