It’s high time for another major jazz festival and it looks like this year, proceedings move north to Penang. JASON CHEAH sneaks a preview for the upcoming Penang Island Jazz Festival.
SO THE homegrown jazz scene rises and ebbs. In the absence of a Philips International Jazz Festival this year, it?s up to the Northern set to take the bull by its horns and continue the somewhat patchy revival of the live jazz scene, although a healthy mention must go for the International Kuching Jazz Festival held in late August.
Come December, the Penang Island Jazz Festival brightens up the Batu Ferringhi beachside surrounds with some much-awaited live music atmosphere and festival buzz. The Penang Island Jazz Festival is scheduled for Dec 4 and 5 at the Bayview Beach Resort Garden, Batu Ferringhi, Penang.
?There is a growing festival-going culture in this country ? people are more aware about festivals and want to be a part of them. You?ve seen how consistency and commitment has made the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak such a success. We plan to start something on an annual basis with the Penang Island Jazz Festival, and there is a fabulous ?people? vibe in Penang to make it worth the trip,? said Paul Augustin, festival director and founder of Capricorn Connection, the organisers of the event.
?If we get the same word of mouth buzz, you?re looking at a great, fun festival ahead,? he added.
Australia?s Idea of North is one of the biggest draws at the festival.
The eclectic line up of the inaugural jazz festival include:
Malaysia?s leading ethnic percussive fusion performing group combines and integrates the various rhythms, drums, percussions and melodies of the East and West effectively. Since its formation in 1988, the group has released an album, Colours of Rhythm and been invited to perform in a number of festivals including the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak and the Sunrise Jazz Festival.
One of the main attractions of the festival, this World Fusion Jazz outfit formed just one year ago, and comprises a South Korea-Singapore-Malaysia combo with Lee Jeong Sik (saxophone), Farid Ali (guitar and gambus), Andy Peterson (bass) and Mohd Noor (drums and percussions). Since the band?s inaugural performance at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, Asian Spirits has begun to create a buzz in the international arena, having appeared at the PORI Jazz Festival in Finland last July and the inaugural Jarasum International Jazz Festival in South Korea last month.
Double Take
Talented Sabahan duo Roger Wang (guitarist) and Mia Palencia?s (vocals) delivery of unique jazz-styled arrangements in their own simple and effective way has enthralled local audiences as well as gained fans from Singapore and Brunei. Debut album release One Voice, Six Strings, Twelve Moods was indeed a breath of fresh air in a stagnant jazz recording arena in this country.
The Idea of North
One of the biggest draws of this festival it would seem. Coming back to Malaysia after appearing at the Philips International Jazz Festival in Kuala Lumpur last year, Australia?s only fully professional vocal quartet is a rising force to reckon with, they have reinvented a cappella and taken it to new heights. Eight years in the fray and Naomi Crellin (soprano), Nick Begbie (tenor), Trish Delaney-Brown (alto) and Andrew Piper (bass) already have four highly acclaimed album releases to their credit.
Juwita Suwito
Her debut album, Brand New World, has brought Suwito into the mainstream and she?s another fast rising artiste. The vocal coach for pop competition Malaysian Idol is in her own element with her vocal versatility.
Jazzo-Crats
This combo is one of the longest surviving jazz outfits from Penang, founded sometime in the 1970s. Playing a wide range of styles from smooth jazz to blues to Latin jazz and swing, founders Jack Mohamed (bass) and William Scully (saxophone) are joined by Franco (drums) and Leonard (keyboards).
Jeep Jazz Trio
Formed in 1998, Penang-based music educators by day and jazz musicians by night; Razif (Jeep) Mohd (piano), Jasmi Budin (drums) and Zaki Ani (bass) have played the Philips International Jazz Festival, as well as the Sunrise Jazz Festival. A debut album Midnite Stretch in 2001 features original instrumentals pieces composed by Jeep.
Tonal Alchemy
Another Penang-based jazz outfit that started off as the Wilson Jazz Trio in 1996. Led by its founder Wilson Quah, and now comprising Franco (on drums), Chong Chee (bass) and Ruby Rozell(vocals), theirs is a jazz journey spiriting through the swing-era to hard bop, cool jazz era and Dixieland.
Steve Thornton LPJ Group
The other massive draw is one dear to the hearts of jazz fans in Malaysia. One of the best percussionists in the world today, Malaysian-based Thornton has been hanging around jazz names for years and has appeared with legends in the music scene such as Harry Belafonte (oh, yes), Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Ayers, Grover Washington Jr, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Sadao Watanabe, Tania Maria and David Sanborn.
YAA Quartet featuring
Atsuko Kawahara
From Japan comes the Yokohama Association of Artists, comprising Yuko Shirota (piano), Yasushi Ishii (bass), Kenji Matsuura (drums), Masatoshi Tominaga (saxophone) and featuring Atsuko Kawahara on vocals.
Shelley Leong & Band
Shelley Leong is no stranger to the homegrown folk-pop scene with her debut album Storyteller. But as much as she is an evocative acoustic-based artiste, the personable Leong has also proven her liking for jazz and bossa nova flourishes. This versatile singer, in her jazz mode, is bound to charm the festival crowd.
The Penang Island Jazz Festival is scheduled for Dec 4 and 5 at the Bayview Beach Resort Garden, Batu Ferringhi, Penang. Watch out for various workshops too. Browse www.penang jazz.com for more info and event schedules. Tickets at RM33 per day available at all Axcess ticket outlets now. For bookings, call 03-7711 5000, or browse www.axcess.com.my.
SO THE homegrown jazz scene rises and ebbs. In the absence of a Philips International Jazz Festival this year, it?s up to the Northern set to take the bull by its horns and continue the somewhat patchy revival of the live jazz scene, although a healthy mention must go for the International Kuching Jazz Festival held in late August.
Come December, the Penang Island Jazz Festival brightens up the Batu Ferringhi beachside surrounds with some much-awaited live music atmosphere and festival buzz. The Penang Island Jazz Festival is scheduled for Dec 4 and 5 at the Bayview Beach Resort Garden, Batu Ferringhi, Penang.
?There is a growing festival-going culture in this country ? people are more aware about festivals and want to be a part of them. You?ve seen how consistency and commitment has made the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak such a success. We plan to start something on an annual basis with the Penang Island Jazz Festival, and there is a fabulous ?people? vibe in Penang to make it worth the trip,? said Paul Augustin, festival director and founder of Capricorn Connection, the organisers of the event.
?If we get the same word of mouth buzz, you?re looking at a great, fun festival ahead,? he added.
Australia?s Idea of North is one of the biggest draws at the festival.
The eclectic line up of the inaugural jazz festival include:
Malaysia?s leading ethnic percussive fusion performing group combines and integrates the various rhythms, drums, percussions and melodies of the East and West effectively. Since its formation in 1988, the group has released an album, Colours of Rhythm and been invited to perform in a number of festivals including the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak and the Sunrise Jazz Festival.
One of the main attractions of the festival, this World Fusion Jazz outfit formed just one year ago, and comprises a South Korea-Singapore-Malaysia combo with Lee Jeong Sik (saxophone), Farid Ali (guitar and gambus), Andy Peterson (bass) and Mohd Noor (drums and percussions). Since the band?s inaugural performance at the LG Arts Centre in Seoul, Asian Spirits has begun to create a buzz in the international arena, having appeared at the PORI Jazz Festival in Finland last July and the inaugural Jarasum International Jazz Festival in South Korea last month.
Double Take
Talented Sabahan duo Roger Wang (guitarist) and Mia Palencia?s (vocals) delivery of unique jazz-styled arrangements in their own simple and effective way has enthralled local audiences as well as gained fans from Singapore and Brunei. Debut album release One Voice, Six Strings, Twelve Moods was indeed a breath of fresh air in a stagnant jazz recording arena in this country.
The Idea of North
One of the biggest draws of this festival it would seem. Coming back to Malaysia after appearing at the Philips International Jazz Festival in Kuala Lumpur last year, Australia?s only fully professional vocal quartet is a rising force to reckon with, they have reinvented a cappella and taken it to new heights. Eight years in the fray and Naomi Crellin (soprano), Nick Begbie (tenor), Trish Delaney-Brown (alto) and Andrew Piper (bass) already have four highly acclaimed album releases to their credit.
Juwita Suwito
Her debut album, Brand New World, has brought Suwito into the mainstream and she?s another fast rising artiste. The vocal coach for pop competition Malaysian Idol is in her own element with her vocal versatility.
Jazzo-Crats
This combo is one of the longest surviving jazz outfits from Penang, founded sometime in the 1970s. Playing a wide range of styles from smooth jazz to blues to Latin jazz and swing, founders Jack Mohamed (bass) and William Scully (saxophone) are joined by Franco (drums) and Leonard (keyboards).
Jeep Jazz Trio
Formed in 1998, Penang-based music educators by day and jazz musicians by night; Razif (Jeep) Mohd (piano), Jasmi Budin (drums) and Zaki Ani (bass) have played the Philips International Jazz Festival, as well as the Sunrise Jazz Festival. A debut album Midnite Stretch in 2001 features original instrumentals pieces composed by Jeep.
Tonal Alchemy
Another Penang-based jazz outfit that started off as the Wilson Jazz Trio in 1996. Led by its founder Wilson Quah, and now comprising Franco (on drums), Chong Chee (bass) and Ruby Rozell(vocals), theirs is a jazz journey spiriting through the swing-era to hard bop, cool jazz era and Dixieland.
Steve Thornton LPJ Group
The other massive draw is one dear to the hearts of jazz fans in Malaysia. One of the best percussionists in the world today, Malaysian-based Thornton has been hanging around jazz names for years and has appeared with legends in the music scene such as Harry Belafonte (oh, yes), Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Ayers, Grover Washington Jr, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Sadao Watanabe, Tania Maria and David Sanborn.
YAA Quartet featuring
Atsuko Kawahara
From Japan comes the Yokohama Association of Artists, comprising Yuko Shirota (piano), Yasushi Ishii (bass), Kenji Matsuura (drums), Masatoshi Tominaga (saxophone) and featuring Atsuko Kawahara on vocals.
Shelley Leong & Band
Shelley Leong is no stranger to the homegrown folk-pop scene with her debut album Storyteller. But as much as she is an evocative acoustic-based artiste, the personable Leong has also proven her liking for jazz and bossa nova flourishes. This versatile singer, in her jazz mode, is bound to charm the festival crowd.
The Penang Island Jazz Festival is scheduled for Dec 4 and 5 at the Bayview Beach Resort Garden, Batu Ferringhi, Penang. Watch out for various workshops too. Browse www.penang jazz.com for more info and event schedules. Tickets at RM33 per day available at all Axcess ticket outlets now. For bookings, call 03-7711 5000, or browse www.axcess.com.my.
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