Jazz, an American gift, struggles to live on

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

More often than not, the American legacy in this country is perceived negatively; it is invariably associated with capitalism.

However, there is one legacy that has remained and needs to be nurtured: Jazz.

According to www.wartajazz.com, in its interview with Sudibyo Pr., an architect and jazz aficionado, the history of jazz in Indonesia dates back to 1922, when Dutch colonialists brought jazz records here.

There was also a Dutch saxophone player who came to this country after staying for a long time in the United States, and formed a jazz band here with his fellow Dutchmen.

In that early period of jazz here, the music was played mostly by Dutch Indonesians, with very few locals tuned into it. Although reports stated that the first Indonesian jazz musician was an Acehnese.

Aside from the Dutch, sources said that the jazz waves were also brought in by Filipino musicians who came to Jakarta from 1925 to 1927. Some of their descendants even still live in Bandung, according to Sudibyo, namely Benny Pablo, Benny Corda and Sambayong, among others.

Jazz in the early years here was centered in Jakarta; Bandung and Bogor in West Java; Surabaya in East Java and Makassar in South Sulawesi. The music at that time was more of an entertainment, rather than an art form as it is perceived today.

Jazz musicians comprised of military officers, as musical instruments were still rare, who played for the Dutch and upper- class Indonesians.

A little note on the lack of instruments, only jazz bands at that time used drums because they were expensive. Therefore, drums were equated with jazz and people called a band a "jazz band" when it had a set of drums.

The first Indonesian jazz bands probably comprised of army cadets living in Yogyakarta circa 1948. Some of them then moved to Jakarta, and played Hawaiian pop and then later on light jazz like Manhattan Transfer.

The musicians who rose in popularity at that time were Boetje Pesolima, Doddy Hughes, Dick Van Der Capellen and Tjok Sin Soe. There was also Sigar Lucky Brothers, who moved to California for better prospects, pianist Nick Mamahit, Iskandar (father of singer Diah Iskandar) and Etto Lattumeten who established a band called Dixieland.

At the end of the 1940s, there was an excellent pianist Marihut Hutabarat referred to as the Indonesian George Shearing, who died young in an accident.

Afterward there was the generation of Paul Hutabarat, Eddie Gatot, Bill Saragih and also Bing Slamet.

Bing Slamet, who took his first name from his idol Bing Crosby, was better known as a comedian. But he actually was an excellent jazz vocalist and guitarist.

And then, of course, there were the late Jack Lesmana and (still going strong) Bubi Chen. After his first performance at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1967, Bubi was highly praised and even called by Downbeat magazine as "The best in Asia" and even "One of the best in the world."

Jazz continued to develop in Indonesia, albeit slowly.

The 1980s was probably the last decade when jazz reigned supreme in this country, with jazz bands like Karimata, and Krakatau (albeit more fusion), with jazz vocalists like Ermy Kulit and Rien Djamain excelling in the Top 40 charts.

It has not been a pretty picture since then, with jazz remaining a very segmented genre.

Jack's son Indra Lesmana, who was hailed as a jazz whiz-kid, even had (and still has) to stray into pop to survive, and so do other musicians.

Pianist Chandra Darusman of Karimata became an activist for intellectual property rights, while Krakatau has veered heavily into ethnic music nowadays.

Jazz events like Jak Jazz went kaput, while Jazz Goes To Campus, the biggest and the longest running jazz festival, became stagnant.

Sudibyo said that the lack of appreciation for jazz is natural as even in the United States, jazz was abandoned in its early days. Besides, jazz is not that easy to digest, which is a bit ironic because back in the 1930s, jazz was an easy listening music and easy to dance to.

After the 1960s, however, it got more and more complicated so that young people were reluctant to listen to it.

Despite the limited audience and slow regeneration, however, jazz in this country continues to survive. Indra Lesmana still manages to produce jazz albums with his band Reborn, for instance, as well as noted musician Tjut Njak Deviana Daudsjah who with her music school Institut Musik Daya, strived to produce jazz musicians.

There are also young names like Nial Djuliarso or light jazz band Sova, as well as young vocalist Andien.

Once a year, jazz aficionados can gather at the Jazz Goes To Campus (this year it will hit its 28th year), despite its shortcomings.

Early this year, the Java Jazz festival was held, comprising more than a dozen foreign and local musicians and attracted a huge crowd. Hopefully, this is a sign of a better future and appreciation for the local jazz scene.