Under a jazz spell
The recent Penang Island Jazz Festival kept true to its adventurous music direction.
It’s not often that a Grammynominated artiste visits Penang and I was relieved to plonk myself on the grass at the Bayview Beach Resort Gardens, Batu Ferringhi in time to watch American singer-songwriter seth Glier launch into an a capella number on slavery to materialism at the Penang Island Jazz Festival on Dec 6.
Holding court with just a lone voice, Glier’s early set on the opening day of this year’s festival brought to mind multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and beat-boxer Butterscotch’s performance at the same festival two years ago, where she entranced the audience with her virtuoso talent.
If anything, Glier’s unconventional music was a bold choice to suit the festival’s programming.
the Penang Island Jazz Festival (PIJF) may not be a mainstream name, but its loyal audience of 11 years has seen a parade of worldclass talents make music and magic on its stage.
Under festival director Paul Augustin’s stewardship, the programming of the festival has matured, and its audience is keen to try out new sounds. so much so that when CNIRBs took the stage, it didn’t seem odd that a German jazz band would be lush with African and Latin rhythms, neither was it odd that a largely Malaysian audience greeted it enthusiastically with claps and cheers.
this year’s PIJF definitely had a strong rhythmic pulse in its twoday main stage programming (Dec 6-7) at the outdoor Bayview Beach Resort Gardens.
By the time the Canadian Laila Biali trioarrived on the scene, the crowd was in the mood to be charmed, and charm them she did. With a smoky, seductive voice that resonated in the lows and pierced in the highs, Biali did an array of covers ranging from her fellow countrymen Feist and Ron sexsmith, to Coldplay and David Bowie. Reality Tv may have exhausted our patience for the term “make it your own” but in Biali’s case, it was every bit deserved, with her ethnic-tinged rendition of Nature Boy remaining a highlight of the night.
touted as an improvisational band with a focus on music from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the scandinavian-African group Monoswezi arrived next with high expectations from the crowd. Perhaps the thought of African music conjured up visions of rousing beats and energetic melodies, but we were treated to a mellow performance that shed a different light on music from that continent. Monoswezi, with its singer Hope Masike, gave new meaning to tradition, charm and subtle witchery.
PIJF is the sort of fest to raise temperatures too. the Dutch swing College Band had no such inhibitions, hitting the crowd head on with its vigorous version of classic swing and blues. It makes one wonder if the Netherlands is Augustin’s destination of choice for crowd-pleasing swing bands in snazzy suits, because just like last year’s Jazz Connection, the Dutch swing College Band knew how to entertain.
By its second song, a dance party had formed by the side of the stage with the numbers growing each minute. Even the rain didn’t make a dent in the crowd’s enjoyment as they danced their way to the front of the stage till the band took its bow.
this edition of PIJF also had a heavyweight headlining act in the Richard Bona Group. Main man Bona, a bass guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer and former member of the Pat Metheny band, was just the right pick to give this year’s PIJF a profile lift in
the international jazz circles.
Like the Pied Piper, Bona, 47, just motioned his hand forward and the audience rose and surged to the front like they were caught in a spell. You knew a real rock star was in the house when the festival director took over from the MC Clair Rozells to personally introduce the Cameroonian as a “bass ninja”. The party started in earnest from then on.
With a magnetic stage presence and a sense of humour, the audience didn’t need to be familiar with Bona’s repertoire to lap up the electrifying performance served up by the Richard Bona Group, resulting in two encores that still had the crowd wanting more.
It’s a shame to think that this longest-standing jazz festival in Malaysia doesn’t attract more support (funding) to take it to the next level, but PIJF has quietly and unassumingly built an incredibly strong network amongst the international jazz festival community.
It has also opened doors for local acts like the Aseana Percussion Unit, Roger Wang, Liyana Fizi and many others to perform in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, while attracting a steady stream of worldwide applications to perform at the festival each year.
The PIJF’s horn deserves tooting and it’s with the hope that you will hear the clarion call and respond, for as I sat on a plane leaving the island, I kicked myself for missing the second night of the festival.
But I felt much sorrier for those who have never experienced the enchanting charm of this lil’ jazz festival that could.