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).