Jazz lovers finally get their fill
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It was a night of delight for jazz lovers, as dozens of international and local acts performed and interacted on the first day of the Java Jazz Festival on Friday.
Continuous performances gave jazz lovers reason to be thankful that noteworthy music acts had finally come to the capital.
Performers took turns in taking to the 11 stages, erected inside the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Some of the stages were set up in open spaces and without barriers so that the audience could closely watch and interact with the performers.
The festival kicked off with a powerful traditional Acehnese dance performance by the Dedy Luthan Dance Company accompanied by percussionist Steve Reid, Adjie Rao and scores of child percussion players.
The child percussionists managed to outshine the dance performance with a polished knack that could put Led Zeppelin's John Bonham to shame.
No sooner had the opening performance wrapped up when lyrical flamenco guitar playing was heard from the stage closest to the main hall entrance.
A guitar duo of the Romero's quickly drew a crowd, and for 30 minutes they listened to flamenco-tinged songs.
The festival came to full life later in the evening when more people swarmed the convention center for the performances of piano player George Duke, female crooner Laura Fygi and ultimately the performance of the godfather of soul, James Brown.
The air was electric with expectation, and concertgoers patiently waited for the piano-playing Duke when his stage appearance was delayed for more than 45 minutes. And when Duke finally appeared, the audience applauded thunderously.
Some last-minute changes in the schedule irritated some who had arranged their time to fit in with a particular show.
"I had a tight schedule today but managed to keep after 8 p.m. free so I could watch Laura Fygi. She was the reason I bought the ticket," said patron Johan Kusnadi.
"But they changed the schedule to seven o'clock and I missed Laura's show."
Fygi, who got a standing ovation on Friday night, said she was worried she would be confronted with an empty room because of the change in schedule.
However, many people had been at JCC since performances stared in the afternoon so they knew about the changed schedule. About 500 people packed Assembly I room at JCC to watch the Dutch crooner and her band.