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Malacca Strait JAZZ – GREEN Festival
The way of Riau communicates with the world, continues…
The second jazz festival would be held in Pekanbaru, Riau.
According to Yusmar Yusuf, a cultural observer who is being
the director, this will set the pace for Malayan to have a
dialogue with wider world communities under the jazz flag.
“As a central of Malayan culture in South East Asia,
Riau will be set to be home-base for jazz representative in
the west of Indonesia,” said Yusmar. There is no room
for doubt if jazz is a free form of music and it is regarded
as equal as Malayan ethnic music nowadays. He convinced himself
that jazz is highly acknowledged as the queen of music today.
Therefore, we regard it as an appropriate medium in having
dialogue with global communities. “Whether like or dislike,
we must know jazz. It is now being a medium of dialogue,”
cleared Yusmar, optimistically.
According to Governor of Riau, HM Rusli Zainal, as stated
in latest catalog, by jazz Riau would like to greet globalization,
because jazz is an alternate way to do it. In 2007, Malacca
Strait JAZZ entitled Golden of Riau, in celebrating The Golden
Anniversary of Province Riau. This year, we entitled it Green-Festival
whereas this phrase has meaning as to “make Indonesian
people’s heart green”. The word “green”
implicitly expresses a will as to take care of the natural
resources along with the civilization whom live on it.
This “green” festival would like to declare to
the world that together we bear an awesome responsibility
to take care the balance of the ecology which had been saved
in memory of Flower Generation. This inheritance, where all
creatures can live safely, should be keep cool, otherwise
becomes hotter. Men must not dominate. In Zen Buddhism principle,
the ecology consists of billion of “bad virus”
and “good virus”. When we exploit the land, sea,
mountain, the ecology would lose its balance. “Bad virus”
left, “good virus” stayed. “Good virus”
is no longer being good, otherwise it substitutes for “bad
virus”, also becomes a destroyer.
Thus, Malacca Strait Jazz (MSJ) put the term “green”
ahead. It shouts loud.
Jazz, as regarded as the crown of global music today, is
set for enlargement of Malayan culture and civilization. On
the other side, in Europe, the term “green” plus
“saving the planet of the Earth” jargon, becomes
popular in political and cultural movement. It is a good sign
for us that indicate people have become more aware of their
environment. For this, we may put Gandhi’s quotation,
“all the entire entity lying on this Earth, are more
enough to provide things to every human’s needs, except
to satisfy the human’s greediness.”
In the implementation ahead, MSJ-GF would provide a place
for young talented comers, who are still “green”,
health, fresh, potential, and enthusiastic. But you might
notice that they can play as well as senior jazz musicians!
Furthermore, relating to “green” theme, this
festival has a will to present an extraordinary show, not
only talk about music but also try to relate it with other
kind of arts. We might enjoy the aesthetic of the visualization
around the stages, so we must set on both our hearing and
seeing, and we are sure that would be recorded in every audience’s
minds.
The process of making this set of stage also involved an
experienced cinematographer. He will make some kind of video
art or cinematography which will support the aesthetic of
the show. There will be a shot of the beauty of nature and
the living creatures in it. Who is he and what does his work
exactly look like? You might like to wait..
In the same manner as latest festival, this second event
of MSJ-GF is dedicated to all people in Pekanbaru and its
environs, and it aims to attract any jazz listeners from anywhere,
especially people from around venue, to see the show.
These are some popular artists or musicians who are willing
to give support fully in this festival; simakDialog, Dewa
Budjana and friends, Zarro, Donny Suhendra Trio, Canzo, Sherly’O,
Andien, Hendri Lamiri, Rieka Roslan & Troubadors, little-young
pianist from Bandung, Zefanya H with his/her group, the Uncles.
There will also be Koko Harsoe and his/her group from Bali,
Djogdja Mood Jazz from Jogja, Jon Gazali from Padang and many
more. Some foreign musicians who will get supported by Cultural
Attaché or Cultural Institute from their own Ambassador
in Indonesia will also take a part in the show. As planned
before, we will invite Tommee with his cross-culture group,
a musician born in Indonesia but raised in Australia for twenty-four
years, who often had tour around Europe and Asia.
That is all we can tell about Malacca Strait Jazz, relating
its theme, Green Festival. One thing for sure, that the existence
of this festival in the land of Sumatera would bring such
a motivation to the development of jazz in Indonesia. Salute
for Riau Jazz Turbulence Foundation who has become the initiator
and all at once as an organizer of this festival, with fully
support by Province Riau’s Government.*****
dionmomongan for MSJ-GF 2008,-
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