Krakatau cheers jazz crowd at Sydney Harbor

JAKARTA (JP): A combination of traditional and modern elements often results in something unique and beautiful.

Krakatau band, using both traditional and modern instruments, provides a new experience which is both visually and aurally stimulating. When Krakatau hit the stage last weekend at the first day of the 20th Manly International Jazz Festival in Sydney, the audience was surprised by the dynamic, exciting rhythms and lyrical melodies they heard.

Krakatau's CDs were reportedly sold out within minutes following each performance thereafter.

The band performed in the four-day Manly International Jazz Festival along with local and other overseas artists, which included William Galison and Howard Alden from the United States, The Nairobi Trio from New Zealand, and Martin Taylor from the United Kingdom.

Krakatau's performances added a new perspective to Indonesian culture, according to Margaret Bradley, a Sydney-based ethnomusicologist specializing in Sundanese music. Many Australians rarely witness the new music coming out of Indonesia and now realize that modern Indonesia is home to experimental bands mixing various musical styles and feels, she said.

Krakatau, led by Dwiki Dharmawan, is a jazz fusion band with its roots in jazz, rock and Sundanese traditional music from West Java.

Following their success at the Manly International Jazz Festival, they performed again at the Harbourside Brasserie with two other groups -- the Guy Strazzullo Trio with Steve Hunter and David Jones, three of Australia's best jazz musicians who have been invited to perform at JakJazz, Jakarta's International Jazz Festival; and Arafura led by Margaret Bradley, whose music explores the crossover between Australian and Indonesian sounds.

Krakatau has been invited to return in September 1998 to Sydney and Melbourne.

The group members include Dwiki Dharmawan (keyboard), Pra Budidharma (bass), Budhy Haryono (drums), Trie Utami (vocals), and Mohamed Rudiana, Yoyon Darsono, Efiq Zulfiqar, Zaenal Arifin and Deni Tudi Rahayu, who play traditional instruments including rebab (fiddle), seruling (flute), and parts of the gamelan orchestra instruments like saron and bonang. As sound engineer, Husein Syarifurir, mixes their unique sound which can be heard on Krakatau's CD Mystical Mist released in 1993. (sim)