JakJazz 95 to introduce local flavor to jazz fans
JakJazz 95 to introduce local flavor to jazz fans
By Franki Raden
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta International Jazz Festival 1995, or JakJazz 95, returns next week with an Indonesian flavor.
Keeping in the spirit of this year's celebration of Indonesia's 50th anniversary, the organizers have scheduled an event that will appeal to an audience far beyond jazz enthusiasts.
This year's festival, from Dec.7 to Dec.10, will be a cultural event and an attempt to showcase the many talents of the Indonesian jazz world.
JakJazz 95 is now functioning as a barometer for jazz development in Indonesia and recording the experimental ventures of local jazz musicians.
Few forms of music have been kept entirely free of other musical influences. A good example is jazz itself. American jazz musicians Cecil Taylor, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Keith Jarret and Anthony Davis have all blended jazz with contemporary music and rock. Terry Riley, Gunther Schuler, Vimko Globokar and Paul Dresner are contemporary musicians who mix their music with jazz, rock and traditional Asian music. In the West, traditional gamelan has been fused with contemporary music, with some even attempting to free gamelan of its dependency on Javanese culture.
The trend of cultural deconstruction has provided the momentum to liberate jazz from its association with the American people, and to make the most of local music potential.
Third World musicians are becoming more critical of western domination in a world with so many musical traditions. Indonesia is a perfect example, as are the efforts of a number of Asian artists. The Japanese jazz musicians of the Asian Fantasy Orchestra are now creating orchestral music based on traditional Asian sounds. The Asian Fantasy Orchestra was established by Japanese jazz musicians in Tokyo in 1991 with the aim to symbolically show the existence of harmony in the life of Asians.
Composers at this year's ASEAN Composers League meeting held in Solo, Central Java, also drew up a program to promote contemporary music, with the musicians and instruments rooted in Asian tradition.
Contemporary composers in the Asia-Pacific region have been struggling for some time to eliminate dominant western influences. The group even includes composers from Australia and New Zealand, whose cultures originated in the West.
In Indonesia, ever since contemporary music made its entry in 1910, composers such as Soerjo Poetro, R. Atmadarsan and R. Soeharyo have tried to mine the potential of local music in their own music.
Most of Indonesia's composers in the 70s and 80s era endeavored to discover the potential of local music. This year, JakJazz will feature some of these musicians, including Jadug Ferianto, Ben Pasaribu, I Wayan Sadra, Inisiari, Harry Roesli and Yazeed Djamin.
JakJazz 95 will welcome Krakatau, Sketsa, Karimata as well as individual performances by Indra Lesmana, Idang Razidi, Gilang Ramadhan, Luluk Purwanto, Tam Deseng, Taman Husein and Elfa Secoria.
JakJazz will also boast an impressive roster of foreign musicians. Earl Klugh, Arturo Sandoval, Takeshi Ito, Benko Dixieland Band, Carol Kidd and Surface will all take to the stage next week. The festival will also feature the talents of Sandy Evans, Igor Brill, Illouz, Nippy Noya, Jeremy Monteiro, Bruno De Fillipi, Drei von Rheim and O'Donel Levy.
Some Indonesian jazz musicians will team up with foreign guests, with such duos as Indra Lesmana and Sandy Evans, Bubi Chen and Jeremy Monteiro, Idang Razidi and Bruno de Fillipi, the Suweleh Brothers and Nippy & Shana Noya.
A number of groups from outside Jakarta, such as the Kamandatu music group from Semarang and Uluwatu from Denpasar, are being included for the first time at JakJazz.
Music groups from Jakarta are the Benny Likumahuwa Band, Bujana Trio, Armando Trio, Embong Rahardjo, Nick Mamahit, Jeffrey Tahalele Trio, PIG, Pelita Harapan Jazz Band, Bill Saragih, Kibaud Maulanaa Blues Band, Margie Segers, B-Soul, Simak Dialog, Johan Untung and Ireng Maulana All Stars.
For those who like to delve more into the art and techniques of jazz, the organizers will hold a workshop from Dec. 4 to Dec. 6 at Jamz in South Jakarta to discuss improvisation, new methods, individual style development and a range of other themes.
The workshop will be conducted by several foreign musicians and guided by Candra Darusman, Benny Likumahuwa and Bill Saragih.
The opening prelude on Dec. 7 will feature Dwiki Dharmawan and his orchestra equipped with gamelan instruments, in what may be a sign of things to come in future JakJazz festivals.