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.