Jakarta's jazz revival can start with this band

Jakarta's jazz revival can start with this band

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): It may seem slow, but jazz music is gradually
resuming its existence in the Indonesian music scene. Proof of
that is jazz band Simak Dialog, which will perform at Gedung
Kesenian Jakarta on Saturday (May 1).

The group first received attention with their performance at
the JakJazz Festival in 1994. The upcoming show is their second
solo performance since 1997.

Often dubbed as music for the affluent, jazz flourished in the
1970s and 1980s by catering to a small but loyal audience.
Vocalists like Rien Djamain and bands like Bhaskara, Karimata and
Krakatau, were among the big names at that time. Jazz, however,
was in a somewhat vague position early in the 1990s, as reflected
in the decline of new recordings released.

After a relatively long vacuum, the local jazz scene was
recently visited by new emerging talents like vocalist Syaharani,
who is propelled by crackerjacker Bubbi Chen and guitarists Dewa
Budjana and Tohpati. They all have put out albums that sometimes
deviated from "pure" jazz by merging it with other elements.
Tohpati's release combined jazz with pop, while Budjana's went
extremely experimental.

This is not a big revival, but does indicate a fresh start
for jazz musicians to reclaim their place in the local music
industry. Simak Dialog's second album titled Baur (Blended), is
due to hit the market soon and will add to the variety.

Simak Dialog consists of four lads in their late 20s and early
30s: Riza Arshad (keyboard), Arie Ayunir (drum), Tohpati Ario
(guitar) and Indro Hardjodikoro (bass). Their music can be
categorized as easy-listening jazz, taking a similar musical path
of those released under GRP Productions -- a major U.S. label
which features artists such as Bob James and Lee Ritenour.

"We all learned how to play the hard-line stuff like swing or
beebop right from our seniors but we're more into our music we're
playing now," said Riza.

The basic ingredient is indeed jazz. "But we're far from being
pretentious (to play strict jazz). We're just trying to be honest
with our music, and that's what matters most," he added.

The "seniors" they referred to include big names in jazz like
Nick Mamahit, the late Jack Lesmana and the late Maryono. The
quartet honed their musical skills at Farabi music school under
Indra Lesmana -- their contemporary teacher who was once known as
"the Whizkid" of jazz music.

The group, whose name infers "to listen and build dialog", was
founded in 1990 by Riza and Arie Ayunir, but it took three years
for the lineup to be what it is today. The four started recording
their early compositions in 1994, and an album was released a
year later. The group released it under Ragadi Music, a recording
label founded by Riza, which was formed as their music still had
too small a market niche for any major label to produce it.

Titled Lukisan (Paintings) it sold an initial 5,000 copies -- a
very small amount by pop music standards but nonetheless a decent
start in the jazz genre considering its absent promotion. The
krismon (monetary crisis) in Indonesia has stopped its production
and they were unable to meet the market demand for it.

"We chose to go on with our second release instead," said
Riza.

This latest release Baur is produced by Chico & Ira
Production which is a small label owned by the 32-year-old Chico
Hindarto. Once a promoter for international jazz musicians,
Hindarto invited big names like Spyrogira, Accoustic Alchemy,
Eric Marienthal and Tuck & Patty.

Although a jazz afficionado first, Chico's reason to get
involved in production was more than just a passing fling. "First
off, this kind of music -- easy listening jazz which fuses with
other music -- is long lasting. People will still enjoy it 10
years from now. So, it's like an investment," he said.

"Secondly, although it has a small audience, they are very
loyal," added Chico, who is also the presenter of Jazzy, a late
night weekly music program at a private television station.

In their new release, Simak Dialog presents 11 compositions
which were prepared over four years, a long time between albums.
Some of the songs were composed back in the mid 1990s and were
performed at their 1997 solo show.

For its members, Simak Dialog is more of a creative playground
where they can explore new artistic fields. It is also like a
musical plateau that grills them before they reach a higher
ground by honing their techniques and skills as they play
difficult tunes and engage their individual improvisation in jam
sessions. "It's what jazz is all about -- harmony and
improvisation," said Riza.

As a consequence they deliberately chose to go mainstream --
stubbornly seeking artistic satisfaction rather than
compromising with what the market dictated as other Indonesian
predecessors in the 1980s would do. These artists would feature
a vocalist and turn out a poppish-sounding single so that they
could get recognized and climb to the top of the charts.
More melodic songs can still be found in Simak Dialog's
repertoire, remaining in the same mode of their mainstream
instrumental.

The band is definitely not doing it for money. To make ends
meet, all members play for popular artists or other pop groups.
Arie Ayunir, for example, is the drummer for Potret, a band which
has gained fame through its minimalist music style. The other
three lend themselves out as players for other artists such as
Chrisye and/or released solo albums, as recently done by Tohpati
with his guitar-based composition.

For their next gig on May 1, Simak Dialog will play 10 songs
which were mostly taken from their new album including a special
number that has not been previously recorded. "It's called
Invited -- and it's straight forward jazz," said Riza.