Friday, April 18, 2008
Multa Fidrus
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Jajan Jazz might be a relatively new music community, but since its first performance two years ago, it has gained solid ground on the music scene.
The man behind the jazz community, Yunus Arifin, said the aim of Jajan Jazz was to simply bring music to the people with no strings attached or ticket fees.
Since March 2006, Jajan Jazz has regularly taken the stage at Taman Jajan public park in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) satellite city, Tangerang, on the first Thursday of every month.
Jajan Jazz, which celebrated its second anniversary last month, not only offers a training stage for youth but also gives talented musicians the opportunity to showcase their work.
More than that, Yusuf said, the community aims to build a community of jazz lovers by introducing people to jazz.
"We will continue maintaining the community and atmosphere here ... that's what has seen Jajan Jazz survive and attract more and more viewers and local musicians as well as those from neighboring cities," Yunus told The Jakarta Post.
As the community initiator, Yunus is responsible for Jajan Jazz's survival; this is the reason he refuses to commercialize the show and build business partnerships with sponsors.
Although he is a jazz musician himself, Yusuf prefers to stay backstage, arranging and preparing everything necessary to keep the monthly performance going.
As the performance coordinator, he is responsible for the progress of the Jajan Jazz community and he makes future plans for the community's performances.
"In the first year, we struggled to build the community itself ... and in the second year, we restructured all the administrative matters concerning the performances and the rules of play," he said.
Born in 1963, Yunus, the father of a son from his marriage with Rinawati, graduated from a senior high school in Medan, North Sumatra.
He then moved to Jakarta and worked for a Mercedes Benz distributor who later sent him to Germany.
After returning from Germany, Yunus began to run various businesses and spent time building up the Jajan Jazz community.
Entering its third year, he said the Jajan Jazz community is now focusing its attention on improving performance content for future shows.
"If it all works out this year, we will host a jazz festival at Taman Jajan in our fourth year and regenerate in the fifth year," he said.
Jajan Jazz was first introduced to the public early in March 2006 in BSD, as part of a plan to provide free, spontaneous street music to the satellite city's residents.
Thursday was the day picked to stage the monthly performances because most of the musicians had commercial shows booked for the weekends and were not available to play on other days.
The musicians and stage crew are not paid for the performances; even the sound system is provided for free by community members.
Yunus first got the idea for Jajan Jazz around four years ago, when he and his neighbors -- guitarist Morgan Sigharlaki and drummers Harimurti, Robby and Tofan -- got together to talk about music in the neighborhood.
The following day, they gathered and brought their own instruments to the street and played music.
One day, a neighbor held a circumcision party for his son and invited the men to play live music in his home.
At the party, Yunus and his friends were forced to stop playing their music following complaints from another neighbor who had a sick child.
Idham Muchlis, the neighborhood unit chief, then suggested the group find the right place to perform regularly without disturbing other people in the neighborhood.
Taman Jajan, which has an open stage, proved to be the best choice. The BSD management got on board and supported the establishment of the jazz community, saying it added value to the satellite city.
"So, that's why the community was later named Jajan Jazz," he said.
Two years on, Jajan Jazz has managed to attract fans from outside of BSD, including from Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bekasi and Bandung.
The Jajan Jazz community also made an appearance at the Jakarta Jazz Festival, which was held at the Senayan Sports Stadium last year. Three groups -- Mawarnih, Pro Rejected and Bianglala Voices -- were selected to represent the Jajan Jazz community.
Keyboardist Abadi Soesman, drummer Rudi Subekti, bassist Jeffry Tahalele, percussionist Risto and singer Aska Daulika have also made the time to jam for free on the Taman Jajan stage.
Noted guitarist Ireng Maulana, veteran jazz musicians Benny Likumahuwa and Kibord Maulana, singers Berta, Irma June, Johan Untung, Billy Likumahua, Vonny Sumlang, Emil S Praja, Cendy Lutungan, Mike Embong, Benny Mustafa, Tiwi Shakuhachi, Bibus and others have also performed on the Taman Jajan stage.
"So far, we have featured 50 talented junior groups in the area, including the Jakarta Deutsche Internationale Schule, Zinnia, Santa Ursula, New Breez, Jazzi Ponic, Tiga Mawarnih, Pro Reject, Bianglala Voice, Free Flow and Yogyakarta-based Travel band," he said.
Since the community was first launched, there have been free performances from 9 p.m. to midnight on the first Thursday of every month.
"Jajan Jazz will remain free of charge for all fans, and this is the main reason why we refuse sponsorship," Yunus said.
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