Thousands of people have experienced the greatness of Dji Sam soe Urban Jazz Crossover 2010 in three big cities, Medan, Bandung and Semarang. Click on those cities, and you will see the full reports from there. Jakarta had been waiting unpatiently for their chance. We got many calls and text messages asking about the show to arrive at their hometown. Finally it happened. On June 11, 2010, exactly at the heart of Jakarta, this 3 hours full grand concert blasted the town, just like what happened at the three previous cities. Dji Sam Soe Urban Jazz Crossover has been running for three years, serving the unique combination of music from different genres, backgrounds and style. The crossover concept appears from everywhere. Not only through the unbelievable compositions but also through the performers that represent different genres as well. They might be the kings and queens in their own music area, but here they join hands together, all bounded in the name of music, with jazz becomes the basic for everyone to go with. Whether it’s rock, hiphop, pop, RnB, new age, world music or whatever music genres, Urban Jazz Crossover team always know how to blend them all together producing something new for us to experience. In short, Urban Jazz Crossover is the show you have to see if you want to feel the magic of music blendings made in the highest creativity in every detail.

Held in the Ballroom of Ritz Carlton Pacific Place Jakarta, the intensity was enormously big from the start. It was a big celebration of music presented by the best artists from different music backgrounds and across generations. The ticket price which only cost IDR 50.000 is considered very cheap, considering what you’re about to see in this event. All thanks to Dji Sam Soe, the music director Eq Puradiredja and the whole team who have worked really hard to present something so unique, different and creative. Music from different genres, styles, eras or even rhythms, all fused together creating a new kind of music using jazz as the pattern. Nu jazz, fusion, ethnic, you name it, they play it. It was simply magical! What a night it was!

Jazz has never done like this before. The concept is spectacular, showing the productivity and creativity of Indonesia that should be responsed positively. The Dji Sam Soe Urban Jazz Crossover team has taken care of eveything in detail. Not only the arrangements, they also deal with stage set, sound system and all. Everything was perfect. Somehow if you missed the show last Friday in Jakarta, you still have the last chance to catch it in Surabaya. You’ll regret if you miss this one, because then you have to wait for another year to watch the kind of magic from a unique grand musical event.

Dji Sam Soe also prepared the mini bar, small food stands and also games with prizes by the sales promotion girls who spread across the venue. Like I said, everything was perfect. Two thumbs up for Dji Sam Soe’s team. Unfortunately the number of audiences this year was smaller than last year, mostly because it was collided with the opening ceremony and the kick off of World Cup 2010.

Last year we have seen the greatness from Glenn Fredly, Candil, Andi/rif, Lala, Humania, Dira J Sugandi, Edwin Cokelat and many others. Speaking of Humania, last year’s Urban Jazz Crossover marked their return into the music world. This year we got two gigantic icon in our music scene, representing two big genres from different generations: Indra Lesmana and Achmad Albar, both on one stage! But they were not the only big stars, because we also got the diva Dewi Sandra, rocker with wide vocal range Ipang BIP, the new sensation Sandhy Sondoro, the talented rapper Boogiemen, the RnB prince Ello, Kikan from Cokelat and also some other great talents like the beatboxer Indra Aziz, the senior drummer Rayendra Sunito, Glenn Fredly’s bassist Bonar Abraham, Donny Koeswinarno of Pitoelas Big Band on brass section, DJ Cream, Kahitna’s Andrie Bayuadjie, a magnificent ethnic singer Yuyun and the new age violist Maylaffayza. Imagine all these names serving up their best on stage together, taking on the absolutely creative arrangements made by the team. All resulted magic.

The queue was long since 7:00 pm, but thanks to the security and coordinators, everyone queued neatly. An hour later the door was opened, and the audiences rushed to get in finding the nearest place to the stage. We have to give a note on something interesting. There was no space between the performers and crowds. Often the performers gave their hands to the audiences and asked them to sing with. Around 9:00 pm, Urban Jazz Crossover 2010 Jakarta was finally started. DREW opened the show in acoustic. Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” , Bewitched’s “My Superman”, Gita Gutawa‘s “Sempurna”, and “Inikah Rasanya Cinta”. It was a very cool opening. Many of the audiences sang together since they knew the songs very well.

Right after Drew’s session, Ipang came in and sang Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman”. This song was served with a blend between rap, rock and jazz. Could you believe it? And it was just the opening from him. He continued with JET‘s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” and Goo Goo Dolls‘ “Iris”. The crowds were stunned by a superb performance by Ipang. Ipang called Dewi Sandra to join him on DewiQ‘s “Bete”. Wow! Dewi Sandra appeared just like a beautiful goddess on stage! Indra Aziz gave in a cool scat in the middle. It was absolutely cool.  Dewi Sandra shouted “Jakarta, make some noise!” And the crowds gave a big cheered on that. On the next song taking on Prince‘s ultimate hit “Kiss”, Dewi Sandra brought one of the audience to the stage and started teasing him through the song. that guy looked nervous in disbelieve, he held his chest a couple of times, as his heart might beat very fast by having the sexy tease by Dewi Sandra. In the end, Dewi Sandra even gave him a kiss on his cheek. What a lucky man.

Indra Lesmana and Maylaffayza appeared on stage together with Yuyun with her enchanting ethnical singing ability. The night turned all of a sudden into a 1001 Nights Arabian style! That was the opening for Sandhy Sondoro to sing a famous Sting‘s song “Desert Rose”. Sandhy continued on with his own hit “Malam Biru” and a very different jazzy version of Iwan Fals‘ “Yang Terlupakan”. One of the all time hits of Indra Lesmana was next, “Aku Ingin”. The collaboration between Indra and Sandhy was stunning. The crowds really loved it.

If last year’s Urban Jazz Crossover we had Edwin from Cokelat, this year we got the vocalist Kikan on the list. She sang The Doors‘ “Light My Fire” followed by her own hit “Luka Lama” and Muse‘s “Starlight” in faster tempo. It was time for Achmad Albar! The crowds blasted when he appeared. The legendary rock icon Achmad Albar sang his own hit “Panggung Sandiwara” right away. It was great to see him still in perfect shape, with the same vocal quality and charisma just like before. Achmad Albar continued with Earth Wind and Fire‘s “Got to Get You Into My Life” that was done nicely. The magic appeared when we finally witnessed Indra Lesmana teamed up with Achmad Albar on one stage. The feeling was unbelievable.

Next it was Ello‘s time. the female audiences screamed histerically when he appeared. Together with the Boogiemen, Ello sang the famous Snoop Dogg‘s song entitled “Sign”. The crowds jumped to the song, I even got my foot stepped by the enthusiastic female fans of Ello several times. “This next song is for all of you, guys”, said Ello, as he started singing Robbie William‘s “Better Man” and his own recycled hit, “Pergi Untuk Kembali”. Ello  was really interactive as he kept building the connection with the crowds.

Again, I have to repeat this, What a Night! It was a night of intense heat, a fantastic, fabulous, fascinating night that served a very creative fusion between music from many genres, presented by the amazing artists from different genres and generations. All the songs were brought with cool jazz concept, especially by the unbelievable arrangements and creative ideas. Many thanks to EQ Puradiredja, Dji Sam Soe, the creative team of arrangers, all the performers and everyone else behind this event. In the end, all I can say is, I can’t wait for the next year’s Urban Jazz Crossover. It’s been three years now we keep on getting surprises by this annual event, who knows what surprises will we get next year? A six out of five start event, definately. Catch the last train in Surabaya this Friday, June 18, 2010 at the brand new Grand City Hotel.

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Reporter: Novan Yahya Renatal
Photographer: Omar Arif Maulana, Daniel Ari Wicaksono
Editor: Riandy Kurniawan

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