These are the days that we’ve been missing. After a long two years, the weekend of local jazz celebration has finally come again for the Indonesian Jazz Festival 2015 has officially commenced! Clear sky, sunny day, smiley faces everywhere, a breeze of sweet melodies, good food and drinks, it could not be anymore perfect than this. The 2nd of edition of IJF starts very well and seems more organised with more audience and wider kind of jazz. Arguably the biggest local jazz festival in Indonesia, IJF does not only serve as a thirst-quencher for jazz aficionados but also as a place where local musicians meet and reunite. And the way they uphold the spirit of nationalism is just inspiring. The jazz vibe and energies were felt in every corner and it is very convenient to have this kind of festival in the middle of a global recession like what we are having now. We simply can’t wait to present you Indonesian Jazz Festival 2015. Here we go!
The festival opened up with Farah Di feat. Jei Angklung & Rudy Octave Etno Psycho, at indoor stage. This collaboration brought jazz, pop and ethnic altogether, pinning today’s popular songs including Sia’s “Chandelier”.
On stage D was a groovy pop jazz band, Jast5. Consisting of Kevin and Nino (guitars), Reizza Swarakesuma (vocal), Gilang Nasya Prazzydia (bass), Diedra Rasyid (keyboard) and Ridwan Ardianto (drum), Jast5 is progressing very well in the music business. While they are preparing their album, one single titled “Terpesona” gets more and more radio airplay. Other than the hit single, they warmed up the early hour of the fest with some groovy and mellow tunes.
At the same time on different stage we found the dynamic duo BubuGiri. Ratna Dewi Anggraeni (Bubu) on vocals and Setia Giri Agung (Giri) on guitar have the kind of chemistry that allows them to pin just about any songs into their own signature. Tasty groovy jazz blues with spontaneity and the way the are connected to their audience are some of the things that makes them stand differently from any other players in the field. Covering wide area of genres and variety of song list, BubuGiri once again gave a very entertaining and intimate session.
The other stage began sailing too with Beben Jazz & Friends. The founder of Komunitas Jazz Kemayoran (KJK) Beben Jazz as usual socialized jazz to everyone in a simple way. With the band he demonstrated how natural jazz really is as well as explaining things that can broaden one’s perspective in knowing jazz.
Stage just got Rush-ed. Not in a literal way, Albattar‘s influence was legendary band Rush (without the vocal part) and a lot, awful lot of progressive metal-rock sound. They sounded like Frank Zappa’s band with emotions at par. Apparently Ahmad Oktaiansyah, the bassist, has been following Adi Darmawan and Adien Fazmail the guitarist was a pupil of Agam Hamzah, both are core band members of Ligro Trio. Arie Mardianto is the winner of Sonor Drum Competition 2004 who has been together since 2012. Regeneration at its best. Founded in 2012, Albattar (formerly named as GizmoINA) has been well-known in the local progressive scene and has released a sold-out EP, and now is in progress in producing a full album. In their set they played originals such as “Median Shuffle”, “Queen Tarafa”, “Qaynuqa”, “Caravan Raid”, “Merantau”, and a Billy Cobham cover of “Stratus”. It is amazing to see such creative band that put art at its foundation. Sharp, edgy and hardcore!
The Lounge represented Solo nicely in this festival by combining pop jazz with ethnic elements. This band seem is having good year in 2015 by landing on prestigious stages. Just a month ago they performed under the temperature of 0 degree Celcius at Jazz Atas Awan, and now here they are at the Indonesian Jazz Festival.
The sky wasn’t dark yet, but look, a popular band has started running. At the Indoor Stage we found a band established in 2005, Soulvibe. If before Soulvibe was quite big in size, since last year they became ‘slimmer’ with only 3 members. The remaining players Bayu Adiputra Imran (vocal), Mohamad Caesar Rizal (drum), dan Ramadhan Handyanto Jiwatama (bass) didn’t want to quit after losing that many mates. They marched on and released one hit single “Tak Bisa Menunggu”. Soulvibe still has the power to spread its soulful vibe in total fun. Energetic, funky and fresh. The show was opened with “Berlian”, then continued with “Your smile”, “Masih”, “Hapuslah Cinta”, “Antartika”, and “Delima”.
If there was a group of guitar gods named Trisum, from the younger generation comes three highly potential players who master the same weapon. The name of the band is Tritone. Tiyo Alibasjah, Aditya Bayu and Indra Prasetyo came from different backgrounds, ranging from jazz, pop jazz to fusion. The combination of those backgrounds made them able to create something new and fresh. These guys are still young but they have skill, experience and passion. Completing them were two other players: Zoltan Renaldi (bass) and Dezca Anugrah (drums). A good show especially for those who are into guitar.
Former Dewi Dewi member Inna Kamarie was back again to this festival. If last year she collaborated with KiaiKanjeng and Cak Nun, this time Inna got her own show. Her unique voice and appearance added another colour to this fest. Ricky (bass) and pianist Roberto Joko of HajarBleh Big Band was found among the lineup.
It’s time to check Gerald Situmorang Trio. Gerald is the kind of musician that always wants to keep moving. He doesn’t like to stop or be trapped at one point. Instead he loves to produce new concepts. At this year’s edition of IJF you can see his creativity in making different stuffs since you would find him playing in four different bands. But first was Gerald Situmorang Trio. In this group he is with two of his closest friends: Ankadiov Subran (bass) and Jessilardus Mates (drums). They have released an album titled “Time is the Answer” which is rooted in progressive jazz as the main orientation. At the Indonesian Jazz Festival 2015 the trio delivered their compositions including “P&L”, “Debu” and the title track that were challenging but fun. Like group of stuntmen they performed many manouvers. Gerald was able to run as free as a bird, even without any other instruments to blocd the chords or any other melodic instruments. Interesting as always.
If you have been following our music scene since at least 90’s, you should have remembered a band named Clorophyl. Formed in 1993, they have released 5 albums. Today the band is still alive with new formation, consists of keyboardist Bagus Pramono ‘Jambronk’, bassist Reno Revano, vocalist Teza Sumendra’Indonesian Idol’, guitarist David QLintang, Drummer Timur Segara and Yessi Kristianto on synth.
When the sky turned to dark, ABG Trio started their engine. At the first IJF the group appeared under the name of Philosophy ABG, but now they chose more simple name. ABG is the abbreviation of its members: Arief Setiadi (saxophone), Bintang Indrianto (bass) and Gerry Herb (drums). All senior players, highly skillful and experienced, they wowed everyone in front of their stage with challenging, tasty funky free jazz. Exactly what a jazz festival needed. One can be entertained and learn from this kind of show.
Indonesian Jazz Festival keeps presenting newcomers. Next for us to mention is Adinda Salahita. She’s not new, since she’s been active for quite some times (she was once a backing vocal of BLP), but she’s a new comer in the recordings. She has released one album “Shalahita”, having Barry Likumahuwa as her producer. She has a hit single “Jangan Didengar” which is doing great in many radio stations now. Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” and “Georgia On My Mind” were also found in her repertoire. On brass section were Jordy Waelauruw (trumpet) and Tommy Pratama (saxophone), plus Riyandi Andaputra (drums) and Ivan Alidian (keys). A lovely girl with beautiful soulful voice, singing R&B with light jazz songs that are up to date, who could resist that? Sweet performance, that’s what we say. She has made a wonderful first impression.
Back to Indoor stage, we got a friend who also supported us some weeks ago when we made the pre event, Road to Indonesian Jazz Festival 2015 at Braga CityWalk Bandung, Syaharani (read the report here: http://jazzuality.com/jazz-event-report/braga-jazz-walk-special-edition-road-to-kita-indonesia-indonesian-jazz-festival-2015-report/). Performing under ESQI:EF a.k.a Syaharani and the QueenFireworks, Syaharani brought full team comprising of Donny Suhendra (guitar), Bekti Sudiro (bass), Andy Gomez (keyboard), and Eddy Syakroni (drums). Just like always, ESQI:EF gave one intimate concert where the artist and audience could be fully connected despite of being separated by the stage. Syaharani sang the songs from three albums: Buat Kamu, Anytime and Selalu Ada Cinta. Speaking of happy vibe, Syaharani and her band always know how to provide that. Special for this event, they assuredly came with more jazzy arrangement. It was approved through “Selalu Ada Cinta”, “Anytime”, “There Will Never Be Another You”, “Sayang, Sayang, Sayang”, and a fantastic closing, “Morning Coffee”.
Girls were dominating the spot where 5 cool young boys had fun. The band’s called 5 Romeo, created and presented by Indonesian hit-man, Yovie Widianto. This vocal group was formed in 2012 with a mission to emphasize vocal quality and singing technique as told by Yovie. Hendra Purnanto (Pungky), Adhura Fajar Maulana (Adhyra), Patudu SH Manik, Gusty Pratama and Rizky Pratama Putra sang some of Kahitna’s songs like “Cantik”, Yovie’s written songs including “Semenjak Ada Dirimu” and also New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). 5 boys singing, you might think of them as boyband. But they are not, since they are focusing in singing technique and not just dance. Good happening crowds were found in this one. On Rita Effendy coversong “Sebatas Mimpi” the crowds sang along with them.
On stage A we got famous piano teacher/music school owner who has been participating in many festivals at least for the last 3 years, Andi Wiriantono. He’s also one of the lineup of last edition who marked another appearance this year. For this gig he brought in some friends Doni Sundjoyo (bass), Yessi Mates (drum) and Ricad Hutapea (saxophone). Trancing high funky dose over blues heated up the audience so high. Chick Corea’s “500 Miles High” and Sonny Rollins’ “St Thomas” were served in full action. Pure jazz delight with cool improvisation were found in each song. Electrifying, we got our energy recharged.
Some of you may know Dikta (real name: Pradikta Wicaksono) as Dikta ‘Yovie & Nuno’. But hey, this man has its own group too where he could show his wild side, playing blues and funk with guitar besides singing. This group’s name is Dikta Project, formed since he was still studying in college. Other than Dikta himself on guitar and vocal, the band has Galih (bass), Liuz (drum) and Zack (keyboard). Unlike his calm appearance with Yovie & Nuno, the rebelious side of Dikta shines bright when he’s with Dikta Project. Just like the way he performed at the pre event last month, Dikta unleashed everything he has inside for around 45 minutes. From Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Clapton, from New Orleans to Chicago Blues treat. Next time you see him with Yovie & Nuno, you should have known that he also has a wild, rebelious side that would funk you up. This is the real Dikta. Fire in the hole!
Lisseus (not a Greek mythology name but stands for ‘Listen and See Us’) spread the love of pop jazz on the other corner.
There’s another artist that shows his true-jazz-self after being famous with a highly successful pop rock band, Ada Band. Krishna Balagita is the founder and keyboardist of it, true. But he’s actually has a strong jazz background and even has several jazz oriented projects since 2002. He released an album titled “Sacred Geometry” in 2013 which strengthened his jazzy side. It’s nice to have him here. We enjoy his original compositions that are far from the pop industry he was once in. With the help of Adi Darmawan (bass), Yessy Mates (drum) and Aditya Bayu (guitar), he perfectly delivered.
A huge party was delivered on Stage A by Laidthis Nite. 6 personnels found inside the band: Simon Marantika, Beboy of Boyz II Boys, Adeavery, Sirhan Bahasuan, Ian Aryadi and Taufan Wirzon, together they bring high dose of funk to make their audience unable to stand still. It was like a Motown party where dance music, jazz, soul and pop live as one. What a hot show it was, we got funkin’ high.
Say hi to HiVi! This band was established in 2009 and progressing fast ever since. Dailla Azkadiputri, Ilham Aditama (vocals), Ezra Mandira and Febrian Nindyo (guitars/vocals) are the core of the group, plus some additionals during the gig. They have one album and several singles, plus more than 50k followers on twitter, showing how popular this band is today among music lovers.
Radhini returned to this festival and took her fans to dance the night away with her. She began her career as backing vocal then started her own projects with “Radhini Renita”, a Pop and R&B duo but then got more and more bigger shot due to the gifts she has. Her debut single was composed by Nino RAN titled “Cinta Kan Menjawabnya” in 2011, and now she has her latest single “Cinta Terbesarku” which is currently doing great over radio charts. Radhini’s jazzy, groovy, soulful voice is always nice to hear, especially if it comes from a nice, beautiful girl like her.
Among the new generation in the world of jazz bass, Kevin Yosua probably is the shiniest one today. He plays both electric and acoustic just as good like a senior pro who have been doing it for decades and he surely can make brilliant compositions. Cool, calm, confident, that’s how he looks when performing on stage. Other than being most wanted sessionist, Kevin also deals with his own band. One album titled “Contradiction” was released last year. Such concept was carried to this festival. Joining him were Robert Mulyarahardja (guitar), Nial Djuliarso (piano) and Dezca Anugrah (drums). Together they delivered the traditional jazz like the ones in Blue Note era, easy to chew but at the same time challenging.
Dion Subiakto Team (DST) continued their great performance in Jazz Buzz 2015 Salihara into this festival. He’s still young, but he has played alongside giants, such as in Balawan Bifan Trio and Indra Lesmana Group. Joining this team are three other young but lethal players: Shadu Shah (bass), RM Aditya (piano) and Ricad Hutapea (saxophone). His compositions speaks of many real-life experiences which are being translated or painted into music by using vibrant jazz colors. From what we have seen from him so far, we have no doubt that he is a future star especially inside the jazz square circle because watching them felt like seeing Caseopia.
Having Indra Lesmana and Sophia Latjuba as parents places Eva Celia in two worlds: acting and singing. In both movie and music she gains success. From soap operas when she was still a little girl to big budgeted movies, from small to huge music festivals. She has been there, doing all. She also becomes an icon of some products too. Speaking more specifically of music, we have seen and heard her lovely voice many times, like in Red White Jazz Lounge and Java Jazz Festival. Now Indonesian Jazz Festival is added into her portfolio. After this jazz gig, we will see her again in the movie. Which world will she choose to focus in? We still don’t know. Maybe both, if she can. But this girl will definitely make it no matter what she choose. With such gifts and achievements, Indra and Sophia should really be proud to their daughter.
Barry Likumahuwa Project (BLP) dropped the funky bomb in Indoor Stage. The gang of Barry Likumahuwa (bass), Doni Joesran (piano), Jonas Wang (drums) and Henry Budidharma (guitar) once again proved why they are one of the must wanted bands to invite in music festivals today. Infectious groove directly invited everyone to dance right from the start untill the very end, included their hits, such as “Unity” and “Generasi Synergy”. Serious dose of funky venom all the way. Goodspellers or not, everyone should get funked up pretty.
From Indonesian Idol Season 5, Kunto Aji now stands as one of the most favorite singers among youngsters. This man is talented in music and performing. Like in last year’s Jazz Goes to Campus, Kunto sang several longlast hits from the 90’s including a medley of Bening’s “Ada Cinta”, SO7’s “Kita”, ME’s “Inikah Cinta”, then Chrisye’s “Kala Cinta”, Kahitna’s “Cantik”, Jingga “Tentang Aku”, Potret’s “Salah” and of course, his popular single “Terlalu Lama Sendiri” which was created in 2009. Playing for him were Dimas Pradipta (drum), Amal Bhaskara (bass), Iman Prastya (guitar), Afif Gifano (piano), Thomas Tommy Pratomo (saxophone) and Ignasius Angga (trumpet). He got big crowd cheering his name and the air full of laughter. What a happy show.
On the other side, former Soulvibe frontman Abenk Alter was in action. He decided to pursue his solo career in 2013 to represent his true-self which lies in between soul and jazz with a soft, sweet vintage approach. His debut single “Lain Waktu” from his album which had released last November titled, “Selamat Datang” reflected that true-self perfectly. Abenk now tries to be himself and dig more his musical side. “The challenge of being soloist is my own self but it is exciting yet challenging to try anything alone.” he said once to us. He took everyone into a cozy, feel good soul. We loved it when he sang “Bicara” and “Lagu Rindu Untuk Dia”. He’s successfully made it, but we are sure that the best is yet to come. After one good start, a bright future lies ahead for him. Go get it dude!
Two bands left for day 1. First, Extra Large. The name was taken due to the size of the personnels, but for us Extra Large should refer to the talent and success. This band stands out based on the combination of the cool, soulful and clear vocal of Davina and the feel-good tunes in groovy rhytms as a result from Pandji (guitar), Pandu (bass), Dion (keys) and Ape (drums). They called their music as pop creation, but since it appears as the combination of each personnel’s musical background, the songs can touch many musical sides from pop, jazz to soul, and everything in between. In 2013 we heard about Davina quitted the band. But the good news is, she’s back! As the band’s back on track with complete personnels, they are aiming the second album as well as being busy with tons of gigs. We are happy to see their energy tonight. The crowds loved it when they did a jazz version of “Aku Bukan Bang Toyib”.
In 2013 edition Maliq & D’Essentials became the final show of day two. This year the band did it again, only this time in day one. We still remember the kind of party they brought in back then, now they rose the heat even higher. Since the releasing of their debut album in 2004 until now, they stands as one of the most wanted bands in every music festivals. They have six incredible albums and many labeling them with jazz and soul genre plus some Brit pop in the latest album. As far as we see up to this time, they do not stop exploring new side of them, new genres, and many great things are worth to wait from this band. Remarkable quality of music since first album make people never feel tired to listen to their old hits such as “Kangen”, “Dia”, “Terdiam”, and “Untitled”. Almost reached midnight, they made people dance with their “Drama Romantika” and closed with “Setapak Sriwedari”.
The first day of Indonesian Jazz Festival 2015 has ended. If you miss the first day, you still have one day left full with stars. All you have to do is come and join the party with us. How Day 2 is going to be? Stay tuned for more coverage here at Jazzuality.com.
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Reporter: Riandy Kurniawan, Mellysa Anastasya, Vierna Mariska Kurniawan Deo Karmawan
Photographer: Titus Firmanto, Elvin Octavian
Photographer: Titus Firmanto, Elvin Octavian
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