Braga Jazz Walk: Tribute to Guntur Satria: The Report

None of us know how much time we have on earth. Whoever we are, our final moment will surely come. Yet we’re always shocked when we heard the news of someone’s passing. We grieve when we lose someone close and dear to us, we’re sad when those we loved aren’t here with us anymore. In the afternoon of May 28, 2015, we got saddened and shocked by a phone call, telling us that a very talented young man with a big, beautiful heart named Guntur satria passed away at the age of just 21 years old. No sign of serious illness, no sign of health problems, suddenly he’s not here among us anymore. We didn’t want him to go, his success was just around the corner, and for a very nice man that he was, we still need his presence. But God actually got another plan for him. He’s not with us anymore, but we want to remember him and his music. We want to keep it alive in our heart. And we want to pay our best respect to him, through the media that he really loved, music. Together with his family and friends (especially Srikandi Herbatari, Ovilya Shara, Farhan Faikar, Raka Rizkyandi and Asti Nurjanah who were intensively connected with us during the preparation), we made this Tribute to Guntur Satria, a special edition of our regular Braga Jazz Walk, July edition.

It was unfortunate to see him passed too soon. He was on his way to achieve his dreams with an EP titled “Pergi Keluar”. Just a couple of days before his passing, he did a photo session to support his launching. Other than this debut EP, he’s made some materials with his GFRtrio and a couple of other projects. With all these and the support he got from medias and friends, he could actually gain good momentum to rise. But sadly God called and decided to bring him back home before all of these happened. “It was difficult for us to make songs, it could take days without any promising result, but Guntur could just do one or even two in just a day.” said Farhan Faikar, his buddy and band mate in GFRtrio. Guntur was indeed a very talented young man. He was a natural born bluesman, but he played folkish pop and jazz just as good. He played guitar and sang, that way he was able to perform as a one man band. He offered something fresh to our music scene and no doubt he would be doing great had he still alive. He could be famous, but he once told us that he wasn’t looking for fame. “All I want is for people to enjoy and be entertained with my music.” he said. With the release of this EP, at least his wish came true. We could listen to his music and let him entertain us, eventhough he’s not around anymore. One thing’s true, he’s loved by many. In relatively short time this event could be created by his friends since they got many positive response from fellow musicians. As for us, we feel happy to be able to dedicate one edition of Braga Jazz Walk to honour him.

Unlike before, this tribute started earlier at 5:00 pm with a brief story about Guntur Satria, followed by a little ceremonial and performance to Guntur’s mother, sister, brother and family from his close friends. Then the event reached the break for praying and Iftar (break-fasting). There was slide photo and video of Guntur ran throughout the break. It was so touching, many cried during the video.

The live performance sessions began, starting with The Alibi. This is one of the last bands that he was in. The Alibi embraces blues up high, and that’s no surprise since the personnels have their steady existance in Bandung Blues Society.

For tonight they performed under The Alibi and Friends. On stage were Ijay Irawan (guitar), Setiadi Almas (bass) and Sandy Po (drums).They started with Srikandi of Mahesvara on vocal, singing “Englishman In New York”. Dera and Panca of Ders Music replaced Srikandi for Slank’s “Terlalu Manis”. For the last song they sang Ed Sheeran’s big hit, “Thinking Out Loud.” Yaman and Tantri first, but then all the vocalists joined on stage. This song is actually the last song Guntur covered, an important song for him and for us in remembering him.

All songs related to their memory with Guntur. Therefore it was an emotional session. What’s even sadder is that the band told us that this would be the final show for them as The Alibi. A good band like this, we hope they think it over. What a cool start with The Alibi.

The second show was Afterisya. This is the band that Guntur played with many times. Afterisya is considered as unique since the band has many guitarists inside. Other than Guntur’s former manager Tama Randy (guitar), there are Cakil Tachibana, Bang Achiiws and Andre Agris (also on guitar), Maizar Hafiz Rachman (bass) and Junii (drums). What they served was a sentimental acoustic session where guitar shows its supremacy.

Afterisya rolled with their own song, “Harapan” before singing Guntur’s song from the EP, “Theater 5″. Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth “See You Again” as one of the last songs Guntur covered became the last song. The acoustic approach made it even more touching. A narrative reading about Guntur Satria and a video clip followed right after.

Then came the time to hear what Guntur’s family wanted to say.. His mother, Mrs.Yuyun Yuliantini told us her memory of how good Guntur was a son. Along with Guntur’s friends, we gave her photos of Guntur. Representing the Braga Jazz Walk, we gave a photo when Guntur performed for us, and his friends gave the last photo session Guntur did, two weeks before he passed away.

Things got hotter with the next performance. A pack of blues brothers from Bandung Blues Society got their turn to give respect. Guntur was active inside this blues community and clearly he got many friends, as shown by the number of Bandung Blues Society members came tonight. This 7 year-old blues community sent some of his best troops including Edo (vocal, lead guitar), Kibul (guitar), Ijay irawan (bass), Allan (drums), Ari (harmonica) and Kang Woko (vocal, harmonica). A spontaneous blues jam was directly served on stage from the first minute. “All songs we play tonight were Guntur’s favorite during the jam”, said Edo. Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”, “Red House” and BB King’s “The Thrill is Gone”. What a show it was, blues fire was burning, heating up everyone coming to the event.

Then, a session that we would remember for a long time. The band was GFRtrio, GFR stands for Guntur, Farhan and Raka, a band that played attractive naughty blues. Guntur’s role was replaced by Rayhan Murtaza, the guitarist of N.E.A.T, plus a violinist Pangestu Hning Bhawana. Erick Gabe was on vocal for two songs: “I Feel Good” and “Englishman in New York”. The jamming mood was felt so strong.

Then came a surprise: Guntur Satria himself was involved in this! How could that be possible? Well, by using the technology, Farhan brought his voice and guitar playing back alive on stage, as if he was there playing with the rest of the team. Suddenly we remember the magic moment created whenever he stood tall on stage. The song called “All You Need is Love”, a song that was projected to be the single carrier for GFRtrio album. Guntur’s sister Anggie Ranggani sang “Kala Rindu” as the last song.

Since Rayhan did really well in replacing Guntur for the band, we do hope this band to keep going. The intense fire is still burning from them, and it does sound cool. Let’s hope so. We know this band when Guntur was still in it, so this one felt emotional for us. Thank you guys for bringing back the memory.

We got a surprise visit from Risa Sarasvati, a singer/writer/ghosthunter, and of course, a cousin of Guntur. Knowing that she is busy with tons of activities, it was a fortune that she could spend time with us at the Braga Jazz Walk special edition. Accompanied by his pianist Kevin, Sarasvati sang “Perjalanan” and then “Lembaran Baru” together with Guntur’s siblings. The haunting “Story Of Peter” became one beautiful ending for Sarasvati’s special performance. A unique talent with unique gift she really is, we wish her the best in every fields that she’s in.

The last show was a highly successful artist with 66K active followers in twitter, Fiersa Besari. As a musician he has released 3 successful albums, but that’s not all since he also owns a clothing company, active photographer, owner of a recording studio and a writer. Guntur worked with him intensively during the making of the EP, that fact makes Fiersa a very important person in the last days of Guntur. Fiersa appeared with his band, playing 3 songs in acoustic mode.

Unbelievable amount of people gathered in front of the stage, ready for an intimate session. “Can’t Take My Eyes Of You” was the opening, soon followed by Guntur Satria’s “lembaran Baru” in a very groovy, cheerful version. “Lembayung” took the audience to romantic mood What a coincidence that the event actually ended exactly at 10:00 pm. As much as we wanted to let some more musicians participated in, the event has to end due to the time limit.

So many people came to send respect and remember the beautiful memory of Guntur. It shows how much Guntur inspired us on many things. He’s very talented, yet he’s humble, friendly and has a big heart. His perspective of life was simple, he knew his calling and willing to work extra miles to do it. And certainly, it shows how many people love him. We still miss him and will always miss him. Words are never adequate in moments like these. We will say though, that our hearts go out to the you, and we will always remember the joyous memories that we are privileged to have in knowing you as a wonderful person. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family. We send prayers to him, may his soul find rest in perfect peace. You’re gone but will never, ever forgotten, your spirit will always be alive inside us. Keep bluesin’ in heaven, we love you.

Watch the highlight of BRAGA JAZZ WALK : TRIBUTE TO GUNTUR SATRIA