Djarum Super Jamz Jazz Tour brings real jazz to music lover

Djarum Super Jamz Jazz Tour brings real jazz to music lover

By Sean Cole

JAKARTA (JP): There is nothing like jazz. Unlike many of its
sister music styles, jazz returns music to its stature as a true
art form -- equal to great literature, dance, theater, sculpture,
etc. -- a method of total expression, an attempt to capture the
essence of living.

It was once said that dance is unlike other art forms in that
it is "no longer translation, it is life." But the same can be
said for jazz, especially when witnessed in live performance.

As with any discipline, not all jazz artists are able to bring
their work to a height at which others may benefit from it. Some,
like jugglers, may astound us with technical prowess but lack the
heart to truly carry an audience.

Thankfully, there is the Djarum Super Jamz Jazz Tour '94, and
its denizens, Indra Lesmana Java Jazz and the Jakarta All-Stars.
They proved last Friday night at the Hotel Borobudur
Inter.Continental that there is still hope for excellence in
every corner of the world.

Surprisingly, the Flores Room where the event took place was
virtually empty. Only about 100 participants came out, although
there was room for three times that many.

The evening began late and many drifted away soon after the
second set began. But jazz is an addiction for some, and those
with an insatiable thirst for the innovative creations bursting
from the stage hung on until the very end.

Indra Lesmana's group was first and started the evening
without any introduction. Instead, the crowd was drawn in by the
drone of Australian percussionist Ron Reeves playing didgeridoo.
The sounds heightened and were joined by Lesmana's synthesizer
and the counterpoints of Embong Raharjo on alto sax.

Finally, the didgeridoo faded off and the whole boiling
mixture blew into flowing jazz. Soon, both Raharjo and Lesmana
threw themselves unrestrained into their solos, grooving higher
and higher into fits of rapid, ecstatic notes, swarming all over
the keys.

The gradual build from quiet meditation to expansive crescendo
is a standard for Java Jazz. Another standard is a rich and
organic, almost aboriginal, quality that bears a similar effect
to witnessing wild nature. In every song, there is the initial
build, the standard theme, and then at least two or three further
crescendos until the end is reached with a satisfying crash.

Packed within this loose structure, the patterns swim with an
array of colors: inviting, purifying and persistent.

Asian roots

Java Jazz, like most modern jazz groups, seem to draw from
many influences.

One tune, especially, smacked of very traditional Asian roots,
with Raharjo playing piccolo and drummer Cendy Luntungan sounding
his Chinese cymbal. For The Seeker, guitarist Dewa Bujana
utilized both a wahwah pedal and a whammy bar, making his fingers
seem, at all times, a beat ahead of each note.

Lesmana's wife, Sophia Latjuba, matched the themes of some
songs with a mellifluous and tribal voice, somewhat reminiscent
to Latin jazz great Tanya Maria.

The high point of the second set was probably the dueling of
drum solos between Reeves and Luntungan, in which Reeves brought
out every instrument from his conga to a nose flute. The two
brought their rhythms back into the general theme with the
sheerest grace.

The audience's attention did not falter for an instant.

Raharjo and Lesmana often gave each other knowing glances,
aware of the power and magic of each moment as it passed through
their instruments. Witnessing the communication between musicians
is as fun as hearing their music.

Funk and Blues

When the All-Stars came out in the second set, the crowd
shifted a little closer to the edges of their chairs. Here,
Embong Raharjo seemed even more in his element than he was with
Lesmana's band.

Even before the initial note, his face betrayed what was
coming. Sure enough, the deep grooves of the first tune were
dripping with funk on a bed of blues.

If Lesmana's Java Jazz was a morning in the rain forest, the
Jakarta All-Stars were a night's cruise through urban Jakarta.
All the players, bassist Jeffery T (who had also played bass for
Java Jazz) Raharjo, Rashidi, Luntungan, guitarist Kiboud Maulana
and percussionist Aji Rao, bopped and swayed to a much grittier,
naughtier, more streamlined sound than the one that had preceded
it.

They offered a thrilling display of pure, uncut blues, roaming
up and down the fingerboard to cries of "Yeah!" and "Manis!
(Sweet!)" from the seats in back.

The All-Stars seemed to be capable of handling anything, from
funk-based jazz to blues to tunes with seemingly Latin
undertones, to tunes with definite big-band overtones to the same
organic approach that Lesmana took in the set before.

The overall highlight of the evening was probably Raharjo
himself. With the cool, quiet, though electrified, reserve of any
great leader, he stood behind every note.

The same thing that has been said about seminal artists Wayne
Shorter and John Coltrane can be said about Raharjo: he plays
"like scrambled eggs."

But as was said of Shorter when he got his start with the
Miles Davis Quintet of the sixties, "It's the way he scrambles
them eggs!"

For someone so mild and still when he is not playing, Raharjo
puts out each of his solos from the bottoms of his shoes. Yet,
while blowing crazy, frantic patterns, he never falters or loses
touch with the overall democracy of the music.

The show would have been more than worth seeing if only for
Raharjo's intensity. But, to the delight of the audience, he was
not the only reason to attend.

Friday night's explosion ended appropriately with almost all
members of both bands doing a jam session together. Even with
eight musicians on stage, the communication was high, the
connection was lively and the enjoyment of all was unmistakable.

Indra Lesmana Java Jazz and the Jakarta All-Stars passed
through the Borobudur on their way to Atma Jaya University
(Saturday afternoon). Soon they will represent Indonesia in the
North Sea Jazz festival in Holland.

The show proved there are still artists within our reach who
are versed in the true meaning of jazz.