Love that Jazz!: Jakarta

It seems as though the International Jazz Festival has just finished but it has been a while. But now the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival is ready to shake the city again, with over 200 famous musicians and singers are expected to participate in the three-day event.

Legends to jazz up Jakarta

International jazz musicians such as Chaka Khan, David Benoit, Jamie Cullum, Sergio Mendes are expected to perform in the annual event held at the Jakarta Convention Center from March 2 through March 4.

Other musicians and singers include Jeffrey Osborne, Level 42, Eric Marienthal, Frank McComb, Freddie Washington, Gino Vannelli, Harvey Mason, Jeff Lorber and John Scofield.

Japanese musicians Koji Gotoh, Yosuke Onuma, Sadao Watanabe, Kimiko Itoh and Lisa Ono have also been scheduled to perform.
Saxophonist Watanabe with about 200 international children playing percussions will also perform in a separate show here.

“The festival presents both famous artists and jazz musicians who might not be widely known here. We also give a stage to young talents,” Java Jazz chairman Peter F. Gontha told reporters in a press conference on Thursday.

Peter proudly announced that tickets for Jamie Cullum performance have been sold out just one day after they were advertised in Kompas daily and Kontan tabloid.

The international artists will collaborate with Indonesian top artists, such as Buby Chen, Dwiki Dharmawan, Rien Djamain, Ruth Sahanaya, Benny van Diest and many more.

Maliq n D’Essential, Tompi, Andien, Balawan Trio, Geliga from Riau are among dozens of local rising stars who will perform in the festival themed “Share the World“.

But it’s not about a “pure” jazz since some pop singers, such as Rio Febrian and Marcel, will attract the audience in the three-days event.

Even, a traditional Chinese Barongsai (lion dance) troupe is scheduled to perform their “jazzy” tune in the festival which will coincide with the Chinese lunar new year.

Musician Eqi Humania said the festival will also invite Indonesian jazz groups, such as Emerald, Karimata and senior musicians, including Dian Pramana Putra and Jopie Item.

“We want to remind young audiences about the existence of the groups and singers in our jazz scene in the past,” Eqi told reporters.

The country’s leading group Krakatau will perform their works portraying their journey from fusion jazz to the current ethnic jazz.

To heat the scene prior to the festival, the Java Jazz will organize several events called Jazz On the Move in several cities including Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta.

A. Junaidi