Jazzman Parker indulges audiences with sweet tunes

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): Ray Parker Jr. knows how to indulge the Indonesian taste for sweetness.

He won over audiences during recent performances at Jamz, South Jakarta, with his sweet smile, sweet deep voice and, above all, sweet love songs.

The shows from April 9 to April 12 were packed with young professional couples, who sat solemnly or cheered politely as the guitarist-singer wooed them with his hits.

He started out with his staple of mellow R&B songs, such as Don't Want to Sleep Alone Tonight and One-Sided Love Affair, which was played as his piano solo. Parker and his band, The Radio, later heated up the stage with funky tunes and some detours into humor.

With his sexy voice and bright white smile, the Detroit-born Parker is indeed Mr. Romantic. The night was saved from a complete wallowing in romance by The Radio's funny asides, which Parker happily accommodated.

The Thumb by West Montgomery, Parker's favorite jazz musician, was the vehicle for the humor. Parker, saxophonist Charles Green and bassist Alex Al "talked" with their instruments while playing the tune.

The audience lapped up the slapstick humor, which included flirting with several female audience members and making fun of each other. Green became an instant side-kick star with his funny antics.

"I like to perform in the city where people who don't know my music still enjoy the show," Parker said in explaining the inclusion of the skit.

In Jakarta, he did not need to worry about that. The audience knew his hits well, and most of them even sang along. They seemed to prefer Parker's romantic side over his mischievous one.

They cheered when he and The Radio played the funky intro to The Other Woman but their enthusiasm was quickly dampened as they listened to the lyrics recounting how a one-night-stand turns into a hot romance.

Parker, who is married with two children, said some of his inspiration for his love songs come from his own experiences, but most is from listening to other people's stories and spicing them up.

Easygoing is probably the best description of Parker, who currently lives in Mammoth Lakes, California. He revealed that he had no idea how big Jakarta was until he arrived here.

"I thought it was a small city, with only one million people," he said. He said he loves the "easy personality" of Indonesians.

This was in evidence at Friday's show, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. but began a half hour later. There were no complaints from Parker's eager fans.

Parker noted the contrast of the Indonesian audience with those in Japan, their previous stop before coming here. "The Japanese wanted to be on time, and they always looked at their watch."

His laid-back attitude extends to his future plans. Although he is planning to record a new album and to finish it by the end of this year, he claims he has no ambitions except "to be happy and have fun." He recently signed up with MCA and is coming back with the single I Love You Like You Are.

Parker cited the influence of growing up in Motown, the hotbed of rock and blues music, an offshoot of black gospel.

"Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross lived only eight or nine blocks away (from my home)," he remembered.

'Ghostbusters'

He learned to play the guitar in grade school and turned professional in his early teens. He first toured with the Spinners and played on a recording session at Motown for Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips and his neighbor Wonder.

In the mid-70s, he left the Midwest and moved to Los Angeles to embark on his musical career. His early hits were A Woman Needs Love, The Other Woman and Girls Are More Fun. Yet he is best known for the 1984 soundtrack tune for the movie Ghostbusters.

Parker wrote Ghostbusters on request from the filmmaker, who gave him a few directions on his vision of the soundtrack. The result was a bopping dance tune, a departure from his usual love ballads.

He said he has no qualms about writing songs according to other people's dictates. "I don't care... as long as they pay," Parker laughed.

He has reason to be grateful as Ghostbusters brought him international fame. Parker never passes up the opportunity to perform the song.

While jamming to Ghostbusters, he pulled a girl up on stage to do the wacky theme dance. "Who you gonna call?" he asked the fan in her orange top and floral pants.

"Ray Parker!" she screamed. Satisfied, the star beamed his trademark sweet smile and let her go.