Jazz Break Revival has reached the 18th edition. That’s the number that shows the consistency and strong will to keep this event continues to roll from month to month. If for human 18 is considered to be the number of maturity, that’s what we hope for Jazz Break Revival as well. We hope by reaching the 18 edition, KlabJazz together with BP Bumi Sangkuriang and Melinda Hospital will find the steady rhythm to grow bigger with more power in the future. It’s not easy to keep the event alive continuously, but all the people behind Jazz Break Revival have proven their spirit of presenting high quality jazz for all of us, the jazz fans that mostly live in Bandung.

The lineups for this month looked awesome. We got three quality groups that have been very active recently in Bandung jazz scene. First of all, let’s talk about Imam Pras Quartet. we’re happy to see that Imam Pras has found his passion once again on stage after being in absence for quite sometimes. Imam Pras is one of the superb jazz pianist in Indonesia that is always able more color to paint the jazz scene. As usual Imam Pras brought his stunning quartet, consists of senior musicians Rudy Zulkarnaen (upright bass), Boyke Priyo Utomo (sax), Ariefandi Rinaldi (drums) plus the vocalist Lia Amalia. Next, we got the younger generation with his trio, Sonny Akbar Quartet. Sonny Akbar is also a jazz pianist with complete skill. He is known as the keyboardist of 4 AM Quartet and some formations of his own. Whether he play trio or quartet, he always able to perform a stunning pattern of jazz that seems complex but cool to listen. For tonight he was joined by Tuwuh Sarwoprasodjo (bass), Dani Irjayana (drums) and Arief Rinoko (alto sax). Be Pop is the other stunning band, again consists of senior musicians and the best on each position, including the pianist/vocalist/accordionist/music director Imelda Rosalin, Wachdach Band‘s bassist Teddy Achmad Budiman, guitarist Kanggep Kusuma, drummer Yudiarso Wibowo and trumpeter Brury Effendi.

But the sensation for tonight, or should I say a surprise came from the legendary band who recently finding their way to make a huge return on the music scene. CHASEIRO, that’s the band that filled the joy in every heart of their fans with their presence in Bandung. I personally dare to call them legend, that how we should address them as, since they still have solid and faithful fans behind them for more than 3 decades, and some of their songs are still sang and played by many. We got many surprised comments from the readers when they read about Chaseiro’s performance at Jazz Break Revival XVIII in Bandung for this January edition. Imagine a lovely, intimate reunion between the fans and their idols in a cozy hall, in cold and rainy night, and it was free of charge. What else could be better than that? It was a surprise for us too when we heard about the coming of CHASEIRO to perform at Jazz Break Revival as well.

Tonight’s edition was opened with the delicious post bop pattern. And Sonny Akbar Quartet is the band that know how to cook it the best way. This is the group that offers post bop as their menu, complex but not too difficult to absorb. Skills are very important for them, so is the chemistry between the personnels as they rely themselves on massive improvisations in every song they play. Two cool jazz were delivered nicely. Then they took a step into a romantic path with “Blame It On My Youth”, re-arranged in more relaxing style. The last song from them was “Stolen Moment”.

Imam Pras, pianist, composer and lecturer, is an important name in our jazz scene. Not only perform on stages, he also active in making many talents ready to enter this wonderful world of jazz. After being quiet for quite sometimes, he seemed to find the passion to grace the stage again these past several months. It’s always nice to see Imam Pras and his band, Imam Pras Quartet that knows how to define quality in the simple way. Just in front of the entrance we saw the CD entitled “Jazz For Family”, produced by Imam Pras himself. It’s the CD that safe for kids and for the whole family. It’s something rare to have, and it shows Imam Pras’ commitment to reach wider segment, and that should include kids.

This is the band consists of senior who already knew each other very well. What they showed on stage was clearly the kind of performance with mutual and harmonious understanding with each other. They started with “Nature”. After the instrumental song, Lia Amalia came on stage and sang a dark jazz version of Deep Purple‘s “Black Night”. Then it was cooling down time with The Carpenters‘ “I won’t Last A Day Without You” in a romantic standard jazz version. The next song was “Anak Desa/Nalidaek” (the reverse of “Keadilan” or Justice). Another instrumental was delivered called “Black Hole”. As an appreciation and respect for the performing group Chaseiro, Imam Pras Quartet delivered Chaseiro’s golden hit “Pemuda” in more jazzy version. With “Pemuda”, Imam Pras Quartet finished their performance.

Be Pop has recently been active on local jazz scene. They have held 23 performances so far, every week at some cafes, not to mention several appearance at Jazz Break Revival. The personnel tonight was solid and complete, filled with senior jazzer in every line. I can see their concept that tries to bring jazz into more pop, and vice versa, making jazz more acceptable to music lovers in general. Be Pop started with Stevie Wonder‘s song entitled “Sir Duke”, a song he wrote as a tribute to the legendary Duke Ellington in 1976. It was a really nice opening, especially with Imelda’s ever charming voice. “we’re trying to play jazz, we’re trying to play pop.” Imelda joked. “So just have fun..” she continued. The next song was Duke Ellington‘s “In a Mellow Tone” arranged in a nice funky style with average beat. The next song was “Moody’s Mood For Love”, followed by a song that was written by Ivan Lins and performed by Sergio Mendes called “When I’m Alone”. The last song appeared, and it was another Stevie Wonder‘s hit, “Isn’t She Lovely.”

And the moment all had been waiting for was finally came. Chaseiro came on stage with huge applause by the audiences. CHASEIRO was born when a group of Universitas Indonesia (UI) students won the first place at a radio competition in 1978. Their appearance at the first Jazz Goes to Campus was memorable and from that moment Chaseiro made their way to appear higher and higher on the music scene. The first album, PEMUDA was sensational when it was released in 1979. The name Chaseiro came from the combination of personnels’ name: Candra Darusman (keyboard, vocal), Helmi Indrakesuma (vocal), Aswin Sastrowardojo (guitar,vocal), Edi Hudioro (flute), Irwan Indrakesuma (vocal), Rizali Indrakesuma (bass,vocal) and Omen (Norman Sonisontani) (vocal).  Unfortunately Candra Darusman and Rizali Indrakesmua  couldn’t make it since they are not in Indonesia at the moment. Nonetheless, Chaseiro still managed to give the best of them for tonight.

They started right away with the energic “Mari Wong”, and the crowds popped.It was delivered perfectly and the audiences were brought into the nostalgic lane right away, feeling the sensuous jazz pattern in the late 70′s. “It’s a touching moment for us to finally perform in Bandung again, after 30 years..” Omen said. They continued with “Sapa Pra Bencana”, that appeared in smooth breezy bossa just like how it was back then. The next song was another memorable song of Chaseiro called “Hanya Membekas Kini”. What a stunning vocal harmony, they still have it perfectly just like the old days. The next song was “When I Was Sixty Four”, again showing the premium vocal harmony of them.

A song that they used to sing on stage appeared. It was a folk song from East Timor entitled “Bolelebo”. The intro appeared, and the crowds popped again. It was the intro of their popular song, “Dara”. Smooth breezing bossa was the outfit of this song, and it was such a classic moment. Another song taken from their first album came next, it was the folk/country one entitled “Irama Hidup”. Time went by so fast, all of a sudden Omen mentioned they were ready to give the last song, and it was their classic hit “Pemuda”. The crowds sang along with them. The crowds chanted “we want more”, then they gave an encore, taking The Beatles‘ golden hit “Yesterday”. Simply a heartfelt performance by the legendary vocal group Chaseiro.

30 years is not a short time for a band to keep alive. But really, there’s nothing change from the vocal quality and harmony. All is still there. It was amazing to see them live from a very close range like this. Just like the way the captured the heart of the fans 30 years ago, they were still able to do that tonight. Charming, intimate and lovely, that’s how I think about their performance. And we hope they will have the passion to stay on the music scene for long time to come.

It was a dream come true to see CHASEIRO‘s performance for this January edition of Jazz Break Revival plus the best quality of jazz served by 3 other Bandung-based super group, Imam Pras Quartet, Sonny Akbar Quartet and Be Pop. Again Jazz Break Revival delivered a high class show and it was nicely done as usual. As we said earlier, 18 is the number that defines a maturity level, and we hope by reaching the 18th edition, Jazz Break Revival reaches the steady rhythm to go up higher and higher in months to come. We thank KlabJazz, BP Bumi Sangkuriang, Melinda Hospital and everybody else behind this event. Keep the spirit guys! Look forward to see the next edition.

See more pictures:

Reporter: Riandy Kurniawan, Adott Jumbo
Photographer: Omar Arif Maulana

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