Luluk takes sounds of Indonesia to the U.S.

Luluk takes sounds of Indonesia to the U.S.

Yenni Djahidin, The Jakarta Post, Washington

Summer in the United States can be unbearable. It's hot and humid
in most parts of the country, and it has been especially so this
summer. But that isn't stopping a group of jazz musicians from
touring American cities on a bus without air conditioning. Luluk
Purwanto and the Helsdingen Trio are performing at 42
universities and colleges in 24 states nationwide for free.

The group is traveling on a specially designed bus in which
one side can be lowered to form a stage. The twelve-meter-long
vehicle has all the equipment needed to perform a concert,
including a baby grand piano and professional sound system.

"We are very excited. This is our first U.S. tour and we are
so happy to perform in the birthplace of jazz," D.C. Luluk, the
violinist, told The Jakarta Post during the group's visit to
Washington.

Luluk, a native of Yogyakarta, and her pianist Dutch husband
Reni van Helsdingen are traveling with Italian-American Marcello
Pennitteri and Nigerian-American Essiet Okon Essiet.

Their new CD, titled Born Free, was released in late August
and distributed in the States by the Warner/Elektra/Atlantic
Corporation.

W. Royal Stokes, author of several jazz books, made a point of
attending one of Luluk's concerts in the parking lot of the
Indonesian Embassy. And this was not the first time he came out
to watch her play.

When he first saw her in 1991 at the North Sea Jazz Festival
in the Netherlands, she was with the Bhaskara group. He was
impressed by her performance.

"Hearing her last night in a quartet format at the embassy, I
was again struck by her virtuosity, originality, and sheer
swing," said Stokes, the author of Living the Jazz Life:
Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz
(Oxford University Press, 2000).

"Supported by the dynamic pianist and combo co-leader van
Helsdingen and the solid rhythm of bassist Essiet and drummer
Pelliterri, Ms. Purwanto's performance was rich with creativity,
deeply moving, and endlessly entertaining.

"The eclectic nature of the group is displayed in their
original compositions and in the arrangements of the traditional
materials that they utilize," he said.

Luluk said in an interview that she wanted to introduce jazz
to people.

Coming from Indonesia, she is also promoting the country
through its familiar sights and sounds she recreates with bells,
whistles, a gong and everyday gadgets. There is the familiar
sound of the nasi goreng (fried rice) and bakso (meatball soup)
vendors. There is the sound of a pigeon flying with a whistle
attached to its wings. There is the soft sound of wind blowing
through stalks of rice in a field. And there was a recording of a
locomotive from Java.

"It has been like a holiday in music, we really enjoy playing
the music," Luluk said. She said she also enjoyed driving across
the country. "It's a beautiful and a very big country."

It has also been very exhausting for the four of them.

They arrived in Washington, D.C. at four in the morning and
held two performances and then hit the road again for a
performance the next day in New Hampshire. Luluk said her husband
Reni is the driver, the manager and the organizer.

"I just play the music," she said with a big grin.

The group prepared for the tour last year. The hardest part,
Luluk said, was the paperwork. "It was boring."

They chose two universities in each state they visited.

"Some (universities) doubted that we could perform from a
bus," she said. So far, she said, they had had good crowds. The
largest was 1,500 people at Cornell University in New York.

But Luluk said they would be happy to perform even before a
small crowd, as long as they enjoyed the music.

The bus stage idea came from their experience in Jakarta.

Luluk noted how many people couldn't afford to watch a jazz
concert at Jakarta's art centers, such as Taman Ismail Marzuki
arts center and Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, both in Central Jakarta.

"It is sad, so we thought we would bring the stage, the music
to the people."

She remembered talking to a middle-aged woman who watched the
performance. The woman said she enjoyed the music very much.

Her big eyes lit up when asked whether she would perform in
Jakarta again. "We would love to play in Indonesia again." She
quickly added, "after we finish this U.S. tour."

The U.S. tour started June 25 and continues until Oct. 15.

The tour, mainly sponsored by JakArt, an international
festival to celebrate art and culture from Indonesia and other
parts of the world is being held in connection with the
anniversary of Jakarta. It is also sponsored by the Royal Dutch
Embassy, the American Embassy in Indonesia and the Indonesian
Embassy in the States.