Artist : Kemala Ayu
Album :Headlong
Released :  2011
Label : Demajors Independent Music Industry

Kemala Ayu is one of Indonesian senior jazz singer who has been famous as a stage singer. She began her career in the age of 15 in Semarang when she had opportunity to perform with notoriously local jazz musicians, singing jazz songs from George Benson, Michael Frank, Roberta Flack, Shirley Bassey, Al Jarreau, and many more. In 1980, she sang a song Harapan Merdeka which became one of the winning songs from Semarang finalist, on Lomba Cipta Lagu Remaja (Youth Song Creation Competition) which was held nationally by Prambors Radio Station.

She moved to Jakarta at  the age of seventeen and Captain’s Bar hired her to perform with Denny TR from Karimata Band, Idham Nursaid, Ronald Panjaitan and singer Enrico Tobing. From that moment Kemala Ayu continually spread her wings in jazz area with her long list of career history. After that she formed a jazz group Canizaro and released 1 album with Black Fantasy which had “Buat Kamu” as an evergreen. Kemala did not stop there, she had another group called Spirit Band and produced two nice albums. Then she became the vocalist of Hydro Band for 5 years (with Helmie Indra Kusuma, Budjana, Rudy Subekty, Ronald Panjaitan, etc), and vocalist of Trigonia Band (with Idang Rasjidi, Yance Manusama, and Cendy Luntungan) also for 5 years. She was also counted as vocalist of Krakatau Band (before Trie Utami joined the band), and vocalist of Jakarta All Stars. What an impressive curriculum vitae she has.

After her last album “Emotions” with Ireng Maulana in 2007, voila! Kemala released her new album, titled “Headlong”, which surprisingly directs to folk genre instead of jazz. With the help of  Christoper Springer in writing up the lyrics  and music arranger, Yan Machmud (who played all the instruments in this album by himself). “Headlong” has become an album which is enriched by folk ambience.

“Headlong” gives you an impressive prelude through its first song which is “Still Not Sure”. A rich mixture sound of guitar from musician Yan Machmud and a very cheerful country music absolutely fulfill this track. Still Not Sure tells us about playing hard to get. Have you ever expected so bad that someone would give you a call? If you have, this song is yours.

The second track is “The Price You Pay”. Kemala Ayu said, “This song is about break up experience that has happened to the songwriter. So, I guess it means personal for him.” She describes epically within this song that love can last forever even when you are already apart and you have got hurt by the one you love. On the other hand, deep inside your heart, you realize you still love that. Simply composed as accoustic ballad, this song is sounded more like a good advice about the risk of loving someone.

“Headlong” is the next stop and becomes the title of this album. It tells me that falling in love am never been too late; avoid feeling doubt to fall in love. Great to hear a melody full of variety guitar from Yan Machmud and slightly rock ballad, this song represents a girl power in the folk way.

Back to acoustic style, Kemala Ayu sang a song titled “Is It Possible”. It is about recovery phase after being hurt by someone you love. This one combines sad lyric with its simple acoustic background which perfectly explains the nuance of dillemma inside this song.

Continued with up beat ballad “Nothing Useful To Say”, feel free to be liberated. The lyric says, “Don’t let anyone cause you pain and hatred. Leave them all behind, make your dreams come true, and do the things your way.”  Kemala added, “This song has been chosen for Australia’s Absolute Country Compilation and they have featured me to promote the album.”

A contradiction from a lovely song, “Lost Love” tells a romance about satyr experience of losing love. With the background of country ballad, let’s feel the other mellow side of Kemala Ayu through this one.

The coming song which is titled “Trapped” sounds like the climax of this album. Started with accoustic guitar intro in the gypsy style, “Trapped”  is sung with spanish latin ambience. The intense of guitar sound really describes the confussion in  this song; feeling trapped and unable to break out.

“So Good Together” comes next. With light country music background, “So Good Together” is a chill out song yet entertaining. Try to listen to this song in the morning, then you will feel in a good mood and  find positive perspective about being together with the ones you love.

Finally, “Missing You” has to end the journey of this album. I figure that “Missing You” is a dramatic country ballad which in my imagination, I see Kemala Ayu singing the reffrain part, “Missing you…. Missing you…. I’m missing you…”, before I see the stand up applause by the audience, filled with satisfaction on their faces. And if you feel kind of missing the album, do repeat it again from the first track.

Generally, “Headlong” has been well prepared. Each song finds its soul by the right support of music background; classic folk, accoustic ballad, pop country, or even spanish latin. It is no wonder that Kemala Ayu must have taken care of “Headlong” patienly for six years. It has resulted as one folk album that cannot be missed.

Still, there is one itchy question we have been thinking to ask her: why did she NOT arrange “Headlong” into a jazz album instead of folk, while she is already been well known as a jazz singer? This is her answer regarding to that question. “After Christopher Springer handed me the lyrics, I tried to compose the melodies in accoustic guitar format with simple cords. All I needed was to find a perfect guitarist to make these songs more soulful. Then I met Yan Machmud, who knew how to arrange perfect folk music. So, Headlong has  never meant to be jazz from the beginning and it would sound weird if I insisted to make it as a jazz album.”

She has made her point, and we agree. Do not forget that she will be releasing a new jazz album colaborating with Donny Joesran pretty soon, but “Headlong”  is a statement that Kemala Ayu is one of multitalented singer who can sing other genres than jazz, and she wants all jazz lovers to get out of their comfort jazzy zone through her latest album. And to all folk lovers out there, never miss “Headlong” from Kemala Ayu. It is a fresh and easy listening folk album that you are going to love.

Tracklist:
Still Not Sure
The Price You Pay
Headlong
Is It Possible
Nothing Useful To Say
Lost Love
Trapped
So Good Together
Missing You

Buy the album at Jazzuality’s online store: http://store.jazzuality.com/products/cd/kemala-ayu-headlong/

Log on to Kemala Ayu’s official website and facebook

Reviewed by: Tridiya Febriani
Proofread by: Mellysa Anastasya

Artist : Martin Denev Meets Colonel Red & Other Survivors
Album :Bamness
Released : December 2011
Label : Demajors Independent Music Industry

Have you ever imagine listening up to jazz tunes in a club? That is a good idea if you are a jazz freak and also a night clubber. Now, easy for you guys to enjoy two contrast sensations at the same time. Technology always affects the emergence of new types of music. Jazz not only can be found in bars or lounges; it spreads out on the dance floor from every DJ set. People often call it nu jazz. Nu jazz scoops from forging free improvisation of jazz with live instruments into digital electronic zone. It is a combination of many musical components, such as soul, funk, electronic dance music, and jazz for sure. Roots of traditional Jazz and modern electronic music uniquely create multitude of styles. It depends on the artists to explore lots of experimental sounds and spacious concept. Those stuffs can consist of broken rhythms, atonal harmonies, and improvised melody. In nightclub area, nu jazz has very thick electronic dance music vibes. It is a music which is produced principally for filling the need of a circle that concentrates on dance-based entertainment. By using computers and synthesizers, it usually displays percussive music scenes. Disco, techno, hip hop, and house music, all of them in one box to accompany people who search for a delightful dancing party.

Martin Denev is well aware and he takes control of this modern musical texture by his hands. We knew him already as a Bulgarian musician who has traveled the world with his creativity. He had lived in various cities in the world and now he stays in Bali, Indonesia. He expanded his musical knowledge in Rotterdam, Holland to Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, then to Santiago de Cuba with classical piano education background. He improved his skill brightly and experienced on many stages and wide different music. Jazz, hip hop, latin, and dance are successfully carried by his nimble fingers. Remembering his first solo album “Stolen Blessings”, he came back with the second one, “Martin Denev Meets Colonel Red & Other Survivors – Bamness” on Demajors independent label. We had an interview with him in his official album launching at Portico under Tabac JazzCoTheQue about this album. (Read the full length interview here: http://jazzuality.com/interview/exclusive-interview-with-martin-denev/). He continued a great cooperate with Colonel Red, even gave him wider space to contribute. Jazztronica is still being carried on, yet this album has many different things to offer, as Martin said: “It is like the prolongation of a line. More groove… That is what my preference for now. I tried to emphasize the beat and the groove. Sound wise it’s different too. It’s more club oriented.” So that is the path that Denev and his partner in crime, Colonel Red, took for this second album. By listening to “Bamness”, we can find their firm and private connection as two very close friends. They seem have comprehensive desire in music and understand each other musical taste. That is why both of them keep moving forward in collaborating. And the result is magnificent.

Bamness maybe a strange word for us, then Martin explained, “Bamness is like a play of word. It’s like an expression that I use when I really want something and go for it. BAM! Bamness. It’s kind of my own slang. I made it up.” Yes, he did it splendidly. There are awesome multi-national artists he met in Rotterdam, who joined through this whole recording process. Two soul female singers, Ruth Koleva from Bulgaria and Nuria Manzur, a contrabassist Michail Ivanov, drummer Vassil Voutev (aka Soulization), percussionist Fer van Duuren, and a trumpetist Ventzi Blagoev. They try to get a proper name as “Other Survivors”, just like in the title. In Indonesia, he shook the audience by playing with Indonesian musicians. They are Matthew Sayersz and Millane Fernandez on vocals and Demas Narawangsa as an additional drummer. Martin Denev makes ‘artistic drinks’ that uncategorized, but we can taste it on our tongues. Fresh, sweet, and has coke sensation or energy supplement. Well, emphasized the jazz side to clubbers who are not really familiar with it, probably this is a good way to disseminate “jazz fever”. And what’s great about it is he does it naturally.  Besides, dance music is a brilliant channel to lead the disco music lovers into ‘a room of jazz ambience’. We agree that new technologies always paint explorative shapes in every single part of life yet disco was born by using those modern tools.

Can’t wait no longer, come on play the CD. “Love Is Hiding in the Changes” says hello to us. Bass pulse starts the song then the synthesizer comes. Energetic soulful voice from Colonel Red, grumpy trumpet of Ventzi Blagoev, and keyboard speak out in the middle of this track. Michail Ivano’s double bass strengthen the wild frame of it. After that, “All of Us” comes in R&B style in medium tempo from Colonel Red’s voice. It is so modern and consists of a thick groovy dance aroma here. Juri Kuefner sticks out the dynamic percussion touches.

“Quiet is The New Loud”,  no need to scream and shout. It delivers a bit rock at the beginning. Ruth Koleva pours her vocal into these ‘robotic’ sounds. It is totally a cool music for clubbing. Martin brings his simple poetry lyrics about people who often force their opinions in unnecessary conflict. No hesitate we may call this electronic poem tune. “Postwoman” knocks out us, full of unique melodies, shows broken beat picture. It is free but steady rhythm. Colonel Red says the powerful words, straight, and meaningful.

Nuria Manzur and Martin Denev said that opening the door after door in “Man without a Plan” with spooky atmosphere as the back sound. They have spirit in every word they say, without exaggerating or overacting. The message can be well received. The sixth song is “My Mind is Made Up” and still sheds soulful lyrics by Colonel Red. What a catchy piano. It soothes our heart and mind about life.

Let’s enjoy 80’s sound in “Anyway U Want It”. Deep beat, refreshing, and enlightening are all in one. Suddenly our zest will reach the highest level. A very cheerful nuance, so we cannot stop moving heads and feet. Ruth really spawns the freedom of dreaming in “Nothing but Dreams”. It livens up the faith of achieving our aims in every way. The drums by Vassil Voutev aka Soulization and magical synthesizer bravely lead us to the world that we have been hinting for a long time.

“Turn of Events – Interlude” is like warm water after dancing through the previous songs. Some cooling down touches by Martin Denev on keyboard take us to chill out and calm mood for about one minute. Next, “Turn of Events” as the continuation from the interlude is rich of bop and groove scents as the opening of this track, gleeful and bring back the vitality to walk step by step and do our daily activities.

Eventually, we arrive in the end of album. This is it, “Strong Finally”. Conga by Fer Van Duuren and tough vocal from Colonel Red are fire bomb for our soul. It is getting stronger and stronger because strength is the prime key for us as human to run, jump, or even fly above our life, no matter what the obstacles or hindrances in front of us. Just keep the strength at the first place.

Martin Denev has lots of experiences performing in international music events around the worlds. Especially in Indonesia, the country that he lives today, he has participated at Java Jazz Festival, Soundrenaline, Java Soulnation Festival, and many other uncounted stages. Being an observer and a trotter from one state to another has logically given him precious moments and experiences. By meeting deviation cultures and people, it enriches his musical art; truly conjure him to become a creative artist. His ‘revolt’ act in music creation is a symbol of his conception. He loves to check something new and unconventional. Jazz musicians nowadays to grow faster, they have to open their mind and enter different music box, so they will absorb wealthy knowledge. The rapid progress of computer technology is in a line with electronic musical improvement. The jazz language is universal. It can be a fit mixture with other fashion of tunes including nightclub dance music. It generally becomes a lifestyle for people in big cities and jazz will not die although modern music keeps changing. It is always flexible to find its own model and place. Martin has proved it in elegant way. Well done, Martin!

Tracklist:
Love is Hidin’ in the Changes
All of Us
Quiet is the New Loud
Postwoman
Man Without a Plan
My Mind is Made Up
Anyway U Want It
Nothing but Dreams
Turn of Events – Interlude
Turn of Events
Strong Finally

Buy the album at Jazzuality’s Online Store: http://store.jazzuality.com/products/cd/martin-denev-meets-colonel-red-and-other-survivors-bamness/

Get in touch with Martin Denev through his official website, myspace and twitter

Reviewed by: Bintang Steffy Tania
Proofread by: Mellysa Anastasya
Editor: Riandy Kurniawan

On-stage photos are courtesy of Jazzuality.com
Martin Denev & Colonel Red’s and Vassil Voutev’s photos are courtesy of Martin Denev
Ruth Koleva’s photo is taken from last.fm

What’s on your mind when someone talking to you about French jazz music? Instantly you might feel the air, the bustling downtowns, the people, all fused into a single unbroken string. It’s an irresistible fact that jazz is always an appropriate element to be mixed up with traditional music creating some unusual and explorative tunes. Suddenly your wild delusion will be drifted away to a typical, familiar French atmosphere while sitting in a small cafe, looking out through the window alone, and savoring a piece of Chausson aux pommes and a cup of tea. Probably you’ll visualize crossing Millau Viaduct in southern France with clouds around you, or you’re just walking in large vineyards in Burgundy. That’s how wondrous the music can be, being able to be a potent sorcery for our minds. Moving our moods from sorrowful into happiness will take us back to some memorable occurrences, and magically it can fly us to places that we’ve never even been there before. And France seems right in the eyes when listening to “Sup Dude” album by Jacques Pellarin Quartet. Here it is; a brilliant package of affluent colors. We’ll find Latin sounds of samba, tango, the beauty of smooth jazz, reggae, energetic funk and Celtic rock, but brightly it still has a deep scent of France.

Let’s get back few years ago. the virtuoso accordionist and superb composer Jacques Pellarin formed an acoustic trio in 2008 with Diego Fano on saxophone and Yann Pajean on Percussions. A year later in 2009, they spawned an album entitled “Sound of Philadelphia” which sent American Philly soul into romantic side of Paris. Then In 2010 “Karenita” was born. It’s like a “sailboat” album, mainly speaks about the South Seas, describing their adventurous journey to Latin music and French cinema in a complete artistic composition. Jacques Pellarin continued his musical trip in 2011. He made a significant diversity by bringing an electric bass player, Renaud Bourquard into the group to raise more modern ornaments and extend the trio into Jacques Pellarin Quartet.  (For live concert Franck Detraz is taking over Renaud’s position as the bassist). Pellarin said, “In Sup Dude, the twist was to hire a studio bassist, trained electro-pop, who likes to use the effects without necessarily abusing it.” Yes, Renaud Bourquard really filled a steady pulse and harmony, affiliated with the three other messieurs. A piece of Renaud’s work with Jacques and his trio can be found in the previous album Karenita, when he joined the trio for the last song titled “Latin Blues”. Now he officially became the member and turned the group into Quartet. Together they walked up the musical stairs and attained a jazztronica style as their salient point.

The expression “Sup Dude” certainly arouses our curiosity. Pellarin recalled that there was an unforgettable moment when their acoustic trio had a meeting at a studio in New Jersey during the recording for “Sound of Philadelphia” in 2008 with the producer/composer Chris Orazi. He taught Pellarin about an American term to greet someone new, and that was “What’s up dude”. And it became “Sup Dude” for Pellarin’s accent. That’s what they took as the title for this album, something feels funny yet unique. That memory was poured into a glass of melodies, served chilled to all music lovers over the world, notably for anyone who is searching for the preponderance of melodic themes without ignoring the free improvisations.

As a musician who grew up through learning classical and traditional music, Pellarin just constructed an experimental building of electronica framework. He expanded a multitude of sound effects and finally strengthens the whole structure. He said, “It’s far from over. I began a new era with this quartet!” It tastes like Raclette, a special melted cheese with some boiled Bintje or Charlotte potatoes, almost similar with cheese fondue in the winter. Raclette has traditional ingredients but really palatable with various additives. You can add any vegetable, herbs de provence, apple, bacon, or eat just like that. So does Pellarin’s music. Those modern contents will enrich the flavor without relieving the basic pattern. It’s a right dish for your appetite!

Let’s dig the album. The quartet says hello with “Sup Dude”, the title track of the album. Starts by jazz accordion, a reggae stream flows in a straight path. Then Diego Fano’s saxophone, Yann Pajean’s percussions, and Renaud Bourquard’s bass follow the stream. Inspired by one of the greatest performers of reggae music, Bob Marley, they bring the old memory into Jamaican fashion. A delightful and elegant smooth jazz in “Le Temps de Souffler”, which means “The Time to Breath” really illuminates our soul, just like taking a breath of fresh air in the morning with a new hope. This song’s sent in a cool, light way. Put it simple, it’s a smooth jazz that’s wrapped in modern packaging. Easily those catchy melodies can lead us to a relaxing situation.

You’ll get the surprise on the third track, “Irish Diversion”. Solo accordion at the beginning totally captured a traditional Irish style, something that the trio loves to do like when they included it in the previous album. However a modern twist is touching on this simple line of melodies. Who’s going to think that a rockin’ sound of accordion brings a vicious part in the middle of the song, signalizes the energy of the 60’s and the percursors of The Beatles? “Stevenson Bossa” tells us about Pellarin’s journey with his wife to a pleasure hike in the center of France for over a week. The song was named after a Scottish writer, Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson. A chic blend between bossa and touches of samba portrays the beautiful scenery of Stevenson trail. Just enjoy the wind, pasture and trees like an adventurer in a dreamland.

Then we have the expression of a father’s love in nu-jazz vibe, “CML”. Truthfully Pellarin made it for his children: C for Celine, M for Marion, and L for Lucas. A little bit about Lucas, he inherits his father’s creativity with different output. It’s Lucas actually who did the fine cover arts for this album and the previous one Karenita. This song is a genius, cool exploratory tune that could remind us to Miles Davis. This song bravely displays the passion of freedom. This may reflect the youth spirit and vivacity of his children that grow well with their own characters. The accordion and saxophone enliven their wild sides clearly, with the rock bass lights up the dynamic rhythm. They all shape a ‘full of fire’ harmony here.

“Live at Champlong” take us to a peaceful nuance of a place in France. The sweetness of French traditional walks on a modern line of jazz is such an enticing thing. When the accordion plays the sweet side, the percussions and saxophone move more swiftly. But in other part, those guys smoothly touch the sentimental point of it.

Let’s have fun with “Squeezebox Samba”! The fast tempo is a zeal booster for your daily moods. Listening to it is like having best friends or family gathering, simultaneously everybody takes part on the dance floor. Automatically you can’t handle your body to dance. All you need is just to enjoy the rhythm and feel the real aura of Brazilian and Latin jazz. Pellarin said, “This comes very naturally to me. It’s a mystery to someone who was trained as a classical musician at the beginning.” The quartet really got the vibes. Next song is “Tango Addiction”, a tango music box containing many modern sounds, almost close to rock but still keep the Latin nuance there. It reminds us to an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player, Ástor Piazzolla. He is known as a musician who combines jazz and classical music.

“So Frenchy” is presented with full of album spirit which appears light as a bubble of French champagne. It raises the desire and freedom up, an evidence of today’s development of French pop music. Daringly the accordion, percussions, and saxophone signify the experimental tones building the uniqueness side of French. “Luz y Fuerza” as the last track presents different atmosphere in one tune. The first twenty seconds denotes some mellow melodies. But everything change when the guitar comes in. Inspired by many trips to Spain, they emphasize the wild and energetic pieces of Flamenco and Hispanic into this song. Actually it holds rich musical shades.

If you’re looking for some beautiful compositions of traditional French music, electric jazz, Latin, converged with reggae, and any kind of music in one album, Jacques Pellarin Quartet’s “Sup Dude” is the answer. We can hear the distinction between Sup Dude and their previous albums, especially with their new bassist Renaud Bourquard that gives more modern influence through electric sounds. Each of the quartet’s musical experiences and proficiencies came from divergent backgrounds, and that’s really an advantage because then they can play around wider with various choices. What’s great is that they can create a smart blend of those components into their own style. They have proved it in “Sup Dude”, an album full of brainy compositions that still feature the unique personality of France in the first place. Like Pellarin said, “I am French so no matter what my French attitude can still be felt by the audience.”

Jacques Pellarin Quartet can be an excellent example of how the jazz groups should do. They go out bravely doing so many explorations and play as wide as they want to without leaving their distinctive traditional musical face. They carry colorful nuances to produce affluent ambiences and feelings when listening to it. And music should be like this, enjoyable and memorable. This album also shows that music has no boundaries and has unlimited possibilities of creations. We enjoyed Jacques Pellarin Trio, now we welcome the new formation with respect. Imagine how much explorations can be done by adding up an interesting new talented player in a group. For us, we can’t help but wonder what other surprises they will bring next time. Before that, let’s enjoy this new masterpiece from them. C’est Magnifique!

Jacques Pellarin Quartet are:
Jacques Pellarin (acordion)
Yann Pajean (drums/percussions)
Diego Fano (saxophone)
Renaud Bourquard (electric bass)

Tracklist:
Sup Dude
Le Tempts de Souffler
Irish Diversion
Stevenson Bossa
CML Song
Live at Champlong
Squeezebox Samba
Tango Addiction
So Frenchy
Luz y Fuerza

Buy the album at CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes

Get in touch with Jacques Pellarin through his official website, myspace and facebook

Reviewed by: Bintang Steffy Tania
Edited by: Riandy Kurniawan
Proofread by: Alhenri Wijaya

Photos are provided by Jacques Pellarin

Artist : Dewa Budjana
Album : Dawai in Paradise
Released : December 2011
Label : Demajors Independent Music Industry

Bali has been worldwide known as one of the most beautiful islands in Indonesia. In other name, this is Land of Gods which is surrounded by sunny beaches, Hindu temples, or Balinese rice paddy sites in Ubud area and Pupuan. Meanwhile, Bali is also famous for its culture and art with strong influence from Hindu spirit and its philosophy. As the result, most Balinese artists pour their talents in painting, sculpture, literature, and even music. Among all these famous Balinese artists, there is one talented guitarist named Dewa Budjana.

Aside from his fame as guitarist in GIGI Band, Budjana already has long journey in his career; both in solo and other well-remembered groups, some of them are still exist until now. His musical history began after he bought his first guitar at the age of eleven and learned guitar by himself. He finally had a chance to explore guitar more after he moved to Surabaya, where he took a classic guitar class, and formed his first band, Squirrel. At that time he was still a high school student.

Budjana’s lifework expanded after he moved to Jakarta and met Jack Lesmana. Jack taught him about jazz and introduced him to other musicians. Budjana started becoming a session player before he joined Spirit Band in 1987 and released 2 albums. He left the band to join Indra Lesmana’s JAVAJAZZ and released ‘Bulan di Asia’ album in 1993. In 1994, along with Armand Maulana, Aria Baron, Thomas Ramdhan, and Ronald Fristianto, he formed the band GIGI and it aimed its famous. Today it stands as one of the most famous rock bands in Indonesia.  While JAVAJAZZ recently made its return in Red White Jazz Lounge (read the report from that event here), we have to mention another group where he has involved, Trisum. Here, he collaborates with two other guitar maestros, Tohpati and Balawan and surprised people with their explorative creation. Trisum so far has made two albums, ‘1st Edition’ and ‘Five in One’. This March Trisum will come back to the Java Jazz Festival 2012 and that is certainly worth to wait. Besides these groups, Dewa Budjana also has a successful solo career since 1998.

Endways year 2011, we got a pleasant surprise knowing that Dewa Budjana finally launched his new solo album, “Dawai in Paradise”. Dawai in Paradise (Dawai means String in English) is his fifth album after ‘Nusa Damai’ (1998), ‘Gitarku’ (2000), ‘Samsara’ (2003), and ‘Home’ (2005). In this album which was produced independently we can hear 3 of his new songs (“Gangga”, “Masa Kecil” and “Dawaiku”) plus compilation of his compositions from the previous albums. The reason of placing selections of his previous tracks was explained by Budjana as “My previous albums are no longer available, so I picked each two songs from them and added 3 new songs that have never been released into album yet. Some of these compositions were recorded live and the others reinterpreted again in studio recording.” he said.  A very artistic cover art gives more nuances into this album with interesting title. “I named the album “Dawai in Paradise” as interpretation of my passion for guitar. It is my great hope that these Dawai can sound like Paradise on earth.” he says.

This album continues the path that Dewa Budjana loves to take when he is doing his solo albums. While the guitar playing is captivating, his ethnical nuances flow naturally in his compositions. “Many people say that they can feel Balinese nuance inside the character of my compositions… So, ethnic is it? Maybe it is my blood which cannot lie… But I love it better than having people say my song sounds like the western style. And that’s because, truly, I really love our culture.” said Budjana. “All of my songs were born naturally based on my life reflection, and that describes the true-self of Me.” he added.

“Gangga” becomes the first song in this album which will greet your ears and ease your mood. It was originally composed during Budjana’s spiritual journey in India; therefore it was thicken by spiritual ambiance. While he was in Rishikesh, the lyric Love is our Wisdom, Love is our Passion, Love is our Destiny, Love is our Karma emerged in there. “Everything about love appears there, that’s what I felt.” he said.  Having performed by Dewi Gita and Dira Sugandi in the past on this song, Budjana thought it would be perfect to bring Sophia Latjuba in for the recording. “Sophia Latjuba has an unique voice. I’ve been interested to have her voice within my composition for so long, plus in Gangga I need more of soft voice to fill it up.” With her sheer voice and Indian singer Vinod Gangani’s, “Gangga” is more than just a beautiful song. It is epical. Another song titled “Malacca Bay” is also phenomenal; it is the longest track within album which is so rich with various jazz sub genres like lounge jazz, bop, and fusion. You can easily enjoy it.

There are many songs that have personal meaning to Budjana, includes “Masa Kecil”. It makes you want to step back in time to your childhood years. Next stop is another beautiful ballad with the intense sound of drums from Ronald Fristianto and flute from Saat Syah. “Backhome”; somehow you will think of home when you listen to this song. “Dawaiku”, a minimalist composition only played by guitar from Budjana and harmonica from Howard Levy describes the love of a father to his son. “I dedicate this song for my youngest son Shakti Dawainanda.” Budjana explains. Not to forget “Caka 1922″, a meditative composition that sounds deeply spiritual and peaceful, also “Kunang-kunang” or Fireflies, with harmony sound of synth, suling (Indonesian flute), and guitar at the begining of the song; this composition tells a story about the beauty of the creature.

But prepare your ears for “Kromatik Lagi” and “Lalu Lintas”. Budjana has been known as fusion aka jazz rock musician. Recorded live within one day, the colaboration with Sandy Winata in drum and Shadu Rasjidi in bass has created these songs as two Pat Metheney’s inspired compositions with the touch of rock genre. Other track “Rerad Rerod”, with the intro of Gamelan and vocals from Kadek dan Dewi; this ethnic composition shows Budjana’s cultural background from Bali. After that, Budjana will satisfy your ears with “On the Way Home”. Gamelan is still played to open this song along with some animal voices like frog and cricket. Without leaving his fusion style yet, this last track of the album shows that he strongly belongs to Bali.

Let’s welcome Dewa Budjana back with his new CD, “Dawai in Paradise”. Three new songs and eight rearranged well-known compositions are more than enough to bring us into the ‘dawai’ paradise.  It is very well recommended, especially to anyone who has not had a chance to know his previous musical compositions as well as to you who want to hear the new masterpieces of Budjana.  You can explore the true personality of Budjana in this album, more than that you will know him as an excellent guitarist. “Dawai in Paradise” is about Dewa Budjana’s life journey as a family man, a Balinese descendant, a Hindu devotee, and a passionate artiste. Those are parts of himself that he is proud of.

Tracklist:

Gangga
Masa Kecil
Dawaiku
Kromatik Lagi
Backhome
Malacca Bay
Kunang Kunang
Lalu Lintas
Caka 1922
Rerad Rerod
On the Way Home

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Get in touch with Dewa Budjana through his official website, myspace, facebook and twitter

Reviewed by: Tridiya Febriani
Edited by: Riandy Kurniawan
Proofread by: Mellysa Anastasya

Album: Audiophile Female Vocal – Voices of Love
Artists: Various
Released Date: 2012
Label: Evosound

Would you fancy a crystal clear sound with pretty female voices in one package? “Voice of Love” compilation album is a right choice to brighten your day. Fifteen singers, specialist for audiophile recording will offer you a comfortable atmosphere wherever you are. We all know, an audiophile CD can produce high quality sound that similar to live music performance, as if they are singing right beside you. To enjoy its clarity at best you should play the CD in high-end audio stereo set or preferential playback components like turntables, amplifiers, electrostatic speakers, and other equipments. Then, just a moment you’ll find the distinction in quality with ordinary CD.

Truthfully, an audiophile is someone who’s able to recognize the good or even the perfect sound. And what is a good sound? It’s the sound that we hear directly from the source without going through an electronic process. However, CD is an optical disc used to store digital data. So, if we listen to it, we have to understand the factors that determine the quality of sound reproduced by the electronic device. Ethan Winer, an expert on music technology said that, “Four audio parameters that define everything needed to assess high-quality audio reproduction are frequency response, distortion, noise, and time-based errors.” Master those four points, then you’ll become an audiophile.

We can call an audiophile is a “purist”, a person who has deep concern about the purity of the original song without any “polish” in it. The sound quality of recordings is the main thing to gain the high level of result. Audiophiles are not related to the certain type of music, as long as the sound is great. But people usually find classic and jazz, because both contain more various dynamic range than pop or rock.

So here we have a label based in Hong Kong named Evosound who’s always concern of the quality of recording at its finest. As a company which stands at the forefront of the new generation ’boutique’ music labels, they always intend to bring you the best music from everywhere, even from the furthest corners of the world if they have to. With that in mind, a very beautiful CD recorded in the finest way consisting love songs from some of the most beautiful female voices in the world today was released not long ago called “Audiophile Female Vocal : Voices of Love”. We’ll see who are the ‘nightingales’ featured in this album, but first let’s see a wonderful fact: Voices of Love CD currently stands in Hong Kong Top 10 albums, even more it now enters the daily and single weekly chart Top 100 in Europe and USA. This great news wouldn’t actually surprise you if you listen throughout the album.

This is it, fifteen hits that reached top charts several years ago either by the original artists or the version listed in this album. Some lovely female singers represent the covers in fresh arrangements, placing their souls inside, making each recycled songs as their gem. There are also one original songs by the featured artist in this album such as Katie Melua’s “I Cried for You” and Woong San’s “Yesterday”.

Let’s see each song in this high quality CD. First of all, “When You Say Nothing at All” by Susan Wong. This song was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz and had attained popularity with three singers, Keith Whitley in 1988, Alison Krauss in 1995, and an Irish pop singer Ronan Keating in 1999. Susan Wong’s version has been very popular especially in Asia since it was released for the very first time in her album “Someone Like You” in 2007.

“I Knew I Loved You” a romantic number from Australian duo Savage Garden. Julienne Taylor brings a different color here. Saxophone swings so smooth and accentuates its sentimental side. Next, the original composition “I Cried For You” by Katie Melua, a Georgian jazz singer beautifully pours her soulful voice in this sad tune.

Chantal Chamberland takes us to a memorable moment when “How Deep Is Your Love” was an international hits. Recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 used as part of the soundtrack to a movie Saturday Night Fever. A jazz song written by Jesse Harris, “Don’t know Why” will always on every jazz lover’s mind. Norah Jones successfully blew her name up as a new artist in 2002. Now Cheryl Bentyne, one of the legendary American vocal music group The Manhattan Transfer gave her gospel-soulful treatment into this song. She’s currently off from stage as she’s in recovering process after suffering an illness. We wish Cheryl a speed recovery and hope she’ll be back again soon.

“You’ve Got A Friend” is a 1971 everlasting track performed by Carole King, countless artists have remade it.  Stacey Kent covered it in a very convenient way and should stand as one of the most beautiful renditions which is presented in a simple package. An English jazz singer, Clare Teal delivers “Chasing Cars” from Snow Patrol, released in 2006. It got more famous after being featured in the second season finale of a medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. In Clare Teal’s voice which stands as one of the most beautiful female jazz voices we’ve been hearing lately this song got a new soul.

Le Couple, a Japanese band consists of Emi Fujita on vocal and her husband Ryuji Fujita on guitar popularized a beautiful song titled “Wishes”. Actually, the original music was created by Toshifumi Hinata. Emi Fujita this time serves “Wishes” as a solo performer, but still keeping the style of Le Couple. Olivia Ong, a very popular singer originally from Singapore presents a Dan Hill’s biggest hit from  1978 titled “Sometimes When We Touch”. She chose to keep the purity of the sweet melody and presented it nice and simple just like it is.

A loveable one from Ann Sally on  “I Wish You Love” appears  like an angelic voice in the sky accompanied by swingin’  acoustic guitar. Léo Chauliac wrote the song first time with French lyrics under the title “Que reste-t-il de nos amours?” or in English “What remains of our love?” by Charles Trenet. Then, Albert A. Beach re-wrote the lyrics and made the English title. It’s a standard popular song since Keely Smith recorded it in 1957.

Chlara, a British born Philippines singer brings a 1984 Lionel Richie hit “Stuck On You”. Chlara gave a chill out ambience here by singing only with guitar. Dana Sedgwick sings “I Can’t Make You Love Me”, a very lovely pop country song first time popularized by Bonnie Raitt in 1991. Sedwick decided to kept all the essences in placing her soul in it.

Jazz lovers would surely be familiar with “Autumn Leaves”, but only a few know that it was originally a French song, “Les Feuilles Mortes” means “The Dead Leaves”. It’s the Johnny Mercer’s version which he wrote in 1947 that we all know today. For decades “Autumn Leaves” has become a jazz and pop standard for every musician. Mikaela Kahn, an American singer liven it up by putting a soulful voice color, deep and nice. It’s a unique version that appears quite different than the way it’s usually brought.

Woong San delivers her own blues tune, “Yesterday”. She is a Korean jazz and blues vocalist. The country scene also becomes the major element in “Yesterday”. It was highly praised by critics in 2007. The last song of this album is an elegant track, “When I Dream” by Carol Kidd. Originally it was made famous by Crystal Gayle in 1978, but 7 years later Carol Kidd sang her version and included it in her “All My Tomorrows” album. Since then, this song often associated to Carol Kidd and believed to be one of her finest track.

All said. Whoever and wherever you are, “Audiophile Female Vocal : Voices of Love” is a highly recommended album. Picturesque voices, classy musics, no matter how the situation is, day or night, you’ll be enchanted. The clear voice is an essential advantage for this kind of CD. This should stay along the playlist of people with strong interest in high quality sound, especially in music production. Don’t wait too long, let’s get the CD!

Tracklist:
1.  When You Say Nothing At All – Susan Wong
2.  I Knew I Loved You – Julienne Taylor
3.  I Cried For You – Katie Melua
4.  How Deep Is Your Love – Chantal Chamberland
5.  Don’t Know Why – Cheryl Bentyne
6.  You’ve Got A Friend – Stacey Kent
7.  Chasing Cars – Clare Teal
8.  Wishes – Emi Fujita
9.  Sometimes When We Touch – Olivia Ong
10. I Wish You Love – Ann Sally
11. Stuck On You – Chlara
12. I Can’t Make You Love Me – Dana Sedgwick
13. Autumn Leaves – Mikaela Kahn
14. Yesterday – Woong San
15. When I Dream – Carol Kidd

Buy the album at Evo88

Written by: Bintang S Tania and Riandy Kurniawan

Artist : The Brag Pack
Album : Just Braggin’
Released : February, 2012
Label : Stankoffa Music

If you’re fanatic to jazz, what would you like to have most from it? Is it the manic explorations, glittery improvisations, the challenging, unthinkable and unpredictable moves, or the music with free spirit? Is it the bursting, vibrant colors of jazz, the rhythmical path or the blue notes? Or maybe it’s simply just the swing and bebop? Whatever your interest is, here’s a very strong album that will meet your satisfaction. Came all the way from Netherlands, The Brag Pack is ready to take you into a wondrous jazz journey.

The Brag Pack comprises of multi-national talents who started their bond as friends when living in Amsterdam. That includes a shining young star from our own land Sri “Aga” Hanuraga who has 10 magic fingers that can do the wizardous dance over the keys. Besides Aga, the group has Hungarian Dániel Mester (saxes), German Paul Rutschka (electric bass) and Roald Becher from Holland (drums). We are proud to have Aga in this band, but it was Paul Rutschka who actually formed the band. “He is a guy with exceptional musical vision who knew for sure what kind of players would fit the band” said Aga. Paul established the band in early 2011 but the history actually started way back then in 2005 when they got together for the very first time while studying at the Faculty of Jazz at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Later they teamed up with Dániel who arrived in Amsterdam in 2009 for taking a Master level. Not long after the group got assembled, they released a 5 track demo EP in May 2011, but only two demo songs were included in the album (Paul’s arrangement “Drive By” and Aga’s “Blues for McCoy”).

It isn’t difficult for them to build their visionary concept since they have been friends for years. But here comes the interesting part of it. When you listen to the album, you’ll notice many flavors fused in together, wrapped by the freedom and intention as one to find a new musical land. “We are the kind of cats who get bored easily.” said Aga. That should be able to explain how they can use the composition as the vehicle for musical exploration to produce different sounds. Another thing that we should know is that the group has various different backgrounds. Paul and Roald had a funk, soul and hip hop background, Paul was even a rapper some years ago, Dániel got a rock and classical music background and Aga used to play progressive rock music. It could be an obstacle for others to find their finest blend as a team but not for The Brag Pack. Besides as closed friends, they also have similar approaches to music.

It took only a year for them to launch their debut album. The making itself was pure fun. There was no time limit in completing the album since the studio where they recorded belongs to Paul. “Nobody around, just the band and the music… and of course good food..” recalled Aga. What’s interesting is that often their rehearsals happened at hang out places like bar, apartment or even on the bus. They just talked about it, but then when they actually played it, everything just fell into place. Still with this kind of calm ambience they only needed 4 recording days and 2 months of production, mixing and mastering. Just as how the graphic design on the cover goes, the band now has placed their finger prints on the music industry, not only in Amsterdam but also throughout Europe and every other corner of the globe, all the way to Indonesia.

The Brag Pack’s 1st album “Just Braggin'” contains selection of 12 songs as a combination among their original compositions, interpretation of Poland traditional song “Cassubian Notes” and Indonesian folk songs which are interestingly written in a twist: “Illir Illir” and “Cublack Suweng”, plus one patriotic anthem from the Indonesian war era, “Bangun Pemuda Pemudi” by the legendary composer Alfred Simanjuntak. It’s very interesting to see how a multi-national band like this play the Indonesia’s Javanese folk songs which often contain pentatonical scales, but they’ve done a remarkable job. Being well-established instrumentalists in each of their positions plus the never ending musical curiosity, they managed to create a whole new atmosphere for these songs, great rearrangements which nicely executed. The braveness of pinning these songs brings the reminiscence of the spirit of the legendary Indonesian All Stars (Bubi Chen, Jack Lesmana, Jopie Chen, Kiboud Maulana, Maryono and Benny Mustafa) when they performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival 1967 and recorded an album there entitled “Djanger Bali”. It’s lovely to finally found a band which dares to take a risk in presenting something unique in total freedom. No wonder these songs become the highlights of the album as said by many listeners.

With wide musical (jazz) spectrum found throughout the album, it’s obvious you’ll have different ideas in defining the album to fit in any categories. Brilliant arrangements are the result of the band members’ rich ideas. What makes it even better is the way they execute this mad creativity to create a contemporary fusion with uncountable influences. From bop, hardbop, swing, blues, funk, modern groove to some cases of progressive and experimental, even a classical pattern can be found here and there. Listen to how free Dániel Mester floated above the rushing stream of notes. His manic approach reminds us of charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins’ masterpiece albums back then in the bop emergence era. Aga did such a brilliant job in presenting the style of piano playing we rarely heard. This ‘scientific’ young pianist’s contribution in this album is massive. He contributed in bringing not only the Indonesian traditional repertoires and arrangements but also the sparkling, lightning fast finger dance on the keys. If you’re a bassist or someone who’s really into the bass sound, the founder Paul Rutschka should give you more ideas in playing it. His work on the songs is far more than just guarding the rhythm. For example, listen to his ‘wah-wah’ effects on the super-cool, joyful and adventurous funky groove “On the Road”. Roald Becher’s energetic drum beating is a combination of strong sense and technique. He could carry some songs in full power but other time he showed his artistry by using brush stick like in “Bangun Pemudi Pemuda”.

Polish’ trad “Cassubian Notes” is a song to listen if you want to find the harmonious free-flying cooperation between Dániel’s saxophone and Aga’s piano with Paul and Roald collective guard on the rhythm. Again it can be tasted in the swingin’ “Drive By”. A trace of classical waving piano pattern on “Prelude to Odds” and the power ticking “Intro to Odds” works nicely as a gate to enter the interesting unusual composition “Odds”. Other than piano, Aga also used synthesizers in some songs, including “Daddy’s Habit” where he showed it in various sound modulations. Aga’s tribute to his greatest hero McCoy Tyner served nicely in the bluesy-boppin’ “Blues for McCoy”. Other than the mystically twisted “Cublack Suweng” where Dániel ran his saxophone over the pentatonic scales in fast-repeating approach, the most amazing challenge appears in the ‘satire’ “Crowned Clown”. This mysteriously haunting song would answer the free-jazz and experimental listeners as they feels like a song made from another dimension.

The Brag Pack’s “Just Braggin'” really shows the amazing talent and wealth ideas of the members as well as reflects the excellence of execution. The album features challenging songs from start to finish that invites you into a wondrous journey of jazz and beyond with some reminiscence of the great things in the past and the sound of the future. With this kind of presentation, Paul Rutschka, Sri Hanuraga, Roald Becher and Dániel Mester as the members of the pack now should stand as jazz musicians the world should look for.  For you who have adventurous soul, a die-hard jazz fan or even if you just want to hear the interesting world of jazz served in bold braveness and freedom, this album is definitely for you. Bon voyage.

The Brag Pack are:
Paul Rutschka (bass)
Sri Hanuraga  (piano, synthesizers)
Roald Becher  (drums)
Dániel Mester (alto and soprano saxophone)

Tracklist:
Cassubian Notes
On The Road
Bangun Pemudi Pemuda
Crowned Clown
Blues for McCoy
Illir Illir
Daddy’s Habit
Prelude to Odds
Intro to Odds
Drive By
Cublack Suweng

Buy the album at Jazzuality’s Online Store (we also receive international buyers),

You can also order it from The Brag Pack’s website or download the digital copies  from Amazon and iTunes.

Log on to The Brag Pack’s official website and join their Facebook page

Read our Exclusive Interview with Sri Hanuraga

Written by: Riandy Kurniawan
Proofread by: Alhenri Wijaya
Photos are taken from The Brag Pack’s official Facebook page , used by permission.

Artist : Hristo Vitchev & Weber Iago
Album : Heartmony
Released Date : 2012
Label : First Orbit Sounds Music

The connection between guitar and piano has been established for years not only in the classical world but also in jazz. Take a look at the tremendous collaborations of Bill Evans/Jim Hall, Bill Mays/Ed Bickert and Pat Martino/Gil Goldstein as examples, you can definitely find out that something magical can be created when these two instruments collide. The beauty of this bond is still brought by some of the maestros like guitarist Hristo Vitchev and pianist Weber Iago until today. Three years ago they started to open up the union resulted in one lovely package of beautiful jazz harmony with “The Secrets of an Angel”. Last February 2012 they were back again by presenting their second collaborative album where the harmony now feels deeper and tighter than ever, this time it’s called “Heartmony”.

Since the composition only relies on two instrumental, both players have to be connected in some certain (deeper) levels in order to bring something special, rich in harmony. That’s not a problem for Vitchev and Iago, since their friendship has grown and blossomed in a very special way. “I think this is directly reflected in music… it’s like having a conversation with your best friend.” said Vitchev to us. They are like brothers and have been working together throughout those years as well. For Vitchev, Heartmony continues his role as a leader after “Song For Messambria” (2009) in quartet, “The Secrets of an Angel” (2009) in duo and “The Perperikon Suite” (2011) in quintet formation.

For Heartmony, Vitchev wished to explore new territories from the beginning. If you listen to any of his compositions, you’ll realize how much he’s been into harmony. Being an artist who stands in between music and painting enables him to present something audibly beautiful. While his ideas towards harmony and beauty are limitless, he can somehow bring hundreds or even thousands of emotions and memories in simple drops of notes that can produce divine effects to reach one’s heart and soul. From this point he decided to take one step further which is slightly different than before, compositionally speaking. “All starts by me sitting on the piano and exploring the sound of a single chord. Then when my heart told me it was ready and wanted to move to a new place, I started exploring the possibilities and found the new sound and motion.” he said. In other word, what Vitchev tried to explain is that he wanted to loosen up, away from all the music theory and compositional concepts that he used in the past. More than ever, he embraces a very human and emotional approach by relying on his heart and ears. That’s where the name Heartmony appeared, the harmony and balance of the heart.

On the other side does Weber Ribeiro Drummond stand better known as Weber Iago. Give a minute to listen to him, you’ll find out that he’s extremely talented and amazing in many different ways. He never intends to lock himself inside any small box of genre. Instead he loves more to let his fingers dance freely above the keys, producing streams of melody running like a river. Often during the fingers dance he let out Jazz, New Age, Brazilian and Classical, also inspired by countless sources of music around the world, and the combination between them, flawlessly and spontaneously. He’s capable of doing the wild piano dance as well as peaceful or even spiritually meaningful melodies at the most artistic way. With all the uniqueness he possesses in him, no wonder his friends like to call him as ‘The Amazonian’.

By listening to what the heart says, 11 songs were made and featured in this album, all based on Vitchev’s experiences, memories or even the beauty of nature he passed by. If you look at the names of the songs, you’ll find the unusual names to be a song title because they look more like poetry verses or chapter of acts. If music were a painting, Vitchev and Iago could be two amazing expressionist artists who magically filled every spot with sensational, glittery and magical colors, along with many different hues and tonal shades. It’s the kind of music where genre doesn’t matter anymore. You may agree that the music still rooted in the jazz vein, but you’ll find enchanting Classical and landscapic New Age all over the compositions too. Genre doesn’t really matter anymore. All they want to do is to present the simultaneous combination of feelings and emotions pleasing to the heart, body and soul. Hence, it’s the harmony that comes from the heart, being sent to reach our hearts.

“Under Trees of Color, Over Fields of Grey” opened up the invention to enter the mesmerizing world of Heartmony. The feeling of trees with gently-swaying multi-colored leaves will come right at you from the very first minute on this one. “When I was sitting on the public bench park in San Fransisco, right next to me was the most beautiful tree, with leaves of many different colors. The hues were so vivid that they seemed like they are alive. I kept looking at it as the wind was gently swaying its leaves and then comparing its natural beauty to the background of concrete and steel skyscrapers, large paved roads, modern life, and the feel of the big modern metropolis all around me. It was a very interesting feeling. On the one hand you had something so naturally beautiful and fragile, but at the same time it adapted itself to exists in this suffocating world around it.” Vitchev recalled. What’s great about this is that you have enough time to revisit the feeling since the song has over 8-minute duration.

From there, the album invites us to another journey, “Musica Humana”, inspired by a Roman philosopher from 6th century “Boethius” who wrote one of the earliest text on music called “De Institutione Musica” in which he classified 4 different classes of music existed. “In one of his works he was to say “Music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it even if we really intend to.” said Vitchev. He was very inspired by it especially with the spiritual harmony and let the song begin with lively syncopative tunes before they both go smooth and delicate with more than enough space to place their improvisations. The “Memories in Black and White” offers a road to sweet memory lane where you can smile in recollecting the past from old black and white pictures.

The beauty of nature appears again on the fourth track “the Last Leaves Which Fell in Fall”. This song perfectly describes the portrait of how the trees change color during the fall until all the last leaf fall in winter. “In a way it symbolizes the life cycle we all have to go through. What happens to the leaves of a tree happens to a human life over a much longer period in most cases,” said Vitchev. Capture the nuance of falling leaves in this one through Iago’s piano playing, simply magnificent.

The elegant yet gentle “Crepuscular Rays” gives a portrait of rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky, stream through gaps in clouds. As usually these rays have their frequent occurrences during crepuscular/twilight hours (those around dawn and dusk) when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious. The runs of melodies in this song along with the resonances perfectly bring that vibe. In a way this song draws a red line to their previous duet CD where the wordless vocal by Iago also appeared as well on “Haiuri’s Dance”.

Next is the suite of “The Farewell”, consisting three songs “Prelude to an Act of Departure”, “The Imperative Expression”, and “And May We Meet Again”. This suite is really personal to Vitchev for a specific reason. “As you know I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria but then moved to South America and lived about 10 years in Venezuela before moving to USA. I have gone through this changes so many times that somehow I always have a melancholy for the past and the many great memories, experiences, friendships, and things lost.” he said. Some of us are not that good to the goodbyes, but some like Vitchev can understand that it’s a part of life that we have to be able to take, he even able to create something beautiful out of it. Look at how nice they were connected in the Prelude, focusing on the melodies without having the need to do anything too much inside. While “The Imperative Expression” sounds melancholy in mirroring the unavoidable expression where we have to bravely accept such changes, “And Way We Meet Again” gives a positive reminder that we all still have the hope to someday relive them again. The last song which opens up with a prelude, “The Melancholic Heart” once again takes a visit to the same issue, exposing the tender and sensitive side of Vitchev’s heart.

Nowadays when we’re surrounded by songs offering lots of negative messages or campaigns, it’s hard for us to find an album where the mesmerizingly beautiful artistic impressionistic soundscapes appears in its purest way, especially something that comes straight from the heart with full honesty. For that reason, we embrace this album dearly. Hristo Vitchev-Weber Iago’s second work “Heartmony” is simply one of the best music-painting we’ve heard recently. With the nuance where jazz and classical gathers in a holy matrimony, this is  an album that can make you smile for its beauty, sparkling in every sides, rich in composition, elegant, enchanting and sincere, it can also be used as a self-healing therapy for the positive energy found in the album. While they are presenting something pure straight from the heart like this, they never loose grip on the technical sides of playing. And it’s simply inspiring to see how two best friends can come out with this miraculous package where the intimate and colorful conversation between two instruments  appear at best.

“My second duet with my musical brother Weber Iago and surely not the last one,” he says. We hope that to be true, because their collaboration will change your perception of listening to good music. The whole album could be about everything you know – your life’s experiences, memories, the lovely nature as the gift from above, or it can be like being stunned over the most beautiful painting. Give it a try and let the melodies land softly in your heart. It’s the harmony and balance of the heart, sent from their hearts to yours.

Tracklist:
Under Trees of Color, Over Fields of Grey
Musica Humana
Memories in Black and White
The Last Leaves which Fell in Fall
Prelude to the Crepuscular Rays
Crepuscular Rays
Prelude to an Act of Departure
The Imperative Expression
And May We Meet Again
Prelude to a Melancholic Heart
The Melancholic Heart

Buy the album from Amazon.com, CDBaby, iTunes or Hristo Vitchev’s website

For more info, log on to:
Hristo Vitchev’s official website and myspace
Weber Iago’s official myspace

Reviewed by : Riandy Kurniawan and Tridiya Febriani
Proofread by: Alhenri Wijaya
Photos are courtesy of Hristo Vitchev, used by permission

Jazz has been showing tremendous progress in Indonesia. If before the music listeners seemed to dig only the light/pop side, today they show more acceptance of idealism brought by the jazz artists, meaning that the musicians are getting wider chance to make a living by still holding their idealism instead of surrendering to the current trend in the industry. Having said that, we still have to question these: how big is their acceptance towards variety of jazz, and how far can a jazz musician go fulfilling their passion and idealism in a country where jazz is not originally came from? On the other hand, we also have to keep motivating these creative heads to be brave in creating something new. That would give so many benefits to the future of our jazz development.

With all of these matters in mind, we got a good news from Boby Limijaya. Recently released his album entitled “Journey”, made by collaborating with a jazz orchestra in Budapest, Hungary, the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. Some of you might still remember when we shared the news of Boby’s trip to Budapest from 28 October to early week of November, 2012 (read it here: http://jazzuality.com/jazz-news/boby-limijaya-to-do-a-recording-session-at-budapest-hungary/). This trip resulted a fine package containing 6 pieces of rich compositions. The album’s already released and soon will be available at our online store, but first, let’s dig more about the album, what made Boby came up with this idea, why choosing the orchestra far away in Budapest and the musical concept.

Let’s begin with a little historical background. Boby Limijaya was born in Tangerang 33 years ago. He’s been playing music since he was still 6 years old. Graduated from Pelita Harapan University, majoring in piano classical, he continued his formal education to Berklee College of Music in Boston USA with the scholarship. There he took dual major, Jazz Piano Performance and Jazz Composition. Being a bright student, he received Herb Pomeroy Award in 2009 for excellence in jazz composition, handed by Berklee. His experiences gained by performing in many prestigious events such as Java Jazz Festival (2005, 2006 and 2012), JakJazz Festival (2006) besides appearances in smaller scenes. He was once the keyboardist of Andien (2004-2006), worked as the arranger for Christmas Album (2007) and the creator/music director of “Give Thanks” concert in 2006. Known as an active participant in jazz communities in Jakarta and Tangerang, nowadays he has his own orchestra, also works as an arranger and orchestrator, a lecturer at Pelita Harapan University and a pianist plus band leader of the famous trio, B3.

Based on his strong will to create his own art work and give contribution to the jazz development in Indonesia, he wanted to do something new, which he believed will add more colors to the scene. He came up with the concept of using 8 horns. He got the idea first by looking at his professor in Berklee who has 6 piece of horns in a band, but expanded it into 8 horns band. “Basically it’s an extension of the well known 6 brasses, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones and alto and tenor saxophones. But I was curious of what it would sound if I added flute and clarinet in it. I believed it would give more textures and colors.” he said. The kind of jazz orchestra, that’s the familiar way to say it, yet with a new format, focusing on the horns. He also stated that it came from an adaptation of Maria Schneider‘s concept, the later Duke Ellington orchestra (in the 50’s or 60’s) and the likes. Having heard all the tracks, he reminds us of the extraordinary Charles Mingus. In his era, Mingus is known much more than just a contrabassist. He was someone with strong character, remain uncompromised when it comes to musical integrity and of course, brilliant in writing for mid-size ensembles. Mingus’ state of mind and spirit pulses strong in Boby Limijaya’s works.

Perhaps it’s also important for us to inform that Boby’s concept of using a part of an orchestra is not about combining jazz with classical. His repertoires contain traditional sound of modern jazz, the way we enjoyed it in Blue Note’s early recordings from immortal jazz giants to the other golden jazz eras. The sound brought by the horn ensemble created rich layers, along with many playful manouvers from each section. You can sense the smell of bebop, straightehad all the way to fusion with rock toppings. In short, Boby creates a grandeur ‘jazzchestra’ soundscape, something that we don’t listen often in our jazz collection. The CD itself resembles a landscapic journey  from the 50’s to 70’s jazz era. 4 or 6 brasses are easy to find, but adding flute and clarinet in it is certainly new, at least it’s the first time in Indonesia. Not a usual formation like trio, quartet or quintet, more than just a band with brass section, almost like an orchestra but smaller.

His landing on Java Jazz Festival 2012 soil was monumental, because that was the first time he delivered a unique concept of 8 Horns Jazz Band, using 2 trumpets, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, 2 trombones, flute and clarinet. The rhythm section was included, filled with piano, electric guitar, electric bass, drums and percussions. He presented his original compositions at this festival. While his mind was deep into this concept, one day Indra Perkasa gave him an info that there’s an agent in Los Angeles that offered possibility to do a recording with big band and orchestra. He was introduced to the CEO of Budapest Scoring. He then made series of research by listening to many recordings and also based on his own experiences, the possibility of formations he had seen and studying the recording result of Budapest Jazz Orchestra. Satisfied with the result, Boby opened the contact with Budapest Scoring coordinator in LA by email and expressed his wish to collaborate and make an album with them. They listened to Boby’s compositions, they liked it, the date was set, he flew to Budapest with Bonar Abraham and voila, it happened.

Another question that you might ask is, why must Budapest? Boby explained the reason to us. “To carry this concept I do need good and fully experienced players. Soundwise speaking, I want to showcase how a brass band would actually sound.” he said. The selected horn players were all members of Budapest Jazz Orchestra, they have been working together for many years so there were no problem at all in building the chemistry. “Their reading skill was also exceptional, plus the recording quality is top notch.” Boby added. So many values in one package with reasonable budget, Boby got all the reason to take this path.

They arrived in Budapest and soon joined by jazz promoter Chico Hindarto and involved in the live recording process. Boby and the whole ensemble got only 4 hours of rehearsal just a day before the recording date and only 6 hours of recording. Surprisingly, the process went smoothly. The whole 6 compositions were successfully recorded, in the end they even spared one and a half hour from the given time. The post production process was done by Bonar Abraham (editing and mixing) and Jack Simanjuntak (mastering).

Speaking of the composition, what Boby made can already be considered to be a world-class pieces of art. Prominent jazz promoter Chico Hindarto described him as “A promising talent from Indonesia with an international caliber.” That should be the fruit of his classical background and, especially, his mastering in Jazz Composition at Berklee. Eventhough he took it because he wanted to expand his territorial work to cover more than just a jazz player, his outstanding ability in writing plays a crucial part in making this concept reached its finest.

“I want to do something different that can paint new colors into our jazz scene.” he said. It’s never an easy decision to make, but he chose to push himself to be brave. “I can’t make it if I’m too scared, therefore I got to be brave.” he added. A differentiation of jazz is urgently needed if we want to see a bright future of jazz. When it comes from a genius brain like Boby, we know that it’s not just a simple differentiation but presented in such quality to match the international standard. We should be proud of having Boby Limijaya in our jazz scene, and for whatever reason we have to support him. By serving quality jazz in mid-size orchestra by involving 8 horns formation from Budapest Jazz Orchestra where world-winning compositions with all the complexity served ear-friendly, Boby Limijaya opens up a Journey (re)visiting the historical timeline of jazz throughout the revolutionary era and beyond. If the words sound complicated, in simple it’s a jazzchestra at its best.

If you want to follow the journey in fun and playful way, do grab a copy of the album, in Indonesia distributed by DeMajors.  Not only you experience a different jazz approach, you will also give your support to the future of jazz world and the musicians breathing in it.

Boby Limijaya 8 Horns Band are:

Boby Limijaya – Composer and Conductor

Gábor Kollman – alto sax
Zoltán Zana -tenor saxophone
György Varga – baritone saxophone
Ákos Csejtey – flute
Zoltán Szücs – clarinet
Ferenc Schreck – trombone
Ákos Tompa – trumpet 1
János Hámori – trumpet 2
Tamás Berdisz – drums
Miklós Birta – electric guitar
Attila Juhász – piano
Viktor Hars – contrabass

Tracklist:
– Mr M
– E.L.I.C
– White Windy and Me
– 10’s
– Across the Street
– Journey

The album will be available at Jazzuality’s online store soon. Stay tuned!

For more info and updates, follow @bobylimijaya and @Boby8HornsJazz on twitter and log on to Boby Limijaya’s official website, http://bobylimijaya.com, Budapest Jazz Orchestra (http://budapestjazzorchestra.hu) and Budapest Scoring (http://budapestscoring.com)

Written by: Riandy Kurniawan
– Photos in Budapest are courtesy of Bonar Abraham
– Photo used in the header is courtesy of Muhammad Asranur

Artist : Mahesa Santoso
Album : iPlay
Released Date : 2013
Label: MIX Pro

It’s always great to see a talent emerges early especially in jazz, one of the most influential genres that needs proper skill when playing it. It’s great having them play in the real squared circle and noticing their steps further in the recordings will be another great one too. There are a lot of things to consider in creating an album and it’s not an easy task for most of the players. Let’s now focus on drums, instruments that, for many, are mainly used for keeping the beat during a song and even dance. Some questions may arise. What do drummers have in mind when composing songs for an album? Do they only deal with the beat or also work on the melody like the way players do with melodic instruments? Is it necessary to have a lot of solo drummings in each song? Is it a must to make the listeners aware that the album belongs to the drummer? From the recordings of many great jazz drummers, we can see that it doesn’t always have to be like that. Quoting what Idang Rasjidi says, “What’s important is to play well. No need to overdo or show-off, and when drummers actually have the solo drum, they have to be able to ‘sing’ through the beat to fit the song.” To play well, to make good songs that can entertain the listeners. Isn’t that the most important thing? The young drummer Mahesa Santoso seems to root himself in it, as he embraces this philosophy in his newest solo album, “Mahesa meets Idang Rasjidi : iPlay.”

Perhaps you have ever heard the name of this boy who resides in Jogjakarta. We mentioned him when we reviewed his group Rekoneko’s debut album “Moonlight Dance” 3 years ago (http://jazzuality.com/album-reviews/rekoneko-band-moonlight-dance/). But in case you forget, let’s take a quick look of his resume. Mahesa has bagged many awards since 2003, that is when he was still 8 years old. The Best New Talent for Jazz Goes to Campus 2005, winning the first prize of Yamaha Student Competition: Solo Junior Local, First Winner of Drum competition Yamaha Student Contest 2007 in Surabaya, The Best Drum Senior II Gilang Ramadhan Studio Drummer 2008 (Cental Java and Yogyakarta) and The Best Drummer of Jazz Fusion Music Competition 2010 (Semarang) are just a few of his achievements. Since he was a kid he has played with many older jazz musicians to legends including Idang Rasjidi, Benny Mustafa, Luluk Purwanto and The Helsdingen Trio, A.S Mates and Andien. He is a certified drummer up to the Advanced III level, a jury in some competitions and now also as a drum instructor. It’s remarkable to see a teenage boy could already do so much in his musical career. He possesses more then enough skill to produce nice beat and rhythm. In his hands, drum feels alive. While many of the teenagers around his age still find it difficult to control their emotions, Mahesa can already do it. He knows when to play cool, soft, smooth, steady, subtle and when he can roar wild and ferocious with his equipment.  Rising early will also give him benefit since he still has many-many years ahead to improve, upgrade and enhance himself. Don’t be surprised if we see him as one of the all-time greatest drummers of Indonesia and being noticed as the brilliant one in the world.

In this album he brings Idang Rasjidi not only as his ‘crime’ partner during the play, but also as a partner in composing and other creating process, he’s  a music director and mentor. Mahesa met Idang for the first time when he won the Best New Talent for Jazz Goes to Campus 2005. From that moment, he met and played with him several times such as in Pekalongan at Idang Rasjidi’s workshop in 2007 and has been given a private workshop at home. Along with his family, he has visited Idang’s home in Bogor too.

The idea of making this album also came from Idang. He was informed by his son, Shadu that Mahesa was in the process of making an album with Troy Kurniawan, Imam Kustijono, Dony Koeswinarno and some famous bassists including Shadu Rasjidi, Barry Likumahuwa, A.S Mates and Indrawan Tjhin in a project called Mahesa’s Way in 2012. Idang was interested in making an album with Mahesa, especially after he heard one of the songs from this project. They met in Jogjakarta where they had discussions about the plan. Due to their busy activities, they could only start to work several months later. The team was cast. Other than Mahesa and Idang, the team comprises of Shadu Rasjidi (bass), Ayla Noor Iman Adjie (percussions) plus a mini choir consists of Hendra Wydha, Wisnu Arya, Najma Allyssya, Laurensia Ayudya, Lidya Ndaru and Aisya Esti Effendi.

“iPlay”‘s recording process was held for three full days, on 8,9 and 10th of July, 2012 at Rockstar Studio, Yogyakarta. “We played together in each songs, we gave inputs, ideas and sugestions to one another to complete the songs. We felt tired, but it’s really worth it. It all paid by our satisfaction and happiness because we have done our play.” Mahesa recalls.

During the process, Mahesa also admitted that he got many new skills of how to play drum. “I found out that playing drum is not just to show-off the skill or to claim what the other players can give to you, but what’s more important is to realize what we can contribute to the band.” says Mahesa. He also stated that to give comfort while playing and freedom for each one inside the team to fill in with their instruments is an important thing to do for a drummer. “Not many drummers realize the importance of it anymore”, he further adds. Mahesa enjoyed the pleasure of playing with and learning from Idang. “It’s really fun to play with one of the Indonesian Jazz legends, Idang Rasjidi. He’s been giving his time to teach me. For me, he’s also a really inspiring role model. His philosophy of life is reflected in the way he plays music. Eventhough he’s a legend, he’s always happy to share and willing to listen to my ideas. What a very valuable experience both in my life an my career.”

What makes Idang want to play with Mahesa? “Mahesa has a strong character. He’s a smart player and have a strong passion in Jazz. He also has strong musical mentality and willing to listen to one’s advices, he’s not tempramental, so it’s always comfortable to play with him.” says Idang. As a person who has known the boy since he was still 8 years old and been involved in building him up, certainly Idang is familiar with everything about him, his mentality, his character and his ability. Finally after 8 years from their first encounter, they manage to work together in an album.

5 songs found inside “iPlay”, mostly rooted in Smooth Contemporary Jazz with assorted flavors, ranging from vigorous rhythm, sweet melodies to atmospheric World Music ambience. The album opens up with “Hamase”. According to Mahesa, Hamase can be translated as God’s love towards every living things in the world. Interestingly, if you scramble the letters found in his name, you will certainly get “Hamase”. This song is built upon the African nuance, with Idang Rasjidi’s Apache-like humming follows by the choir. It’s a full-spirited song that celebrates life and God’s love in a way like bunch of joyful children dancing around the fire.

From this very catchy opening comes the energetic “Beat’s up”. Here Mahesa shows how he can provide the neat, steady beat in strong punch without necessarily having to overpower the other instruments. Nice groove, syncopatic beat, playful melodies and vocal harmony are all on point. Mahesa got a chance to barter some beats with the percussionists and established strong connection with Idang on keys. Shadu’s remarkable bass playing can be clearly heard in this one too. Drum, bass and percussion are dominating this track. Full of action, high energy, uplifting spirit.

Time to go to the softer side of the album. The mesmerizing, glittery “Breeze Tunes” greets you like being caressed by a gentle ocean wind on the beach in Smooth Jazz’s manner the way the GRP label packed it years ago. That’s how it sounds on the surface, but for Mahesa this song is the most challenging one. Besides taking the longest time in making it, Mahesa also reveals that he learnt many new knowledges in producing beat, due to the unusual beat of the song. Some Middle-Eastern touch on the keys is also a highlight in this track.

Next, “00:30″. Just like the title says, this song came up exactly when the hands of clock pointed 00:30, when everthing feels quiet and cold. Idang himself sang this mellow track fully. If you think of someone you love living far away from you late at night, if you feel lonely and need their presence most of all, this song will suit you perfectly.

Another story found in the last track, “One and Lonely.” To complete the track, Idang asked Mahesa whether he wanted an instrumental number or with vocals. Mahesa chose vocals, and the song was made. Asking the lyrics to be written in Indonesian mixed with English, Idang instantly came up with it. What’s interesting is the way Idang used the popular words among the youngsters today to picturize the most universal theme, love, especially in teenage life.

Though only 27 minutes playtime separated into 5 songs, “iPlay” is already more than enough to pleasure you, as well as feeling the fully bonded connection between two musicians from different generation along with the significant support from the rest of the team. This album suits just about anybody. Jazz lovers can enjoy the authentic Jazz patterns, the pop fans don’t have to be afraid with any complexity, since the songs are made ‘friendly’ in easy listening way. For the learning musicians, you can learn a lot from this album too, especially if you want to enhance your Jazz touch. This album comes from the partnership between highly potential young drummer from Jogjakarta, Mahesa Santoso and the legendary Indonesian jazz man, Idang Rasjidi, packed exclusively in wooden box available in two colors, brown and black. Other than the great works found in all tracks, for us “iPlay” can also be used as an evidence that in Jazz, age really don’t matter. An experienced and senior musician meeting the fresh energy of a young man will give benefit to both sides. The result is something not only they can proud of, but it creates a beautiful package where the essences of Jazz are highlighted yet able to find the taste of all kind of music listeners.

MAHESA MEET IDANG RASJIDI – ALBUM PROMO

“Swinging my drumsticks to play Jazzy tunes brings me tremendous feelings and much enjoyment. It seems that this is the right way to express my life through music. That’s no wonder for me at all, because I realize that sharing and playing with some of the amazing Jazz musicians is giving big influences and colors to my music life. By now, I want to do more and find a lot of new things with this drum.
I want you to know that I really hope for every beat and every rhythm of these songs can be there, in your heart, because this is not a competition where I always try to get the highest score … this is even more…
This is a story about me, my drum and my dream.” – Mahesa

Tracklist:
1. Hamase
2. Beat’s Up
3. Breeze Tunes
4. 00:30
5. One and Lonely

Buy the album at our online store: http://store.jazzuality.com/products/cd/mahesa-meets-idang-rasjidi-i-play/

Mahesa’s Social Medias:
Page: www.facebook.com/mahesa.drum
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/mahesa.santoso
twitter : @mahesa_santoso

Reviewed by: Riandy Kurniawan
Proofread by: Alhenri Wijaya
Photos by Lilies Santoso, David Sentanu and Aditya Susanto

Artist: Rachel Guerzo
Album: Sejati
Released Date : end of 2013

Speaking through her honesty and singing in her sentimental range, Rachel Guerzo tames the originals like the rain tames the wildfire.

Rachel Guerzo is the granddaughter of Malaysia’s  legendary pianist, Alfonso Soliano  and started her singing career right after school, doing backup vocals for Salamiah Hassan. Shortly after, she went to pursue her music studies in Australia.

This singer who is of Filipino descent, is active in the jazz circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She doesn’t take her talent for granted and gives her utmost commitment for every of her shows. She was given the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Dewan Filharmonik Petronas to perform songs from her first album  “Just Friends” was released in 2010. Now, she is back with grace, giving us her latest work, her second album.

“Sejati” which means “Eternal” in Malay  is an album with 8 cuts,  comprises of mainly rearrangements of heart hitting love songs that was popular sometime in the late 80s, early 90s. Accompanying her are musicians Ruslan Imam on bass, Steve Nanda on drums, Jordan Rivers on guitars  and Ben Tio.

The first track, “Jerat” which was made popular by Indonesian star Harvey Malaiholo is being injected with a piano introduction as well as nice warm percussions, followed by the second track, “Dia”. “Dia” tells a story of how a girl wishes to be noticed by the guy that she has a crush on. The original was done by Indonesian Vina Panduwinata but in Malaysia Sheila Majid popularized that song. Indonesian songstress Reza did a cover of it too.

Third track is “Kau Pergi Jua” and then comes “Pelangi” and “Sabar Menanti”. The title track “Sejati”, as many of us can recall is a rock ballad sung by heavyweight Awie, when he was in a band called Wings. It became so famous that everytime you enter a karaoke joint, you’ll be sure to hear a glimpse of it. This version is much more seductive and more reflective as the whole song is about an unrequited love.

Next is the tribute to Sudirman – Malaysian famous singer and songwriter – done in a very classy way, simple  medley form, where there’s “Merisik Khabar” to “Salam Terakhir” . Lastly, there’s “Love Remains” which was sung and composed by Rachel carries a floating melody. Sweet lyrics that are easy to sing along to, gives this album a nice wrap and also a memorable one.

Essentially, this album puts you in the love zone and all that mushiness that encircles it and when Rachel claims “listen with your heart and you will hear mine”, she wasn’t kidding.

Tracklist:
Jerat
Dia
Kau Pergi Jua
Pelangi
Sabar Menanti
Sejati
Sudirman Medley
Love Remains

Reviewed by: Naj Frusciante
Music journalist,  works for a radio station and part of a clothing line called  The Swagger Salon

*Photos credit to No Black Tie and Halim Saidi

You thought you’ve heard it all. But actually, jazz still has unlimited terrains to explore. And it doesn’t always to be far, because something new can still come out from the elements, instruments or music style that we have been familiar with.

Here’s the good news. From Singapore comes a group named TAJ. This group of three consists of Tim De Cotta on bass, Audrey Tengkey on keys, and JR Teo on drums. The band was formed in 2012 and actually found the chemistry as well as the creativity connection pretty fast. They spend almost a year in the studio cooking their meal, and.. voila! An EP titled “The Astral Journey” under local independent record label Darker Than Wax (http://darkerthanwax.bandcamp.com/) is going to be officially released on January 30, 2015.

If you listen to this EP, you would find that TAJ has indeed a very strong concept. The label says that TAJ crafted an album that features poignant, illustrious pieces which evidently highlight their harmonious unity and talent. We totally agree with that. You can find post-rock, psychedelic funk, soul, hiphop and multi-textured beats that should satisfy music listeners including the trendy youngsters. By laying the concept on rich blendings, the Astral Journey is an ‘urban-esque’ jazz fusion that can capture modern cosmopolitan lifestyle with plenty of room to let your mind wander all the way to the imaginative astral world.

How was the band born? Audrey (who is actually Indonesian by the way) told us the story.

“We got together by chance actually. It was 2012 when Tim and I went with the Singapore contingent to MIDEM in Cannes. Through rehearsals for this showcase we got to know and like their musical styles in their respective bands. So when they came back, I invited Tim to an open jam session at LaSalle with other young musicians and students. It was a shed session to just have fun and also to try new things. Drummers, keyboardists, bassists and turntablists even. So JR was one of the drummers there and as the jam went on, it was clear that the chemistry between the three of us whenever we were on our instruments together was really strong! We didn’t just jam the songs per se but we moved and evolved them in a matter of minutes. So eventually, we started meeting more and more often, till it became just exclusive to the 3 of us, jamming covers and then eventually writing our own music. It happened very naturally and faster than usual, also because we became great friends. TAJ was born and on 1 Oct 2013 we released our single “The Astral Journey”.

Yes, the organic, epic, mind-traveling “The Astral Journey” was already released more than a year ago, but now TAJ finally has their debut ready to roll. Other than single, the album has other rich textured compositions which serve much, much more than just jazz. Tight drumming, sharp bass line and psychedelic synthesizer shone bright in “Old Town MOFO”, creating an intense emotion over the mellow tune. The post-rock pulses strong on dreamy but punchy “7DB”. The magical mixtures once again nicely showcased on “Daydream” which features the voice of Kaye, co-founder of Darker Than Wax, croons on the vocoder. Cosa Nostra’s refix of Daydream takes on a 4-to-the-floor house-disco approach. And of course, who wouldn’t love the fresh, high energy “Taj You’self”. Soul and rap became the key-elements on this one as well. The smooth beatdown remix by Jaël, a multi-faceted musician from Holland created another vibe on this song. The Jaël’s remix of ‘Taj Yo’self’ is exclusive to iTunes, Boomkat and Beatport. Lots of twists and turns are to be found here and there, not only as the element of surprises but play such important parts of each track.

“Do you see what you’ve been missin’?” that’s rapped Tim De Cotta on “Taj Yo’self” in a way sends us a message that their brews offer many interesting stuffs that we might haven’t heard so much lately. What’s make it cooler that there are only three players to carry heavy concept like this. From Singapore comes a small package of fusion with enough dose to make the listeners stoned. TAJ’s “The Astral Journey EP” ignites jazz’s cross-generation appeal in Singapore. Fine works of art from Tim, Audrey and JR (TAJ) should be acknowledged and appreciated.

You can pre-order the EP at one of these links:
http://darkerthanwax.bandcamp.com/album/the-astral-journey
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-astral-journey/id955164452
http://boomkat.com/downloads/1189173-taj-the-astral-journey
https://soundcloud.com/darkerthanwax/sets/taj-the-astral-journey-ep-dtw

And find/interact with them on:
http://twitter.com/TAJtheband
http://facebook.com/TheAstralJourney

Give a try and find out what you’ve been missin’.

TAJ are:
Tim De Cotta (Bass/ Vocals)
Audrey Tengkey (Piano, Keys and Synth)
Teo Jia Rong (Drums)

Tracklist:
1. Taj Yo’self (feat. Eric Foenander)
2. Old Town Mofo
3. 7dB
4. The Astral Journey
5. Daydream (feat. Kaye)
6. Daydream (Cosa Nostra Remix)
7. Taj Yo’self (Jaël Remix)

All track written and produced by TAJ
Cosa Nostra remix of Daydreams by Kaye and Funk Bast*rd
Jaël remix of Taj Yo’self by Giovanni Jaël Jano-Fatbinan.
Artwork by The Town Jeweller
Text by RAH

Artist: Grace Sahertian
Album: HELA
Released date: May 2016
Label: Demajors Independent Music Industry

We have known her for about 10 years as a natural born jazz influenced soul singer with wide vocal range, good controled perfect pitch. She tried several possibilities, she had some years of difficulties. But finally, at the end of 2015 we heard great news from her, that she is so ready to enter the new, brighter chapter, as a recording artist. She keeps us updated with the progress, and now the album is finally available in the market. She is Grace Sahertian, and her long awaited album is titled “HELA”.

Before we get down to see what the album is about, let’s get to know her deeper. She began her music career as the vocalist of Palm from Moodytunes which is spanned from 2006 to 2009. A year after that she dipped herself into a duo project, Grace & Tesla resulting one EP with thick world music nuance. Interestingly, at the same year she also joined the indie neo-soul group Cirlce O’Fifth and recorded two songs. One of the song “Honestunes” managed to enter the Indie Top Chart in Bandung. This song also created one nice quote from her that we still remember until now: “music always leads me to magic, music keeps me away from tragic.”

From there, she carried on by becoming a member of Margo Rising Stars which brought her to perform at the Java Jazz Festival from 2010 to 2014, playing with Benny Likumahuwa Jazz Connection at Ambon Jazz Festival. Other than these activities, she serves at a church along with Venche Manuhutu and son, David Manuhutu. She decided to pursue her solo career in 2011, but still she spent her time to support her friends, such as The Milo, Andezzz and the ladies band Starlite in 2014. She also collaborated with Iwan Fals in Konser Suara Untuk Negeri. Been there, done that. But at one point, Grace realized that she has to do something to make her dream come true. She has full authority to listen to her heart, in total control to pour out her feelings and anything that she has in mind. This album is the actualization of it all.

Speaking of her gift, she is a top-notch soul singer. The way she sings seems to have an endless strain of bright illumination. She doesn’t just sing but breathes soul into the song, letting them out from her heart, taking her audience/listener into serene and giving an enormous vibe of huge glimpse of what she felt through her music. Whether in soulful, chill, deep and gracious music or groovy, upbeat ones, she always does it sincere, honest and down to earth. She is a humble person who never forgets her friends and family, also someone who is deeply connected to the universe.

Not just in music, Grace has fine art in her blood too, as she is also a fiber artist. This thick artistic DNA printed in her seems to push her to explore further, influencing each step she is taking in her music career. She becomes an artist who care much about details, she takes process seriously, she has wide imagination and know how to express her feelings into something real. That is why her works always speak loud about many thing. You can feel them as a result of long process with such depth that not only could describe who she is as a person but also what she has inside her heart and mind. From a pop soulful jazz she embraced world music, then urban music. Looking at the pattern of the path she takes, one could take a guess that she wouldn’t go that easy. During 2013 to 2014 she spent most of her time to find her musical identity and write songs. After three years, finally the result is finished as an artistic product, a debut album called “HELA” under Demajors.

Grace used this album as a vehicle to share many things of herself. Other than using it as a media to tell her life story, uniquely she also uses this album to ‘tracing back the roots’. With “HELA” Grace traces back the long history of her family name, Sahertian which came from Negeri Porto (the land of Porto), located in the province of Maluku, Saparua district. Grace seriously digged her roots, so serious that she even wrote the title track “HELA” using the Yamdena language, spoken in the western southeast of Maluku. This language is more than 200 years old and right now is nearly extinct.

Other than this interesting title track, the album reflects the ‘fragile’ side of Grace. The songs speaks about the life process, from the moments of  sadness, anger, desperation, contemplation, until finally she came to a point where she had to stand up and keep moving. What’s also interesting is that she used mood board (a board with some photos on it) that became her point of references in creating and singing them. Having these guidelines allowed her to pour her emotion much deeper. “You could say that my music in this album is more progressive, explorative and telling. The music in each song works as an illustration of the story, and there can be some different parts describing the mood and lyrics,” says Grace.

The process of recording took around 3 months. Acting as the producer is Tesla Manaf, a stunning young Bandung-based guitarist who currently enjoys his international reputation through USA label, MoonJune Records. To us, Grace stated her satisfaction of having Tesla as her music producer. “Finally I found the perfect one. I am happy to have Tesla because seems to me he is the one who understands me the most.” says Grace to us.

Other than Tesla, Grace is supported by amazing ensemble of all-star casts. Ari ‘Aru’ Renaldi helped her in mixing and mastering plus her friends including Iwan Popo (keys), Rudy ‘Aru’ Zulkarnaen (bass), Topan Abimanyu and Ginda Bestari (guitars), Edward Manurung and Desal Sembada (drums), Brury Effendi (trumpet), Bejo (cello), Hadis ‘Hulhul’ Hendarisman (saluang/West Sumatra bamboo flute) and Zaki ‘4 Peniti’ (chant). For the backing vocals, Grace got Theoresia Rumthe, Eka Karya, Ayub Jonn, Puspallia Panggabean and Johanes Fayakun. Having such strong team like this enabled Grace to go into her feeling as deep as she could, search what she really wanted to do and how to bring it alive.

The album opens up with the goosebumping “Hela”. Starting with a Gregorian chant-like, the song progresses to open a multi-dimensional door through time and space, exploring back the roots gloriously in Yamdena language. “Come on, row the boat to the center of the sea, don’t be afraid to the waves, don’t be afraid to the thunderous storm, keep rowing until we reach the opposite land.” That’s the translation of the lyrics. The haunting song is carried on with Grace’s punch of  “Freedom” which captures the feeling of recollection, repression, pain, unfairness, being chained until a shout of hope. This song is served in gospel blues (wonderful play by bluesman Ginda Bestari) and a splash of provokative experimental approach near the end. The soulful gospel blues still shines on in the third song “Better to Love” but much cheerful and sweeter in the spirit of Motown sound.

Grace goes chilling on the next track where jazz plays the role, “Picture Me”. Brury Effendy’s trumpet sound lifts the song even more, taking your breath away especially if you listen to it late at night. The emotional ballad “Fallin'” reminds us of how Sarah McLachlan did throughout 90’s. Bejo’s cello sound got quite dominant role in this one.

The combination of nu metal/alternative rock and hiphop like how Linkin Park became famous with actually works very well too with Grace’s soulful voice. In this track Tesla and Topan go rocking. Edward Manurung’s drum punches are strong, plus the vinyl scratch by DJ Abo is just awesome.

Then comes the single carrier which is served totally acapella: “Diam”. This song reflects what Grace experienced through her career. “I listened to what people said too much. It took me to nowhere. So then I decided to stop. I chose to rest mysel in silence, spent my time to contemplate, went into deep reflective thoughts until I finally found what I really wanted.” she says.

There’s only one more music from Grace’s career that we haven’t found just yet, the world music which she is also passionate about. Well, the last track “Sun of Hope” serves this side of Grace in glorious way. The traditional bamboo flute from West Sumatra (saluang) played by Hulhul would catch your attention right from the start, and the chanting voice of Zaki Peniti is totally captivating. Listening to this song is like being taken in a journey into a dark, vast rainforest far deep down in Africa. We believe this song is also her attempt to get connected to earth and its beautiful nature, probably to the universe too.

For us who have been following her steps since the beginning, we are really proud of HELA. This is like a door to get to know her as a person, her wish, dream, feeling and thoughts. On the surface you might see an album served with many musical flavors, but actually everything in this album are related to the first 10 years of her career. So, other than exposing her true-self, this album also captures the road she’s been taking up until now. A poetic album with lots of stories in each chapter, artistic compositions perfectly executed, rich in variation but all connected, what a way to make a debut album. With HELA, Grace is opening herself and inviting you to know her and her artistic minds. Once a star in the making, now she is more than ready to shine up there.

Don’t Miss HELA – Tracing Back the Roots Concert!

Prior to the launching of this album, Grace Sahertian is inviting you all to celebrate it together through a special concert: HELA – Tracing Back the Roots. In this concert Grace will sing all songs from the album. Supporting her are Tesla Manaf (music director), Rayhan Sudrajat (guitar), Gantira Sena (drums), Omega Touselak (keys & synth bass), Faishal (keys & synth bass), Mega Ariani (Cello), Theoresia Rumthe, Puspallia Panggabean, Eka Karya, Ayub jonn, Johanes Fayakun (vocals) and Gracia Tobing (visual & multimedia). As the opening, Grace features a lethal blues guitarist who has just also released an album, Ginda Bestari. As mentioned above, Ginda filled one track in the album, “Freedom”.

The concert will be held on 14 May 2016, starting 7:00 pm at Auditorium IFI, Jl. Purnawarman no 32, Bandung.

Ticket price are:
IDR 50K (on spot) and IDR 35K (presale).
The ticket box are at IFI BAndung and Omuniuum.

Do come and enjoy the songs from the album live, then secure one for you. Let’s congratulate and wish her the best by coming to this special event.

Tracklist:
Hela
Freedom
Better to Love
Picture Me
Fallin’
Da Di De
Diam
Sun of Hope

The album will be available soon on our online store (http://store.jazzuality.com)

Visit Grace Sahertian’s official website: http://gracesahertian.com
Follow her social medias: @gracesahertian @graceMusicID

Written by: Riandy Kurniawan
Photos are taken from our collection and Dani Huda (provided by Bagus Nugroho)

“This is a story about me, my drum and my dream.” – Mahesa

He’s still at tender young adult, but he’s certainly not a newcomer, nor he is inexperienced. He has bagged many prestigious awards and achievements when he was still 8 years-old, a fine drummer with career spanning for 15 years who could make his drum speaks more than just providing beat. Speaking of album, he has made a couple, either as a part of a band and solo. The last time was three years ago collaborating with living legend Idang Rasjidi, “iPlay” (http://jazzuality.com/album-reviews/mahesa-meet-idang-rasjidi-iplay/). He is none other than Mahesa Santoso. In a couple of days from now, he will release his new solo album simply titled “Jazz | Mahesa | Way”, featuring many stars in our current jazz scene.

Before we dig deeper into this album, let’s take a brief look at Mahesa’s profile. We came in touch with him for the first time when he released an album with his band, Rekoneko in 2010 (http://jazzuality.com/album-reviews/rekoneko-band-moonlight-dance/). This band consisted of very young musicians with shiny achievements. As mentioned above, he has bagged many awards since 2003, including The Best New Talent for Jazz Goes to Campus 2005, winning the first prize of Yamaha Student Competition: Solo Junior Local, First Winner of Drum competition Yamaha Student Contest 2007 in Surabaya, The Best Drum Senior II Gilang Ramadhan Studio Drummer 2008 (Cental Java and Yogyakarta) and The Best Drummer of Jazz Fusion Music Competition 2010 (Semarang) to mention a few. He has landed on many big-scaled events including the Java Jazz Festival, JakJazz, Ngayogjazz and some jazz events held in the ancient temples such as Borobudur and Prambanan, also a couple of appearances on TV. He has played with many national and international stars, and achieved complete certificate at Yamaha Music Indonesia as he currently pursues formal education at Faculty of Business and Economics of Gadjah Mada University (UGM). He’s been involved in many event organizing, organizational and social activities for a some years. A shiny resume for a 21-year young man who already has a decade and a half long career of recording and performing.

Mahesa’s new album, “Jazz | Mahesa | Way” began with a simple wish from him and his father Bayu Santoso Utomo to make a minus one drum as a material for practicing. They tried to ask for help from some fellow musicians to make it happen. But then, after a quite long, less productive process, he met guitarist Troy Kurniawan. Through some considerations and plans, they finally decided to make four songs rooted in different (sub) genre ranging from Funk, Groove, Bebop to Latin.

Next step is to put those concept into live music. To do that, they soon searched the perfect musicians to transform the midi file into full jazz tracks.

Mahesa told us that up to this point, he didn’t think of having different bassist for each track, “because in my opinion, a drummer need to adjust more to bassist, having strong bond that could be felt from one song to another throughout the album.” he says. But his father who acted as the executive producer had that idea, which in the end makes the album unique.

With the help from Troy’s wife, the lineup was completed. The album features great names found in the current jazz scene, all very experienced too. On bass are Barry Likumahuwa, A.S Mates, Indrawan Tjhin, Shadu Rasjidi, Troy Kurniawan on guitar, Dony Koeswinarno on saxophone, Imam Kustidjono (piano), Dandy Lasahido (organ and synthesizer) plus Devy Wondal on vocal (scat-singing). Having such team at first gave him a little pressure, but he didn’t let it happen too long. “I realize that this is a very, very priceless experience for me personally and my music career.” he says. The recording took place at Klab Studio Jakarta 4 years ago.

The album doesn’t consist only of four tracks, but also has two more songs recorded live in 2014 at Padepokan Bagong Yogyakarta featuring Danny Eriawan (bass), Dias Agusta (guitar), Catur Kurniawan (contrabass), Jay Afrisando (saxophone) and Wiwit Yulian (piano). So, 4 plus 2, there are 6 songs rich in musical colors listed in this album.

The first song is “Funkmosphere” which is also the first song he recorded. Just like the name stated, this song will definitely fill up your atmosphere with the joy of funk. Mahesa provides complex drumming which creates rich texture on the beat. According to Mahesa, due to the high level of difficulty, he got some problems in adapting with it, but with the help of the other players he finally got in. Barry Likumahuwa gave substantial sharp and strong laid back groove in constructing the song, while Imam Kustidjono and Dandy Lasahido build strong structure as well as infusing playful taste along with the beat. The character of the song got strengthened by fine jazz-rock approach from Troy Kurniawan’s guitar and Devy Wondal’s scat. This song drained the energy out of them, but it’s worth it. If you love funk-flavored fusion the way it was born in the 70’s, this song will satisfy you totally.

Groove was served high over jazz on the second track, “Groove Spell”. In this one Troy, Dandy and Imam are in, but the bass position is given to Shadu Rasjidi. The partnership between Mahesa and Shadu is tight. Shadu has played with Mahesa a couple of times before, including in the previous album “iPlay” where Mahesa meets Shadu’s father Idang Rasjidi. As how groovy song should be, the feeling of joy is clearly felt through their play. Like the first track, everyone got their solo part respectively. The synthesizer sound, the busy guitar, groovy bassline and happy finger-dancing above the keys blend very well with the singing beat from Mahesa.

A quite presentation comes in from the third track, “Bubi’s Bop”.  This time Mahesa shows his ability to swing and bop. Other than Troy and Imam, the senior bassist A.S Mates and saxophonist Donny Koeswinarno paint a perfect modern jazz on the canvas. Mahesa told us that this song originally titled “Mangosteen Bop”, but then changed because they wanted to dedicate this song to the late jazz legend Bubi Chen. “He (Bubi Chen) is one of the key figures in my life who inspire me the most, especially when he mentored my very first jazz band, Ours Band with my two elder brothers.” says Mahesa. Moreover, Troy was also Bubi’s student and considered like a son to him. Donny gives tasty sax lines whenever he can, while at other times happily let Troy to lead in front. Mahesa told us through this song he learned a lot of how to play swing and listen to other instruments while playing as a unit in a band.

The last track that was recorded in Jakarta is next, “Latino Del Momento”. For this one, Troy changed his gear to classical guitar to create the exact pure Latin nuance. Interestingly, this song is equipped by the acoustic sound of contrabass courtesy of Indrawan Tjhin. Imam set his piano playing course on Latin Montuno without necessarily forced  the song to be a Cubana music. Mahesa decided to change his stick to brush because he wanted to emphasize more tender mood yet still energetic. In one solo session, he spontaneously used his bare hands too which reminded him of his earlier percussion lessons especially Conga and Bongo. He got a long solo run which enabled him to let his Latin feels out. That makes him consider this song special. “I’m very happy with this song”, he giggles.

In addition to these four songs, Mahesa added two more tracks recorded later in different studio in his hometown two years after: “Senandung Dwipa” and “Shadow Behind the Sunset”. “Senandung Dwipa” lies in power and spirited mood which becomes the character of this song. Played in trio format and recorded live with Danny Eriawan on bass and Dias Agusta on guitar, this song reminded Mahesa to his early career when he was still in junior high school, the time when he still fancied playing with full power on hard fusion tunes. For us, this song is like a reminder of Mahesa we knew back then and his music style with his band Rekoneko.

As for “Shadow Behind Sunset”, Mahesa is like inviting us to go mind-wondering with him when the sky is getting darker. For this song he played alongside Catur Kurniawan on contrabass, Jay Afrisando on saxophone, Wiwit Yulian on piano and Dias Agusta on guitar. This lovely song captured the beauty of swingin’ jazz composition in richer texture and shape. The clear jazz statement in this song is fascinating, flowing smooth and tender to make you feel at ease.

The mixing and mastering process are done by Donney Wagna and Utanto Wibowo together with Mahesa himself.

Collaborating with many musicians, each with their own distinctive character was indeed a big challenge to Mahesa. But instead of having it as a burden, he takes it as a valuable experience t make him a better musician. “As a person we can express ourselves with anything. For me, what matter most is to express myself with drum.” says Mahesa. In the end, he hopes this album can be accepted and enjoyed by all music listeners as well as inspiring fellow young musicians to express their passion with their own music.

For us, “Jazz | Mahesa | Way” speaks loud of how a talented young musician uses his creativity in fulfilling his passion and answering his calling. The CD which is packed exclusive is now ready, consisting of 6 tracks rooted in jazz but served in various flavors which should be able to pleasure jazz fans in particular, or music lovers in general. Stunning, challenging and fascinating music are found in this album, played by amazingly skillful musicians who are all passionate in jazz. So for you, all jazz afficionados out there, you can have this CD to fulfill your jazz needs, and you can certainly support the musician and the development of jazz by purchasing it. There are many variety of jazz, this time you have your chance to enjoy Jazz in Mahesa’s Way. You want to know how his way is? Grab one and enjoy.

Tracklist:

1.Funkmosphere
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), Barry Likumahuwa (Bass), Imam Kustidjono (Piano),Dandy Lasahido (Organ & Synth),  Devy Wondal (Scat), Troy Kurniawan (Gitar)
2.Groove Spell
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), Shadu Rasjidi(Bass),Imam Kustidjono (Piano), Dandy Lasahido(Keys), Troy Kurniawan (Guitar)
3.Bubi’s Bop
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), AS Mates (Bass), Imam Kustidjono (Piano), Donny Koeswinarno (Sax), Troy Kurniawan (Guitar)
4.Latino Del Momento
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), Indrawan Tjhin (Bass), Imam Kustidjono (Piano), Troy Kurniawan (Gitar),
5.Senandung Dwipa
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), Danny Eriawan Wibowo (Bass), Dias Agusta (Guitar)
6.Shadow Behind The Sunset
Mahesa Santoso (Drum), Catur Kurniawan (Bass), Dias Agusta (Guitar), Wiwit Yulian (Piano), Jay Afrisando (Sax)

Reviewed by Riandy Kurniawan
Photograph by: Lilies Sutji Santoso and David Sentanu
Cover Design by Aditz

Executive Producer: Bayu Santoso Utomo
Music Director/Arranger: Troy Kurniawan

Get in touch with Mahesa through:
Twitter: @mahesa_santoso
Facebook: Mahesa Santoso
Instagram: @MahesaSantoso

Get the album at our online store: http://store.jazzuality.com/product/mahesa-jazz-mahesa-way/

See more pictures: