Jazz maestro honored in memorial concert<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
To pay tribute to the country's jazz legend Nick Mamahit, three
\nmusicians from the Institut Musik Daya music school will perform
\nin a memorial concert on Friday.<\/p>\n
Founder of the Institut Musik Daya, and a piano player who
\nwill perform in the concert, Tjut Nyak Deviana Daudsjah said that
\nthe concert would feature compositions from the country's first
\nwestern-educated musician, who passed away early last year.<\/p>\n
Deviana said that the concert also served as a reminder that
\nalthough the music scene is teeming with mediocre talent it once
\nhad a consummate piano player who left a lasting musical legacy.<\/p>\n
\"Om Nick frequently spoke of his dismay over the lack of
\neducated musicians in the country and he longed for quality music
\neducation,\" Deviana told a press briefing at the music school in
\nKebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Deviana, who will be accompanied by drummer Sri Aksana Sjuman
\nand bass player Yudo Nugroho Doni Sudjoyo in the performance,
\nsaid that although she had her own style, she would play all
\nMamahit's works according to the maestro's technique.<\/p>\n
The concert will be held in the school's hall, which was
\nrecently christened the Nick Mamahit Performance Hall. All
\nproceeds from the concert will go toward preserving Mamahit's
\nlegacy.<\/p>\n
Among the works that will be performed in the concert are Naik
\nNaik ke Puncak Gunung (Climbing up a Mountain), Doa (Prayer) and
\nHalo-Halo Bandung (Bandung's March)<\/p>\n
Although Mamahit was an accomplished musician, he refused to
\nwrite wholly original scores, arguing that no one would
\nunderstand his music.<\/p>\n
Instead, Mamahit rehashed scores of traditional music and
\nsongs from the country's revolution period, arranging them in a
\ncomplex and modern manner.<\/p>\n
Born Nicholas Maximilian in Jakarta in 1923, Mamahit went to
\nAmsterdam, the Netherlands, and obtained a degree in music from
\nthe Amsterdam Music Conservatory in 1944.<\/p>\n
Upon his return to the country in the early 1950s, he formed a
\njazz trio called \"The Progressive\" and recorded an album but it
\nfailed to penetrate the market and the band soon broke up.<\/p>\n
Afterward, Mamahit kept on recording songs and continued
\nplaying in some of the city's respected venues. He performed jazz
\nregularly at the Mandarin Hotel for 15 years in the 1980s and the
\n1990s.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Mamahit, the maestro's youngest son, recalled that his
\nfather was a perfectionist who was preoccupied with creating
\nmusic until his very end. \"While lying on his deathbed, my father
\nwanted us to find a piano he could play on,\" Jusuf said.<\/p>\n
Tickets are available at Institute Musik Daya Jl. Wijaya IX,
\nKebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Ph. +62 21 7209748 or e-mail at
\nimd@attglobal.net<\/p>",
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