THE fourth international jazz festival at Miri (May 8-9) with eight international jazz bands and groups coming from Asia-Pacific, North America, Africa and Europe, has turned out to be a huge success. The organizers are naturally happy with the performances and the splendid public response.
“Compared from the first till now, we are definitely moving upwards in terms of bands and groups that we showcase. We feel the same for spectators in terms of the numbers and foreigners,” Letitia Samuel, Tourism Officer (Corporate Affairs), Sarawak Tourism Board, said shortly after the two-day show.
“There are more from Singapore and Brunei this year and a few from Peninsular Malaysia. We shall of course continue with the festival and we promote the event early, fixing the date of the next festival over a year ahead,” she adds.
Giving an account of the four-year experience of MIJF, she admits the inaugural year was tough. They had to source for the jazz bands. For the fourth round, the organizers are flooded with requests to be included as one of the eight performing bands.
The artistic director (Randy Raine Reush) was receiving from ten to 20 email messages a day from agents and musical groups keen to perform here. The chief criterion of selection is of course that it has to be jazz music. Then the bands selected should represent a balance in genre – classic, smooth, fusion and contemporary.
And, a special effort is made to include at least one Malaysian jazz band, this year the Double Take and the 2008 MIJF had the Borneo Jazz Quartet from Sarawak.
“We are on the lookout for young and upcoming local talents so that they
Double Take - Roger and Mia.
can have a feel to play among international groups,” Letitia says.
Indeed, Malaysia’s own duet, the Double Take, put up a great show on the opening night. Roger Wang, with his finger-style guitar wizardry, was in such harmony with the sultry and rich voice of Mia Palencia that they captivated the audience right from the opening number “And I Love Her” one of the Beatles’ old time favourites.
The music lovers who thronged The Pavilion and the beach front surroundings of Parkcity Everly Hotel were further thrilled by such renditions as, Nat King Cole’s“Mona Lisa”, Yeah Yeah, Black Coffee and as expected, a Malaysian song Bila Larut Malam. Aside from the evergreen oldies like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, there were also more contemporary pieces like “Billie Jean”.
Roger has explained to me that Double Take wanted to have a good balance in the song list. “It was very important to have enough variety and dynamic, since we had to do an hour set and there are just the two of us. We had bossa, ballads, Jazz standard, a Malaysian song and all the way to something really upbeat and unexpected, like Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror”.
In the end, both are delighted with the experience. “The performance at Miri Jazz was definitely one of our best. It felt really good on stage. Good sound. Good vibes, great crowd,” Roger happily proclaims.
He acknowledges the benefit of performing alongside other international groups, saying, “It gives us confidence knowing we can share the same stage and it exposes us to an international audience too”.
Their hour-long performance at the MIJF09 was truly a testimony of their successful and lasting partnership, showcasing a brand of jazz bond so unique and outstanding.
Mia is impressed by the presence of youngsters in the audience during the first night when the Double Take performed. “Jazz is more confined to the jazz club scene. So when we move out to a festival format, the families came with the young ones. This is an effective way to reach out to the young,” she tells me. She is more familiar with the jazz club scene like the Flo Lounge at the Equatorial in KL.
The following night, I too spotted many parents bringing along young children, all staying right to the end, way past midnight, evidently enjoying the show and loudly cheering the jazz bands and groups. A few young lads, separate from their guardians, managed to even perch by the railings right in front of the performing dais, getting a ringside view of the entertainers.
These two natives of Sabah have performed throughout Malaysia and Singapore. Whilst Roger resides in Kota Kinabalu, Mia has lived in what she calls the “big city” (Kuala Lumpur) for the past eight years. From Miri, they move on to hometown City of Kota Kinabalu for a performance at the 3rd KK Jazz Festival at the Sutera Habour Resort, June 19-20.
Roger’s view of performing to a “home crowd”? “Every festival has its own personality. The KK Jazz Festival, even though younger and smaller than other jazz festivals in Malaysia, has its own charm too.”
Where would the Double Take move to from here? Mia is likely to expand the horizon by moving Down Under next year, to gain new experience and give her musical, theatrical and other talents a further push.
Roger has this outlook: “We are reaching the 10th year since the release of our first album. We have only released one other album together since and that was a Christmas album. Hopefully, we will get the chance to go in the studio to record something new.”
“I believe Mia and I will continue to perform and make music as Double Take as well as individually as solo artistes. I like to think that we will be better musicians and continue to push our musical boundaries.”
Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) said Miri has been picked to showcase jazz because Kuching, the state capital, already has the Rainforest World Music Festival (July 10-12) and there is the Borneo Cultural Festival in Sibu organized by the City Council there.
“This is a tourism driven event. Our aim is to get people to come here, musicians with their family and friends, foreign tourists and local music lovers from Miri, Brunei, Kota Kinabalu and other part of the northern region (of Borneo) and from Peninsular Malaysia. We also have a lot of expatriates working and living here and in Brunei,” says Letitia.
Rumba Calzada from Canada
The Sarawak Tourism Board has maintained the tradition of inviting a band from the previous year to make a return appearance. This year, the favour falls on the Vancouver-based band, the Rumba Calzada from Canada. It was voted as the crowd’s favourite at last year’s MIJF. This award-winning Canadian band proved once again to the crowd at Miri its popular demand and crowd appeal.
Making their Asian debut at the MIJF is the Dites34 from France that have shared the stage with some of the world’s leading artists on their tours of Europe and Mexico. They present a unique blend of traditional French folk music, contemporary jazz and pure energy.
Another group that made a strong impression with the Miri crowd was the one led by Jeff Maluleke, an award winning guitarist, singer and songwriter from South Africa.
Lead performer with the Steps In Time from Japan is John Kaizan Neptune who has gained international repute as an innovator on the Japanese bamboo flute, known asshakuhachi. Two of its musicians are Malaysians – percussionist Lewis Pragasam and bassist Andy Peterson.
Also at the Miri festival was the Bombay Baja Brass Band from the United Kingdom, one of Europe’s leading Indian brass bands that has the ability to create its unique style by combining popular Indian melodies with elements of jazz.
The six piece jazz funk powerhouse Alamode from Australia took the final spot on the first night, giving the audience a good taste of the Sydney jazz scene and their original funky tunes.
The Thomson Big Band from Singapore was the last of the eight bands to play at the MIJF, packing the entire stage with 17 players drawn from many nations, including Thailand.
All in all, the singers, musicians, organizers, sponsors, the big corps of music writers, and even the sound technicians who did a splendid job had a roaring time, on and off stage.
Friendly competition went way beyond the stage at The Pavilion! The French challenged the Australians to a soccer match at the beach and rather misled by World Cup records, almost all placed their bets on the former to emerge as champion. But as it turns out, the Australian side trounced France 3-1. Great fun all round.
Next Miri International Jazz Festival:
May 14-15 (Friday-Saturday), 2010.
Links
July 8th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
When will be the next KK Jazz Festival?