Braga Jazz Walk #05 : The Report

Wide variety of Jazz (Acoustic, ‘Complicated Pop with Jazzy vibes’ plus Blues Rock), three bands, plenty of player became the highlight of the Braga Jazz Walk #05. Plenty of smiles while serving good quality of music and lots of cheers were found inside the venue for three straight hours.

For the very first time the Braga Jazz Walk proudly presented two performers from other cities: Jakarta and Depok. We are happy with it because we do want this event to reach bands or musicians outside Bandung. If they think this event can be good for their career, becoming a reliable spot to have fun and meet the music fans in Bandung, then we’d be more than happy to welcome them. On the other hand we are working hard to make this event stand tall as an active community gathering and a familiar place to visit by anyone who need a free but good quality jazz-based event. Together with the venue Braga City Walk and KPH Music plus many musicians who have been supporting us, we believe it can happen.

The first session was supposed to be the band with funny name, Wedding Mafia. But alas, they couldn’t make it. The KPH Music where Wedding Mafia based on sent a cool acoustic representative in trio format by the name of E-kustik. Consists of Hannamasa (vocal), Egi Khatulistiwa (guitar) and Ibnu Ninoy (saxophone), E-kustik started with Rihanna’s hit “Umbrella” and then went a couple of decades back with Toto’s “Georgy Porgy”. They slowed down a bit with Ariana Grande song, “Almost Is Never Enough” but then went funky again with “Come Together”.

Just simple but beautiful renditions flew out from the stage to the audience. Light soulful jazz would surely entertain wide segment of audience at anytime. We have invited Wedding Mafia twice but they failed to fulfill, but what’s good is that they sent the replacements which were all cool. Speaking of acoustic trio, the combination of acoustic guitar, saxophone and vocal like this added more colors to our stage. Unusual but works very well. In the hands of three capable players it sounds even better.

Next was a rising star from Jakarta. We believe he is the next Tulus, based on the strong character, ability and all the gifts he got from Above. He is a handsome, smiley young man named Yesaya Pangeran Muda Siagian. Though he’s still young, actually he has achieved no less than 200 achievements throughout his career. The prestigious Java Jazz Festival and JakJazz are just a few of the event that he’s in. He has performed in Hong Kong and Macau and crowned as the Ambassador of Jakarta Musical Production Ministry. Speaking of competition, he won the Sherina Star Kids Competition in 2000, McDonalds Kids Awards in 2002, Heartline Gospel Singing Contest (2006), the winner of talent search show produced by Trans TV “Suara Indonesia” and runner up of Bintang Radio Festival in Jakarta, 2005. This year he reached the Top 20 in Indonesian Idol 2014. Not enough? Well, he starred the musical series “Peri Cinta dan Anak Jalanan” as the leading role as a part of the 9th Anniversary of SCTV. His voice was heard in some jingles for tvs and radios such as Honda, Spacy, Madurasa and Aneka Tambang. Recordings? Check. He has released a couple of albums, particularly gospel. Two gospel albums in 2009, one Batak and one Christmas album “Colours of Christmas” in 2011 listed in his portfolio. What a shining resume, amazingly achieved before he even reaches 30 years of age.

With those illustrious backgrounds in many styles he’s been at, how does Pangeran describe his music? “I like to call it “Complicated Pop”, he says. Complicated? “Yes, because I like everything. I like Soimah (Soimah Pancawati, a presenter, singer, sinden, comedian) but also, all the way to Amy Winehouse.” he giggles. From Soimah to Amy, the range is very wide. That’s where the word ‘complicated’ came from. Anyway, you don’t have to feel complicated too with his music, because his music actually is made easy to love by everyone. No complexity, no puzzling melodies,

We’re proud to have him performed full team with an all-star cast, including Klency Lyman Lembono (keyboard), Reinhard Woran (bass), Bernardus Ajutor Moa (guitar), Martin Julio Sutanto (drums), Mario Ruben (saxophone) plus Gina Dewi and Tito (backing vocals). This should be considered a dream team. Reinhard is the bassist of Cakra Khan, Bernardus is the music director of Monita Tahalea an Gaby Idol and Gina is the runner up of Star Voices seasion 1. Great lineup to back a very gifted talent, the result was fun-tastic.

Like a magnet he dragged mall-goers to him, joining the medias and attending fans who already sat and stood around the stage. Pangeran started with a hit of Reza, “Satu yang Tak Bisa Lepas” that brought him round of applause. Interestingly he included “Bengawan Solo” in his repertoires. For your information, he said that this song will be included in his debut solo album, projected to launch next year. Dewi Sandra’s song “I Love You” in a new jazz outfit. “Old McDonald” showed how perfect he could nail the notes and pronouncing the lyrics in super fast speed. “La La (Means I Love You)” which was already sang by many famous names like Delfonics, Jackson 5, Swing Out Sister, The Manhattan Transfer and Prince now appeared seductively romantic. Then came the last song titled “Daraku”. No doubt at all, this pop groovy song with rich melodies would do very well once being released and in our opinion has the force to place him as one of the front runners in our music industry.

Pangeran is an all-round singer who can sing anything very good. Either it’s soprano singing (in Indonesia called seriosa), the Batak tribe, Pop, RnB, Soul and of course Jazz. Speaking of Jazz, Pangeran showed how jazzy he actually is at the Braga Jazz Walk for more than half an hour. Other than his wide vocal range and really nice tone, he’s got the look, he has magnetic charisma, plus he’s supported by great, great line of musicians. Simply put, he has everything needed to succeed. Mark our words, 2015 is going to be a fruitful year for him. God willing.

A jam session was served while waiting for the next band to come. We had to move it in order to keep the event on while the band did their best to reach the venue all the way from Jakarta. The session was taken by Joo Yang (drummer), Billy and Erick (vocals), Frank Navayo (guitar) and Reinhard Woran (bass). They did only one song, “Just the Two of Us”, but it was done nicely as if they were in one band.

At first we invited Bandung’s famous trio “The Trias”. But due to their tight schedule, we have to move the schedule to another edition. What The Trias plays is something called “Happy Music” where genre is not an issue anymore. We wanted to keep the ‘happy music’ concept, so we offered the empty slot to a Blues trio from Jakarta that we know very well, My Way Band. We’ve been wanting to have them in our event for almost a year, but it was just difficult to find the right time since they work in Jakarta. Luckily this time they could make it, still willing to come and perform in Bandung in working days. We have been trying to bring them in because we know they are good. Wawan (guitar/vocal), Coki (bass/vocal) and Alu (drums) are still the core. According to Wawan, they now have another guitarist, but he couldn’t come.

My Way Band started with IWan Fals’ song “Pesawat Tempurku” and then dipped us all in strong blues-presso with their original composition, “Kopi Hitam”. A song from their second mini album “Langkah Kita” offered a strong indie taste and then they went rocking with “Tak Gendong Kemana-Mana”, a masterpiece of the late Mbah Surip. The intensity rose when they played “Rame-Rame”. Why? Because they were so playful in this one. No less than 5 genres were used in this song, such as Swingin’ Jazz, Hard Rock, Blues, Reggae and, surprise-surprise, Dangdut. Certainly a unique version presented tight. For the last song, they gave a cover of a touring member of Toto, Tony Spinner. Since the clock already went past ten, the 5th Braga Jazz Walk also reached the end.

My Way Band presented a type of music that can be enjoyed by variety of music lovers by being rooted in the mother of all modern musics. They have the confidence, their Blues playing is tasty, and they are cheerful in executing their music. Their original songs would work well in the market since they have the type of music that can be enjoyed by variety of music lovers. We are happy to finally able to bring them into the Braga Jazz Walk, and hopefully they will be able to come again in the near future.

A mega star soon to be, a blues band with a twist and one acoustic trio replacing the ‘mafiosos’ from Bandung, wide variety of styles. Yes, that’s what we want! There are still many bands to invite, there are many to be updated. Let’s say if the cooperation between us, Braga City Walk and KPH Music still remain strong and carried on, there would be many things we could achieve. The jazz regeneration and development, the tight bond between players supporting one another and of course, making this event more solid and reliable as a jazz destination in Bandung. With your support, we know we can do that.

Many thanks for the participating bands/musicians both in showcase and open jam, the soundman, the partners and the loud crowds. Let’s keep this event alive and kicking. See you in two weeks.

Watch Braga Jazz Walk 5 Highlight on Youtube