It's A Break!: Urban Jazz Crossover 2012: Very Indonesia

Performers of Urban Jazz Cross Over 2012 Jakarta

As you entered the hall of Fairground (SCBD, Jakarta), you know that you are going to experience jazz in a new different way. You saw a lot of people waiting in line; the door to the concert hall wasn’t opened yet despite it was almost 7 p.m. You looked at the ticket you bought for IDR 100,000. It was written: concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Never mind, you said, it was Friday(13/7) night anyway.

You don’t feel like waiting in line for unknown time so you walked around the reception hall. You saw a small, low stage at the corner, with a background of city towers lights at night. Musical instruments lying on individual couches. You recognized them from video clips you saw in the Internet: trumpet, saxophone, contra bass and of course, guitar. Some people started putting the instruments on their hands. Were they the entertaining band, but they didn’t play any music? They stood there, posing. At the edge of the stage, you saw a booth with a sign: photo frame IDR 2,000 (for those who are interested). No fee for the photograph. You decided it was a great deal, at least you could say you attended that annual jazz concert once. You registered, had your picture taken and kept your in-frame photo.

It was almost 8 p.m. but the door was still close. You walked pass through the line to see a black sport car. Some people stood by it and had their pictures taken. You saw a column in the middle of the hall. Four TV screens and four headphones were hanging on the four sides. Curious, you asked the lady in black satin dress. She told you it was a game. You would listen to a piece of music; what you needed to do was to guess three instruments used in it by tapping on their pictures at the screen. You were allowed to make only two mistakes. You listened, tapped the screen, made one mistake but could guess the three in time. You looked at the prize inside a black box: a USB drive in the shape of a keyboard.

You were feeling lucky that night and decided to hunt for more games. You have been seeing people playing on iPads. You looked around and saw a lady in black satin dress at the other corner. You approached her just to find out about another game. You had to find pairs of similar pictures in a 4x5 boxes. It was more challenging than the music game. Your friend tried first but she failed, four more pictures to reveal but time was up. You tried your method, opening the boxes in random manner, remembering every different picture and its position. It was at the last five second when you finally matched all the pictures. You got an earphone for the prize.

Bayu Risa

You were too happy that you didn’t realize that the crowd in line was moving. The door was open. You looked at your wristwatch; it was 8:30 p.m. You realized you were living in Indonesia. You sneaked in the line, following the flow.

The wall inside the hall looked black, either they were painted black or it was dark. On your left you saw a stage with some musical instruments standing. Not much decoration except a screen at the back of the stage and some white boxes stacked on each other at the left and right sides. Was that all? You were expecting some surprises.

People were sitting on the carpeted floor obediently. You followed the crowd. As soon as you sat down, you realized that this was so Indonesia. Sitting on a floor, talking to your friend, waiting for a concert. The togetherness made you really felt like home. You knew this kind of concert would only happen in Indonesia. The only missing things were a picnic basket and a thermos of hot tea. You felt like drinking but as soon as you saw the price, you decided to save your money. You’d rather go back and sit down. It was not a picnic anyway.

People stood up as soon as they heard the announcement. The concert was about to start at 9:30 p.m. You had your camera ready. You were not alone, most of the audiences had something to take picture: handphones, smartphones, pocket camera, DSLR camera. Where else could you have a chance to snap a picture of great, popular singers? In fact, those are ‘real’ professional singers, unlike the mushrooming copycat boybands and girlbands. It was a great opportunity.

Bayu Risa was the first performer. He had a high pitch voice, which reminded you of Josh Groban. As soon as the concert started, you knew what the white boxes were for. Hologram, video mapping, animated pictures and lines were projected to them. There was no need of printed decorations. Lines were projected as if they were frames of the boxes. Your expectation was fulfilled. Bayu sang two songs, and then was followed by Millane Fernandez. She wore a ‘blink-blink’ dress, which reflected the lights, creating variation of dispersed light.

At the end of the second song, you recognized a different voice, not a typical jazz kind of voice. The voice was higher and had different curves. You recognized the lyrics. It was Bengawan Solo and you knew the voice was typical of keroncong. Keroncong and jazz? Here was the real crossover. Intan Soekotjo, a daughter of Indonesian well-known keroncong singer, Sundari Soekotjo, was the person behind the additional song. Again, this proved the concert was typical Indonesia.

Andien and Barry Likumahuwa

Andien, wearing red and black, was the singer you were waiting for. She sang several popular song, in jazz, for sure. In the interlude, came Barry Likumahuwa with his renowned bass guitar.

Unconsciously, you moved your head and your body, following the groove of the music. That was jazz, you thought. Yukie of PAS band rocked with his rocky voice and braided hair reminded you of Ipang. You realized people around you start following singing the song.

Harvey Malaihollo was next. He was a legendary in Indonesian music. He wore a casual white suit, sang two songs – one of them was Adele’s Rolling in the Deep – and had a duet with Rieka Roslan. Indra Lesmana played pianika and keyboard to accompany the singers. You heard somebody at the back yelled, “Sophia Latjuba” and laughed. She was his ex-wife. It reminded you of the same concert several years ago, when an audience yelled “Dewi Sandra” at Glenn Fredly. Again, that was very Indonesia.

You were waiting for Tompi. He performed the last. He sang two songs, did some talking and joking. He even battled with Barry and Indra Lesmana. He played a tune with his voice, imitating a guitar’s or bass’s sound. You didn’t really know a human voice could create the same quality. You were amazed. You were clapping your hand. You liked the concert.

You didn’t want the concert to end. You still wanted to groove. You still wanted to move your body to the music. It was Friday night that you didn’t want to go home yet. You wanted to enjoy the night longer. But you knew in your mind that it was about the end of the concert when you saw all the performers showed up, lining up and bowed to the audience. You can’t wait for next year’s concert.