Jazz pianist Nick Mamahit to be feted in concert

Jazz pianist Nick Mamahit to be feted in concert

By Y. Bintang Prakarsa

JAKARTA (JP): Nick Mamahit, who turned 78 last month, is going
to receive a very special belated birthday present -- a rerelease
of some of his recordings from the 1980s.

The occasion will be A Salute to Nick Mamahit: A Lifetime of
Music, initiated by arts lover Pia Alisjahbana and organized by
Communications for the Arts (KOMSENI), on Thursday at the
Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, the very place Nick made the
recordings.

The celebrated jazz pianist retired from regular appearances
five years ago, after a career as a performer and recording
artist dating back to the 1950s. The special new record has come
about thanks to Pia, a longtime fan and friend of Nick's, and
another jazz music lover who had carefully stored tape recordings
of his music.

It all began when Pia held a charity concert last September to
save Nick's library of music books, numbering about 400 in a
diverse range. As the reviews reached the public, she received an
e-mail from Jack Daniels, a former marketing manager of the
Mandarin.

She was pleasantly surprised when he told her that he still
had the master tape of Nick's performances from his days of
giving shows at the hotel.

During that time, Daniels persuaded the hotel to make a
recording of Nick's music from his performances, which had been
released under the title Music from the Mandarin.

Pia and Komseni contacted the Mandarin to obtain the
permission to rerelease the recording, with the intention for the
royalties to be given to Nick. Otto Sidharta from Cantus Studio
has agreed to make limited copies of 100 CDs for charity
purposes.

However, they are still looking for a record company willing
to release the CDs commercially and pay the royalty to Nick.

In a tribute to Nick's career and his contribution to the
development of jazz music in the country, the concert will be a
meeting of generations of pianists.

First there is Bubi Chen, a great name belonging to the
generation following Nick. But there are also two newcomers.

Tjut Nyak Deviana Daudsjah is relatively new in Jakarta, but
she is no newcomer in the jazz world. She was in Europe for 26
years, studied music at the Freiburg Music Academy and
established an impressive career as pianist, teacher, composer
and arranger.

She chose, however, to come back to Indonesia, and now is
quickly gaining a reputation as a performer and teacher.
Cooperating with Komseni, she holds jazz workshops that educate
and entertain young performers and wannabe performers.

One of their former outstanding participants, Irsa
Destiwi, who is 21, will also join her seniors for the special
evening. Still pursuing her degree in English teaching at Atma
Jaya University, she finished her piano study with Iravati
Sudiarso and graduated from the YPM Music School in 1998. Irsa
now teaches at YPM Music School and performs in concerts and TV
broadcasts.

Hopefully, Nick says, he will also join the performance and
play some pieces, thus rounding off the meeting of generations.

Developments

Although he no longer plays routinely, Nick still practices
and performs occasionally. He also keeps his ears open to recent
developments in the jazz world.

And now is the time to compare the totally barren jazz
landscape in Indonesia during the 1950s and the confusing
contemporary scene both in Indonesia and abroad.

Nick mentioned in passing Lee Ritenour and Fourplay, as well
as Indra Lesmana, as part of the new breed of jazz musicians.

The splintering of traditional jazz streams has reached a
dizzying pace and it does not take a major figure like Nick to
confirm that it is a reality. Nick himself confesses that he
plays mainstream (whose name no longer describes its status) and
questions whether practicing jazz musicians in Indonesia are
faithful to jazz.

Without naming names he expressed his concern about so many
"jazzy" performances and recordings unworthy of being jazz but
rather "industrial music".

His solid training as a classical pianist might have
contributed to this view. Yes, it might surprise many that Nick
was not a jazz pianist at first. He played classical music and
earned a teaching diploma after studying in the Netherlands
(including the Amsterdam Conservatory) for four years.

Confident that a solid technical ability is a must for serious
jazz pianists, he always stresses the need for a jazz musician to
learn through writings and written-out music.

Musicians should not just improvise all the time, but learn
from books and existing models by playing from printed music.

He wants to see a good performance from anyone who declares
himself to be a jazz musician -- and that it should not be a case
of anyone with a saxophone and an interest in the music assuming
the title.

Referring once more to classical musicians, he firmly says, "A
jazz musician does not like to be regarded as a second-class
musician."

A Salute to Nick Mamahit: A Lifetime of Music will be held on
Thursday, April 5, 7 p.m.- 9 p.m., at the Ballroom, Hotel
Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, Jl. M. H. Thamrin. Ticket prices: Rp
500,000 (incl. one limited edition Mamahit CD) for donors, Rp
100,000 for the public, Rp 50,000 for students. Further
information: KOMSENI (call 79191121, 7972339, fax 7972339, or e-mail
komseni@indosat.net.id).