Halaman Monthly Jazz: August Independence Edition : The Report

Submitted by Riandy K on August 12, 2009 – 7:40 pmOne Comment

We reached the second edition of Halaman Monthly Jazz, a monthly jazz event made by Cafe Halaman together with KlabJazz to color up the jazz scene in Bandung, the beautiful flower city that also known as Parijs Van Java. Through this event we see an evidence how jazz grows better and better in Indonesia. Not only in Jakarta as the capital of Indonesia, but we also see jazz is pulsing strong in other cities as well. We are happy to see how jazz becomes more acceptable among the music lovers, including the youngsters. This is a good news and hopefully this can stimulate more jazz events to come everywhere else. What makes it even better, and if I may say, unbelievable, is the fact that these monthly events was made all for free! If before we only got Jazz Break Revival as the regular monthly jazz event in Bandung, now we have another option in another cozy place with nice surroundings, Cafe Halaman.

This August edition happened to be a very special one. First of all, this is an event made to celebrate the proclamation of Indonesian Independence which is going to come soon at August 17. There’s nothing better than celebrating it in jazz for sure. Another reason why it’s special is the memories brought with this edition. Called Edisi Kemerdekaan, or in English, Independence Edition, this August session remind us how the jazz event at Cafe Halaman was started. How so? Well, before it turned monthly, Cafe Halaman has had two previous annual jazz events which happened both in August to celebrate the Independence Day. So, with two years in the making, where both happened for the same reason as this August edition, Halaman Monthly Jazz that presented today (Wednesday, August 12, 2009) was meant special, not only for Cafe Halaman, but also for everybody who came to the venue.

If in last month edition of Halaman Monthly Jazz we got Idang Rasjidi, Kemala Ayu and Dira came from Jakarta, this time we got the presence of Barry Likumahuwa Project and Bandanaira. Barry is a young rising star in Indonesia who is going steady climbing his popularity to the top. He is without a doubt one of the most promising bassist in Indonesia today. His tasty groove melts the heart of the youth, not only those who are into jazz, but also other segments of listeners too. Barry is the son of the legendary jazz musician Benny Likumahuwa, who also appeared tonight at Cafe Halaman to support his son. Barry has successfully proven that he can reach his popularity through his own talent, not by living behind the shadow of his father. Bandanaira is a duo that formed just a couple of months ago, consits of the great vocalist with powerful soul voice Lea Simanjuntak and great pianist/composer Irsa Destiwi. This is a promising and interesting duo that we will hear a lot very soon. Beside Barry and Bandanaira, we also got the high skilled Sonny Akbar Trio, the newly formed group that is really on fire right now, G/E/T, and last but not least “the new nu jazz/groove band in the block” with their delicious soulful groove, Chalk For Cheese. The show tonight hosted by MC Vivi Novidia and Bunny the Looney from Oz radio.

The show started 2 hours late due to some problems. Right after the opening by the MC and brief introduction by Dwi Cahya Yuniman the coordinator of KlabJazz and Lucky Suryo the owner of Cafe Halaman, Bandanaira came on stage and officially opened the show. Bandanaira is a duo project of Lea Simanjuntak and Irsa Destiwi. Lea Simanjuntak is a superb singer with strong soulful vocal that has been active both in pop music and also gospel. She has collaborated with many big names, such as Jikustik band, Riza Arshad, Tohpati and many others. Irsa Destiwi established herself first as classical music, then pop but lately she’s exploring her passion in jazz too. She appeared in the international project Bali Lounge 2, a project made by Gita Wirjawan, consists of around the world talented musicians including Lewis Pragasam, a tremendous drummer, one of the best in Asia, Harry Toledo, one of the top bassist in Indonesia, Chris Wright, a stand out guitarist from Australia vocalist Iwan Abdie, keyboardist Alvin Loebis and many more. With Bali Lounge 2, Irsa played piano in some songs, also composed two songs such as “Cukup Tak Mengapa” and “In Doubt”. Eventhough Bandanaira established just a couple of months ago, last March to be exact, this perfect pair soon will launch their debut album, “The Journey of Indonesia” celebrating Indonesian Independence Day, bringing 11 heroic songs and anthems that all Indonesian familiar with in full jazz style. Stay tune for the release of the album.

Tonight was Bandanaira‘s first public performance. The duo Irsa and Lea performed with the help of Rudy zulkarnaen on bass and Icha as the percussionist. They started with a famous jazz number written by Luiz Bonfa called “Gentle Rain”. This song was a very nice opening, presented smooth, soft, beautiful and gentle. The second one is the nice jazz standard, “Softly as the Morning Sunrise”. It was a nice surprise to see how Lea Simanjuntak turned herself into jazz perfectly just like she’s been doing this for many, many years. In this song we even got Lea scatting in the middle. The famous Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster‘s “The Shadow of your Smile” delivered sweetly. As we are approaching our Independence Day celebration, Bandaneira brought one of Guruh Soekarno Putra‘s masterpiece, “Cinta Indonesia” in jazz/samba style. The next one was a patriotic song from the war era, a famous C. Simanjuntak‘s song entitled “Maju Tak Gentar”, and closed their session with Ismail Marzuki‘s “Indonesia Pusaka”. Great performance overall, and through their first gig in Cafe Halaman, we know Bandanaira is a very promising band that surely will grow in fame and popularity very, very soon. Check out the interview with them, available soon exclusively here at jazzuality.com.

The next performers was G/E/T. This band consists of three skillful young musicians. Eventhough they were formed not long ago, but what they delivered was stunning. G/E/T is the initial of three hyperactive musicians with the same level in skill. Gallang Perdhana Dalimunthe (bass), Edward Manurung (drums) and Tesla Manaf Effendi (guitar). They performed just as wild as their previous performance at Jazz Break Revival XIV last week. They went wild, then sometimes dark, blending fusion, bop and hard rock with the touch of their hands. G/E/T started with “Autumn Leaves” in medley with Chick Corea‘s “Humpty Dumpty”. Then continued with John Coltrane‘s “Giant Steps”. “The Red Ones” brought next on stage, and Snow White’s evergreen theme, “Someday My Prince Will Come” appeared to close their performance. This song was really twisted, composed in the wildest version one could ever imagine. It was awesome as usual to see these three energetic and hyperactive young musicians roared the night wildly, explorative, experimental in complete madness.

It was crazy to see Cafe Halaman fully loaded with audience tonight. Many people had to wait in waiting list to be seated. Many of them didn’t even had the chance to seat, they just stood right in front of the stage and around. It was difficult to walk through them, but that actually showed high energy and interest of Bandung people for this event. Amazing, thinking this event was still in their second edition after they turned monthly.

It was Chalk for Cheese‘s time. Last time we saw Chalk For Cheese on stage was last month at Jazzylicious, performing on the same stage with Maliq & d’Essentials, Sore and Andezzz. It’s always nice to see this group. They have their own original songs, they have a fine blend between the unique vocal character of Trianzani Sulshi plus the talented band backing her. Delicious soulful groove is their signature, the kind of music that still fits to the heart of youngsters. Claimed to be “the new nu jazz/groove band in the block”, this is the group to look for in the near future. The personnel are: Trianzani Sulshi (vocal), Ferry “Gembong” Nurhayat (keyboard), Ferdy Apriady (saxophone), Iman (bass) and Arif Rahman (drums). Chalk For Cheese delivered mostly their own original songs. Started with “Sukmaku”, and the night filled with soulful groove right away. Their new song came next, “Berbisik Maaf”, followed with a twisting jazz version of ST 12‘s hit, “Cari Pacar Lagi”. The crowds loved it and popped, they also sang together. Then came “Kalahari” and reached the end with “Bercerita Jingga”. When we have not so many band who consistantly serve soulful groove as their main menu, this is a promising band to look for in the future for soulful groove lovers.

Sonny Akbar Trio took the stage. Sonny Akbar is without a doubt a brilliant pianist from Bandung. With what his play, we believe soon he will surely reach his fame nationwide. He was once learned from Indonesian virtuoso, the maestro Bubi Chen, a legendary musician that said as “Art Tatum from Asia” by Down Beat magazine. From him Sonny got all the philosophy needed to understand the basic of jazz and live with it. He kept learning and exploring, until he emerged as a great jazz pianist with a magic touch like what we see from him today.

Tonight we witnessed the softer side of Sonny, as he played mostly in smooth standard/mainstream jazz with a slight touch of bop included, presenting a beautiful landscapic jazz horizon. It was a smooth journey through melodies and the crowds loved what Sonny and friends presented tonight. Sonny played with Edward Manurung (drums) and Gallang Perdhana Dalimunthe (bass). “Body and Soul”, “Exit Music”, “Ugly” and the unique “Perang Majapahit” (Majapahit War) closed their session.

And what everybody wanted to see the most has finally appeared! It was Barry Likumahuwa Project for the final performers for tonight. Barry Likumahwa is a superb bassist that rise to the top very quickly. His first album, “Goodspell” was a huge success. Not only success as a bassist, but he also led his band, Barry Likumahuwa successfully. That’s a remarkable achievement from this young generation bassist with great skill and ability to present a nice groove feels through his bass. It was a surprise to see Barry brought the senior drummer, Rayendra Sunito to replace his drummer. I guess we were all lucky to have Rayendra’s performance too tonight. “I’m happy to finally get the chance to play here, at my favorite place to hang out in Bandung, Cafe Halaman” he said. Besides Barry and Rayendra, there was also Matthew Sayersz the vocalist for the band that has nice groove on his soulful vocal. Matthew is going to release his debut album soon, an album which is produced by Glenn Fredly. Matthew is simply the next big thing. There was also Donny Joesran on keyboard and Dennis Junio on sax. The audience moved forward right in front of the stage. You can imagine how crowdy it was right there. As this event was supposed to be a jazz event, Barry Likumahuwa and his project delivered everything in thick jazz taste. The groove, the soul, the improvisations, the interactivity, and of course the chemistry were all created perfectly.

Barry Likumahuwa Project started their session with “My Prayers”, taken from his first album “Goodspell”. It was entertaining, as Barry’s bass communicated with Matthew’s vocal quality that reminded me of Stevie Wonder. Matthew followed whatever Barry played in fast pace. It was really great. The next song was “Walking with the Bass”, a song that also popular from his first album. The third song was a song that Barry wrote long ago, in 2004, and used as a score for “Cinta Silver” OST, entitled “Selalu Tersenyum”. The next one was an Eddie Harris‘ classic that later has also recorded by many artists including Miles Davis called “Freedom Jazz Dance”. This song had a progressive approach in its first appearance in 1965, and now Barry Likumahuwa Project brought it with their own style. This song became a big playground for improvisation, and all of them gave their marks all over it.

As how we were shocked by terrorists bombing recently, Barry took time to remind everyone to stand together to fight the terrorism. “It’s time to join together, it’s time to get united.. don’t let what our heroes believed and fought with all their lives destroyed because we never care to keep it.” he said. Barry then led the band to play “Indonesia Pusaka”, then continued it in a medley with Michael Jackson‘s “Human Nature” and “Man In The Mirror”. “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change” Barry quoted Michael’s lyrics, and that message became important in the mourning situation we now feel after the bombing tragedy. Enough for the sadness, Barry and the gang continued with a funky groove romantic song called “Aku dan Hadirmu”. Nice falsetto by Matthew on this one, and Barry’s bass layered the base together with Rayendra’s steady beat. This song became a medley again with another Michael Jackson‘s classics, “PYT (Pretty Young Thing)” and “Rock With You” . For the last song, Barry Likumahuwa Project delivered their biggest hit “Mati Saja” including a nice playing session interactively iwth the audience.

When we celebrate our Independence Day, there’s nothing better than celebrating it with jazz, with friends and family plus delicious menus available at Cafe Halaman. Not only celebrating in jazz, we also delivered a well done jazz. It was big! No, it was huge! And that’s what we got tonight at Cafe Halaman. Again, we thank Cafe Halaman, KlabJazz, all the performers and everybody else behind Halaman Monthly Jazz. It was indeed a very special edition. We hope and pray, may Halaman Monthly Jazz gets stronger and better in months to come. May you always have the strength, courage and spirit to carry on. We are always more than happy to support you guys! Dirgahayu Republik Indonesia, Long Live, Merdeka!

Note: Barry Likumahuwa and Bandanaira will perform together with lots of other bands and artists at Indonesiaunite Concert, located at Rolling Stone , Jl Ampera Jakarta starting at 9:00 PM. It’s going to be a tribute to our beloved nation. From Indonesia, for Indonesia. Be there and get united!

See more pictures: