Jazz lovers get bonus in tribute concert

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Performing the works of a maestro is a daunting task for average musicians, but three instrumentalists from the Daya Music Institute proved that not only could they rehash classic compositions of one of the country's jazz legends, Nick Mamahit, they were capable of producing an intriguing interpretation of them.

Accomplished in their own right, three musicians from the institute, pianist Tjuk Nyak Deviana Daudsjah, double-bass player Yudo Nugroho Doni Sundjoyo and drummer Sri Aksana Sjuman recently gave a masterful touch, twisting and bending each note from Mamahit's classic works, as if to claim the compositions their own.

Although the concert, which was held to pay tribute to the musician who passed away early last year, clocked in at almost 90 minutes, concertgoers went home thinking out loud that the one- night performance was too short.

Mamahit himself must surely have been delighted from the other side, as a spectator.

Staged inside a medium-sized performance hall recently declared "the Nick Mamahit performance hall", the concert also beamed an aura of intimacy as performers and the audience engaged in a dialog about the compositions, and even traded jokes.

After a brief introduction about Mamahit's view on music from a recorded interview, the trio wasted no time starting the concert with Restumu Kunanti (Waiting for Your Blessing).

A ballad in 3/4 time, the composition highlighted what Deviana's repeatedly stated as her own block voicing style, in which all fingers were placed on the keys and moved freely from one key to another.

The composition radiated the lyrical quality in which the weeping piano cut through hissing cymbals and subdued snare beats thumped out by Aksan's brushes.

Aksan's drum-playing was also another main attraction, aside from Deviana's piano, which constituted the mainstay of the performance.

With Deviana unceasingly playing the lead role, it was now left to Aksan to provide a richly textured rhythm section.

In the second composition, Naik Naik ke Puncak Gunung (Going Up a Mountain), which was performed in a samba style, Aksan's soldier-march drumming made the bass inaudible to the unknowing audience.

Again in Rindu Lukisan (Longing for A Painting), the cymbals and snares went along the cascading piano during the coda, sending thrills to the audience which instantly responded with a big round of applause.

The bass player got what he deserved during Sarinade. After going halfway with a tremolo-saturated work, Deviana and Aksan took a break to give way to an extended bass solo, showcasing Doni's melodic dexterity with the stringed instrument.

The composition, which was originally a sad song, turned into a joyful Latin performance.

Concertgoers got more than they expected when Deviana took the microphone in the sixth number, I Nani Keke, a traditional song from the Minahasa culture (northern Sulawesi), where the pianist's mother hails from.

The show was brought to a seemingly abrupt end after a humorous rendition of Potong Bebek Angsa (Cutting Ducks and Geese), in which Deviana also mimicked a frightened fowl in between her pounding on the piano keys.

After a light-hearted rendition of Halo-Halo Bandung (Bandung's March) which was thrown in as an encore, the concert was brought to an end.

"What -- it's all over? It was too short," said Debra Yatim, one concertgoer.