By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN / entertainment@thestar.com.my
ONE of the country’s biggest jazz festivals is set to take place next month and leading the line-up of artistes are contemporary jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour and crossover genre pianist Keiko Matsuia.
The second KL International Jazz Festival (KLIJF) is set to kick up a storm with 35 international and 65 local artistes who will grace the stages at the grounds of the University of Malaya (UM) from April 27-30. Venues include Dewan Tunku Chancellor, Experimental Theatre and four outdoor stages that will be erected around the area.
KLIJF chairman and co-founder, Maizon Omar, has worked tirelessly with her team to organise the event and is thrilled that things are shaping up well.
“Jazz is picking up in Malaysia and you see a lot of little gigs everywhere at shopping complexes and parks. I’m convinced that jazz will go down well with our people – it’s just a matter of time. Look at Japan. Jazz is highly appreciated there and they were like us 50 years ago,” she said at a press conference here last week.
UM, which already has a music school, will soon be establishing a jazz school and this should see a surge in interest in the genre.
“Our radio stations don’t play jazz because they think it’s for old people and boring,” lamented Maizon.
(Above) Guitarist Chuck Loeb used to play in Stan Getz’s group in the late 70s.
“Lots of people think jazz is very 1960s,” added KLIJF managing director and co-founder Roden Kumar. “The music has evolved and people can easily get into it. It’ll take some time but it’ll get there.
Jazz festivals all over the world attract very large audiences because of its appeal to a wide range of jazz, blues, funk, soul and classic rock audiences. The ambience at jazz festivals is very different from a closed-door, single jazz concert. That is why jazz festivals in major cities continue to grow and the KLIJF is beginning to make its mark as a world class jazz festival.”
The festival will commence with a 10km KLIJF Earth Day Run on April 21 at UM and a hike up Gunung Nuang in Ulu Langat, Selangor. Interested participants can opt to register for either one event as part of the festival’s intention to promote good health.
Aficionados have often questioned why Malaysia cannot emulate the Java Jazz Festival, which takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia, annually.
“We are latecomers. We cannot just duplicate another jazz festival. We are the only jazz festival that starts with a Earth Day run to take care of the health of the community and the environment,” said Roden.
“A lot of the artistes we spoke to have said they are keen to come here and play, but have not had the opportunity yet.”
Last year’s festival saw the likes of the legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal and saxophonist David Sanborn strutting their stuff.
He said, “We don’t have the legends anymore because they’ve passed on. And it’s not possible to bring Ahmad Jamal again because he’s 83. Still, every jazz musician has a little bit of legacy in them because they’ve been influenced by some of the legends.”
Read more: http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/3/17/music/12844637&sec=music
Crossover genre jazz pianist Keiko Matsuia.
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