Operet Babah Encim staged a love-theme work Legenda Cinta Pulau Kemaro, based on a folktale from South Sumatra about interracial tragic romance between king of Palembang’s daughter Siti Fatimah and a Chinese merchant Tan Bun An, a fortune and love seeker. Continue reading Siti Fatimah tragic romance
The article first appeared in Indonesia Jazz Review, 2 May 2015
From swing to bebop, acid, and the further rapid evolution of jazz when the western world brought it on board of the trade ships to meet Indonesian vernacular music in the 20s, Lantun Orchestra played their repertoire based on a timeline that tells about each period of the constantly-altering musical genre. Their live performance When Betawi Meets Jazz in @america, Jakarta, 30 April, started with the 1929 song Ain’t Misbehavin by Fats Waller, before moving to another era of bebop which was popularized by the 30s era trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
The article first appeared on Indonesia Jazz Review, 29 April 2015.
Stefano Bollani simultaneously plays with two piano instruments.
In 1996 Stefano Bollani chose to drop all he has worked for in pop since he first took a professional path at his teenage years, and in his solo concert at Usmar Ismail Hall, Jakarta, 28 April, the Italian pianist showed his aptitude, more of nurtured than inherent, after over 15 years of dedication in jazz. He left traces of his childhood aspiration to become a singer by singing a couple of songs in melancholy for Jakarta audience, meanwhile he was sure not to let them miss the anticipation having him played out one of his best talents: swing, especially after his last performance in Jakarta seven years ago.
UOB Plaza high-rise building took shape over a decade after the 1997 Asian monetary crisis, when it stood in agony with bare pillars and storeys, behing the giant banner displaying The Westin hotel, a supposedly main tenant hadn’t the crisis brought the construction to a halt. Continue reading Thamrin Nine Project 1
Liem Keng Sien (1954 – 2014) called his home cum studio the university of rest and relax, a creative place that goes unsupported by government, and unrecognized by public. Less serious in nature, perhaps it is this aphorism “Art is long, life is short” where Keng Sien took an inspiration to create his final art series, interestingly, in the shape of many laughing expressions based … Continue reading University of rest and relax, Liem Keng Sien in retropsective
Jakarta is now home to rapidly increasing numbers of skyscrapers. Office building projects are now dominated by over thirty stories high. Having reached its peak momentum in 1997 and suddenly collapsed due to severe economic crisis, Jakarta is in the past two years on the faster track to expand its high-rise property market, and much taller. Continue reading “A LOOK BACK AT 2012 JAKARTA ZONING DETAIL AND PLANS”
Producing a Chinese folklore by means of Indonesian culture and provincial idiosyncracies is the task taken by Teater Koma in Opera Ular Putih, an adaptation of the 6th century Tang dynasty fiction the Legend of the White Snake, with three months of rehearsal and preparation. Continue reading The Opera of the White Snake Legend
What troubles Jose Rizal Manua’s mind of late other than keeping that brain brushed up to memorize a hell of a line in theater when he is no longer physically young, despite his conviction that he still is, at least in soul? Continue reading Jose Rizal Manua plays Mas Joko
The article first appeared on Indonesia Jazz Review, 17 March 2015.
Swing Boss Jazz Band dedicated itself since it was founded in 2014 to promote Indonesian vernacular songs in a unique arrangements combining jazz and bossa nova. Given that jazz emerges from an alternative cultural expression of folk songs developed by a particular group of immigrants in the US, the seven members of the band applies similar approach in the modern Indonesia, a diverse country where they can find abundant cultural reference for their works, such as folk songs from the eastern province of Maluku, Sulawesi, to Java. The latter became the theme of their performance in Galeri Indonesia Kaya, Jakarta, on Sunday, 16 March 2015.
Popular traditional Javanese folk songs such as Rek Ayo Rek and Suwe Ora Jamu showcased their creativity to make rural culture more receptive to urban trends. As the host repeteadly uttered in the opening words, “this is the real Java jazz,” alluring to the recently held International Java Jazz Festival 2015, the biggest regular jazz event in the country, but dominated by global pop culture instead of identifying local character. Talking about local identity, exceptional 30 year-old singer Sruti Respati, also in the same spirit to increase the popularity of Indonesian folk songs among the pop-influenced Indonesian public, sang Gundul Pacul and Gambang Suling in a classic style, but in harmony with the band’s play.
Continue reading “The real Java Jazz”
Han Awal is fascinated by the way architecture conveys local wisdom as to what he discovered on his trip from Ise Shrine in Japan to Wae Rebo village in Flores, Indonesia. Wood material has the least durability, yet the indigeneous civilization rebuilt it, consequently forming a tradition. Continue reading Han Awal’s conservation architecture
think archipelago 