Jazz, Titi DJ and hula girls at JAMZ<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It's been years since I've been to JAMZ. Not
\nsince they moved out of the little club across from Blok M Plaza
\nto the Aston Hotel. Talk about moving on up, George and Weezie
\nstyle.<\/p>\n
So, after all these years I finally get around to seeing what
\nthe place looks like now and guess who else shows up the same
\nnight? Titi DJ.<\/p>\n
What a coincidence, or was it? It seems everywhere I go
\nlately, there's Titi. Listen Titi, if you want to meet Penn just
\ncall Penn up, but please stop following Penn around.<\/p>\n
Location: JAMZ is located in the Aston Hotel, sometimes known
\nas the Lippo Sudirman Grand Suite Hotel, though it is not really
\non Jl. Sudirman but just a little way back. The actual address is
\nJl. Garnisun Dalam No. 8, Karet Semanggi. You can phone them at
\n574-5670. Get more information about their location and other
\nthings at www.jamzclub.com.<\/p>\n
Hours: The Pub & Restaurant is open for lunch Monday to Friday
\nfrom 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is open every day from 6 p.m. to 1
\na.m. The New Orleans music lounge is open Monday to Saturday from
\n6 p.m. to 1 a.m. And the Mardi Gras room is open daily from 6
\np.m. to 2 a.m., though it can close earlier or later.<\/p>\n
What's it got: JAMZ has everything. It has a very wide
\nselection of food (though my companion said his club sandwich was
\nlike something you'd be served in a three-star hotel coffee shop
\nand my Cajun chicken tasted like your standard, everyday grilled
\nchicken breast) and a full assortment of drinks. On the
\nentertainment front, there is blues and jazz, disco, top-40 cover
\nbands. JAMZ is really trying to cater to all tastes and needs
\nunder one roof.<\/p>\n
Bill, please: JAMZ is somewhat more expensive than your normal
\nclub. But since it is located in the Aston, I guess that is to be
\nexpected. A draught beer is Rp 25,000, a Manhattan Rp 41,500,
\nfrozen Margarita Rp 49,000 and so on.<\/p>\n
Here's looking at you: Visiting the Lippo Grand Suite is
\nalways a bit surprising. Just spitting distance from Jl. Sudirman
\nit seems a world removed. It's a bit like Disneyland; here's
\nTomorrow Land, Adventure Land, Lippo Land. It just feels
\ndisconnected from reality, which is probably good.<\/p>\n
JAMZ itself is divided into three separate venues. One floor
\nis the Mardi Gras room, which is the disco. Just down the hall
\nfrom that is the New Orleans room, which is the music lounge and
\nhost to blues and jazz bands. Upstairs is the largest of the
\nrooms, the Pub & Restaurant. The pub, as it shall be known,
\nusually has bands playing top-40 music, but the night I went
\nthere was a special performance by Titi DJ for JAMZ privileged
\ncardholders.<\/p>\n
Let's start in the pub. It is really crowded. Though, that
\ncould have been because of Titi. It has a big stage, lots of
\ntables, a big bar. It looked like a nice pub, at least from my
\npoint of view, wedged into the middle of the crowd.<\/p>\n
I will tell you, though they roped off the upstairs to prevent
\nnon-cardholders from getting in, they eventually let down their
\nguard, allowing anyone, including our party, to get upstairs for
\nthe show. We caught about the last 15 or so minutes of Titi and I
\nhave to say she is really good. She has a great rapport with the
\ncrowd, is funny and can sing, too. A big hit with the crowd was
\nwhen she brought some fellow up on stage and got him dancing to
\nKopi Dangdut.<\/p>\n
Enough of that, because I couldn't really see enough of the
\npub to allow me to discuss it. To the disco then, which is by far
\nthe weirdest room. I walked in here to a hula show in the middle
\nof the floor, apparently being put on for the sole benefit of the
\nfive or six JAMZ employees in the place. By the time I went to
\nthe disco, I had had several drinks so I wasn't sure if my eyes
\nweren't playing tricks on me. Then, as I watched the three hula
\ngirls, their leis lit up, I began to get a little shaky so I had
\nto escape.<\/p>\n
The disco was, when I visited, empty. It has a little bar,
\nsome stools along the walls, a DJ in a glass cage in the back and
\na little oval \"fenced\" off in the middle of the room. It is a
\nvery small disco and one feels whether, maybe, a disco is not
\nreally the right thing for the place.<\/p>\n
And it turns out the hula girls were somehow connected to the
\nTiti DJ show. Or I think so, because I spotted them coming in the
\ndoor as I was leaving the Titi DJ show. I hope there was a reason
\nthey were there.<\/p>\n
Finally, the music lounge. Again a small bar, several low
\ntables and stuffed chairs taking up all the floor space in front
\nof the stage, with some chairs and little around the wall. The
\nwhole space is small and finding seating, particularly good
\nseating, was difficult. An intimate jazz club is nice, but this
\nwas a little too intimate. It also wasn't very dark and smoky,
\ntwo things the JAMZ in Blok M had in spades.<\/p>\n
By the way, the Idang Rasjidi Kwartet, with Margi Segers on
\nvocals was on. They were very good and I would recommend catching
\nthem on Wednesday nights.<\/p>\n
Last call: JAMZ is a very interesting place. They might want
\nto consider doing something different with the Mardi Gras room
\nbecause Jakarta already has enough bad discos. The Pub &
\nRestaurant looked interesting and I will be going back to get a
\nlook at it when it's not so packed out. And the New Orleans room,
\nthe venue that sets JAMZ apart from other clubs. There are lots
\nof discos and lots of pubs and restaurants with live bands
\nplaying top-40 music, but there are not many jazz and blues
\nvenues in the city.<\/p>\n
While this one is a touch small and maybe not quite smoky or
\ndark enough, it is a comfortable venue to hear some really good
\nmusic. (Penn Dawson)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jazz-titi-dj-and-hula-girls-at-jamz-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}