Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

For me, it was case of hang the expense. I've enthused, rhapsodised even, about Pat Metheny before in this blog and, hey, he was coming to town for second time to perform at the Java Jazz Festival.

He'd last been here on October 22nd 1995 when he came with his group as part of the We Live Here tour. Only three expats were at his gig in the Tennis Stadium at Senayan that evening, and two of us, along with 'Er Indoors, who'd also been at the previous gig, and Our Kid, went to the vast concrete expanse of the Kemayoran Fairground on Saturday evening.

The 'fair' in that name refers to commercialism rather than swings and roundabouts, and that all started at the security gates where bags were searched for illicit food and drinks which were confiscated – except mine weren't, thankfully. In order to eat, punters were expected to purchase a Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) plastic card for a non-redeemable Rp.20,000 (c.$2.50). This could be topped up for various amounts ending in four zeros and then used to pay for a range of fast foods, mainly hot dogs and kebabs, and Starbucks sludges. To be fair, cash could be used to buy Tebs, a new refreshing drink of tea and soda, and, thankfully, cans of Carlsberg.

My companions who had their handphones switched on began to receive SMS'd adverts from the various vendors, including Google which is currently in breach of EU privacy laws with its invasive trawling of our online activities. We were there for the music and chat, not as a valuable resource of data ripe for commercial exploitation. Mind you, judging by the number of young folk eager to be photographed in front of a well-let stage with a backdrop of an ad for Djarum Super Mild kretek cigarettes, some were oblivious to their exposure as virtual celebrities, mere cogs in a machine which will dispose of them as casually as they drop litter.

Still, we weren't there to be seen but to listen. With a packed and synchronised schedule spread over 17 stages and halls, it was a matter of careful selection. I'd have liked to seen simakDialog again, especially as a new album will be released internationally by MoonJune Records later this year. Unfortunately Riza Arshad, the leader on keyboards who was also at the previous Metheny gig, was performing at the same time as Metheny who I just had to see again – and not just because we'd paid extra to get into his performance.

So we started with Bobby McFerrin, perhaps most famous for his hit Don't Worry, Be Happy. I know of him as a totally unique vocal improviser, with a four-octave range, circular breath control and an ability to engage with his audience whether as a solo performer or vocalising with the likes of jazz piano maestro Chick Corea, among many others. Advance publicity suggested that he would 'Indonesianise' his music, and so it proved.

But first, as the lights dimmed, a round of applause sounded out from the audience seated in front of the stage Why anyone thinks that a recorded message, containing public service announcements about where the emergency exits, security and medical staff can be found, needs appreciative feedback is beyond me.

Then he entered, sat down on a seat front centre stage, took a microphone in his right hand, began gently beating his chest with the left, and started a lengthy solo improvisation. As a demonstration of his technique, lasting about ten minutes, it failed to grab my complete attention, although two large screens high at each side of the stage allowed an immediacy and growing appreciation.

I was waiting for the promised Bobby Meets Indonesia! selection. This brought the audience to life, not least as he demonstrated total respect and empathy first with the suling (bamboo flute) player as they played two familiar Sundanese tunes. This was followed by a kendang (Sundanese drums) played, as the screen clearly showed, both melodically and rhythmically with both hands and a foot. What impressed me was that both local musicians could be observed in close up, trance-like as they musically communed with the master. It was totally absorbing music for us too.

The promised gamelan was either a backing tape, which I somehow doubt, or provided as part of his vocalese. This was visualised by a woman dancer whose mask reminded me of wayang golek, the wooden puppets operated with rods, yet she moved with the grace of a Central Javanese court dancer as they seemingly flirted with each other.

That they embraced each other following the respectful bows at the end said much about their rapport, and Bobby's respect for Indonesian music.

We stayed for one more number, anxious not to to miss Metheny's set, and I'm glad we did because the maestro produced a flawless version of the much recorded blues song Sweet Home Chicago. This was a driving, bass driven masterpiece and if I'd had my eyes shut, I could almost visualise Taj Mahal playing it with the Pointer sisters. McFerrin was just perfect by himself though.

Anyone fortunate to be able to get to one of his many gigs worldwide this year is in for a rare treat: the man is truly a unique and gifted entertainer.

And so to what we really came for. We crossed the crowded concourse, queued up to go through security and have our passes scrutinised and torn, and found some floor space at the back of the crowd but, unfortunately towards the left rather than in the centre between the stacks of speakers. But no matter – and definitely of no importance whatsoever for the dumb lass who spent the next hour engrossed in the contents of her 'smart' phone!

After the usual public service announcements and the subsequent read through of the extensive list of authorised sponsors, Pat Metheny came on and sat at the front centre stage. Oh, I thought, we're in for another solo set.

He played his 42 string Pikasso Guitar, a custom made harp guitar created by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. This allowed him to stretch his acoustic playing and to sound reminiscent of his 1977 recording Watercolours and the second track Icefire, a mournful electric sings at its center, ever shielded by an unrequited embrace of acoustics. Varied rhythms and bold chord changes animate its otherwise stagnant beauty.

The screens showing every detail of what was billed as the Pat Metheny Project allowed total immersion. As his dreamlike effort came to a close two musicians, neither of whom I recognised, took their places, one behind a fairly standard drum kit and the other taking hold of an upright acoustic bass. Having been transported before by the Pat Metheny Group (PNG), we had been anticipating more of the same, but no matter.

The more the set went on, the more I was taken with Ben Williams, who is still only 27. He won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute competition for bass players in 2009, and the NY Times had this to say about his playing at a gig in October of that year: By definition the bass player is a pivotal figure in jazz, a steward of tonality as well as tempo. Determining a good one can require close listening: that quality reveals itself in the cohesion of the band as well as in the handling of line and phrase. All of this was accounted for [by] Mr. Williams.

Initially, he appeared to be playing according to an score, but he loosened up to become vastly more than a supporter of the leader. His solo spots were fluid, integral yet had a distinctive voice. He's destined for a career which could push the boundaries of his craft.

Friend John was particularly taken with the drummer, Jamire Williams, no relation to Ben as far as I know, who leads a band called Erimaj (his name spelled backwards as you can surely tell). Of the band, the NY Times had this to say: [Erimaj] features a lot of information being knocked around. There are rising and falling vamps and solos; a bit of rock and pastoral-sounding, post-Pat Metheny guitar harmony ….. from Mr. Williams, fluid narrative improvising, as well as beats like fragmented hip-hop.

Ah, "post-Pat Metheny", but this was the present. The set comprised largely familiar tunes from the vast Metheny back catalogue: Into The Dream, So May It Secretly Begin, Bright Size Life, Broadway Blues, James, Always and Forever, and Question and Answer. This group trio reminded me less of his recorded trio works than of that exceptional Swedish piano trio E.S.T., lead by the late Esbjörn Svensson, a group much admired by Metheny who played with them on their 2005 album Live – Schleswig-Holstein Chamber Orchestra. What E.S.T. had, and we were listening to, was a unique chemistry and complex musical ideas presented in an accessible manner.

Time flew, as the best gigs do, but the best was reserved for last when Metheny (finally) let rip with a scorching synth-guitar driven number (Question and Answer?) which reminded us that his larger PMG had more orgasmic power than the loudest rock band. But this was just a trio, with acoustic drums and bass, but my, how the Williams duo drove him along to the crescendo, and how they stilled for the close.

What a gig and, as at all Metheny gigs, what a deserved standing ovation with demands for more. And this we got as the guitar master re-entered, sat down as he had started but this time with a regular, to my eyes, acoustic guitar and soothed us with a medley of Minuano 6/8 and This Is Not America.

At this point, I must say that the pictures cast on the screens were very well co-ordinated and, I presume, were those streamed live on the internet. Hopefully there will be a DVD of this and other key performances of the weekend.

Sadly, I wouldn't count Tohpati's Ethnomission among the number. There was an eager crowd of mainly young folk, including school age students, waiting for the doors to open. When they did, there was a mad dash to grab good seat, 'Er Indoors being among the most eager.

What was immediately clear was the immense rapport among the musicians, especially Tohpati and bassist Indro Harjdodikoro (pictured above). Both are immensely talented musicians. In my review of a gig by simakDialog, I described Tohpati as "sublimely, gorblimey gobsmacking". This description would also apply to the interplay between all the musicians. These included Diki Suwarjiki on suling, Endang Ramdan on kendang and the amazing 18 year old drummer Demas Narawangsa. (Watch Demas here when he was 12 and here in a club gig with Tohpati last December.)

Yet, at the end I felt that much of their playing was over-rehearsed: there were no mistakes. I can understand why they're a popular group and one which seems to have brought Tohpati out of his shell: he spoke to the audience, the first time we've heard him.

Yet I want to see signs of elation, exaltation even, as he plays, much as other great guitarists such as Pat Metheny does, and my late friend Mickey Jones did. The great players go off into a world of their own as they create for the moment. I want my spine to tingle, for tears to come uninvited as they carry me with them.

There were such moments on Saturday and I shall treasure them.

Thank you Bobby and Pat.

An occasional series inspired by 'found sounds'.

My co-author Derek Bacon has a collection online, including this seasonal offering. However, he is by no means the first to add real sounds to music. For a fine example, have a listen to the middle section of Bridget St. John's Ask Me No Questions (from 1969) and be transported to an English village green in a summer's evening.

More recently, I've been listening to a number of singers who also incorporate 'found sounds' in their work.

The third album, Végétal, released in 2006, of Émilie Simon from France incorporated the sounds of plants in her songs, as hinted by the album title.

Another singer-songwriter is Hanne Hukkelberg from Norway. Her album, Little Things, made intelligent use of found sounds in the form of glockenspiel, theremin, various kitchen utensils, bicycle spokes and, er … rain. (More here.)

I don't have a 'smart phone' and don't want one as I prefer to engage with life face-to-face. My only recording device is my home computer, so my 'found sounds' are remembered words, a snippet of a conversation which in isolation become non sequiturs which have the essential element of 'surprise', of thought patterns skipping a beat at the moment of hearing.

Others have collections of these, perhaps because they've made an effort to eavesdrop.

The Man Who Fell Asleep has a blog, although he's currently taking a sabbatical from it. In it, he has published one-liners overheard on his journeys on the London Underground. These often made little sense – like this one: "I am going on a guided tour by myself." Do have a browse and be prepared to have your mind boggled.

More recently, Michael Holden has been All Ears for similar moments. If you, like he, overhead "Maybe cucumber would help. Have you tried cucumber?", what would you have made of it?

This is a small selection to start my own collection.

- Way back when, in the inter-regnum between marriages, I went on a blind date to a Vietnamese restaurnat in Tooting, South London. As so often happens on such occasions, we'd paused to think about the next safe topic of conversation to initiate when we heard from a table across the room: "To look at him, you wouldn't believe he's a Jehovah's Witness, would you?"

- "I'd like an iced tea, but hold the ice."

- Me: "I'd like a chef's salad, please."
–Waitress: "Why?"
–Me: "Because I'm hungry."

Feel free to add similar bon môts.

"Let us speak of stillness in the constancies of nature, when 'music for my ears' is not merely sentimental, and not only to be found by meditating beside a waterfall, but, being attentive, in the fullness of the world."

So writes Philip Corner in the booklet that comes with the CD of Central Java XV. Returning Minimalism: In Nem. This was recorded over two days in October 2009 at the studio of the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) in Surakarta (Solo) and is now released as number 15 in a series curated by John Noise Manis on his Felmay label based in Italy.

In our tropical climate, the sound of gamelan can be heard drifting from the courtyards of the sultanate palaces in Yogyakarta, Solo and Cirebon, and Balinese temples, often drawing us in.

Gamelan orchestra (1870-1891)

As Nicola Campogrande writes in the sleevenotes to Music of Remembrance, release number eleven in the Felmay series, gamelan music continues to seduce us especially for its capacity to push the clock in a corner, to make us pulsate with an alternative rhythm, to offer us a representation of existence devoid of tensions, targets, [and] thus relaxed, harmonious, enviable.

Living in the rush and crush that is Jakarta, such moments are rare. You have to go to a concert at Gedung Kesenian (the Jakarta Arts House) to hear gamelan played live, and then you have to put up with folk chattering away on their mobile phones or taking photos in order to reassure themselves and their social networks that they were there.

If you're fortunate to live in a back street far from the hum of incessant traffic noise and not too close to a mosque, settle down on your front terrace or porch shortly after jam maghrib, the time of the evening prayers. This is the bewitching hour – actually just 15 minutes if you're lucky – when an innate fear of hantu (ghosts) means that all and sundry seek the safety of indoors and an unusual calm settles over the neighbourhood. For a very short while you can be "a representation of existence devoid of tensions" listening to the rhythm of the evening within yourself.

It is this almost primeval element of gamelan that has inspired western musicians for over a century, although the roots of gamelan lie much further back in Indonesian history and mythology.

In Javanese mythology, the gamelan was created by Sang Hyang Guru in Saka era 167 (c. AD 230), the god who ruled as king of all Java from a palace on the Maendra mountains in Medangkamulan (now Mount Lawu). He needed a signal to summon the gods and thus invented gongs, thus forming the original gamelan set.

The earliest image of a musical ensemble is found on the 8th century Borobudur temple, Central Java. Musical instruments such as the bamboo flute, bells, drums in various sizes, lute, and bowed and plucked string instruments are identified in this relief. However it lacks metallophones and xylophones.

Borobodur relief

The gamelan has influenced several western composers of classical music, most famously Claude Debussy who heard a Central Javanese gamelan play at the Paris Exposition of 1889.  Erik Satie was also there and his Gnossienne set for solo piano incorporates the repetitively hypnotic effects of the gamelan. Direct homages to gamelan music are also to be found in works for western instruments by composers Béla Bartók, Francis Poulenc, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Colin McPhee and Benjamin Britten whose Balinese gamelan transcriptions were recorded in 1941.

Composer John Cage's 'prepared piano' pieces also owe a debt to gamelan; he defined music's purpose as "to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences."

In the early nineties, Lou Harrison composed specifically for gamelan on a set he co-owns which is housed in the State University of San Jose, California; this is but one of many in the USA which has a thriving gamelan scene.

Gamelan is probably a central influence on the minimalist school of music whose most noted composers are Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Steve Reich, who studied Balinese music in the early 70's, albeit in America, pioneered 'Systems Music', a term which describes music which evolves gradually with little or no variation of pitch, tempo, dynamics or timbre..

Terry Riley composed In C, possibly the seminal minimalist work, in 1964; it was released on the CBS (now Sony) label in 1968, and has been the subject of much scholastic discourse.

In C proposes a delicate balance between the individual and the group. It demands of its players a high degree of individual responsibility. It is very much a product of community. The act of listening implies that all the players devote themselves to the greater good of the piece, that they not only listen to their interaction with immediate neighbors but also hear the influence of their actions on the total work.

Gamelan and minimalist forms of music have that in common.

Dedek Wahyudi is not one of the eight musicians on In Nem, but coincidentally has an album out on Felmay this year. He was recently interviewed in the Jakarta Post and said, "Gamelan constitutes a collective performance. To maintain harmony, gamelan players have to listen to each other.”

Terry Riley's masterpiece has the note 'C' as its constant core, its heartbeat. 'Nem' is the Javanese word for 'six', the note common to both slendro and pelog scales in many gamelan sets and in the set that was played; without the pulse these recordings could easily be mistaken for original gamelan works which have no links to Riley.

Whereas the traditions and ceremonies of kratons and temples generally pre-determine what is played and when, the structure of In C allows for immense variation. For example, the Shanghai Film Orchestra version, recorded in early 1989, utilised traditional Chinese instruments such as "various lutes, zithers, mouth organs, flute, and percussion."

As far as can be determined by the Wikipedia page, only the version recorded in 2005 by Ars Nova Copenhagen, Percurama Percussion Ensemble made direct reference to gamelan with the use of a Bali gong, although the insistent beats are courtesy of marimbas and a vibraphone.

Apart from the expected Java gamelan, the Surakarta Ensemble recording features an Arabic bowed instrument, the rebab, an instrument, what sounds like a zither but is called a siter, kendang, Sundanese drums played with the hands (and a foot). as well as "an array of new, unique instruments expertly built by some of the players out of a variety of materials."

There are many ways to listen to In Nem, although being free from distractions is a major key to the listening pleasure. The three pieces, ranging in length from 19 to 38 minutes, have a hypnotic insistence which is at times incredibly funky.

Whilst listening, this reviewer likes to imagine a long train journey with the regular clickety-clackity as the background sound to the views of kampung life, farmers attending to their rice sawah, and the occasional heightened awareness that we're crossing a bridge over a ravine, passing through a tunnel or about to arrive at a station.

There are two silences of a minute and a half each between the three tracks, time enough to think about where you've been, to come to terms with where you are and to anticipate where you're going next.

It's a journey worth taking and I hope that some time the other four tracks recorded over the two days will also be released.

Jakarta Expat readers will be interested to know that the musical director was one of our own – Daniel Quinn of Gunung Bagging.com fame. He "simply encouraged the musicians to listen to other players and follow where the existing melody might take them. I would make limited comments with regard to varying the ‘pulse’, duration and instrumentation. Mostly however, I simply sat back and enjoyed the music…"

There is no better antidote for the stress of Jakarta, so that's what you should do: sit back and enjoy the journey.
……………………………………………………………………….
Originally published in Jakarta Expat edition 48 July 20th – August 3rd 2011
Sample the tracks here.

The only ads I carry are from friends or for enterprises which fit with my scruples and interests.

Leonardo Pavkovic with his MoonJune Records fits both criteria. I both love and like some of the music on his label, yet there’s some that I find impenetrable. But, hey, this is Leonardo’s personal vision.

Of particular interest for Indonesian jazz lovers is that he gives an international release to simakDialog and its guitarist Tohpati; he also promotes many of their gigs abroad, including this year Brazil and the USA.

Because of his knowledge of the Indonesian jazz scene, four and a half years ago I conducted an email interview with Leonardo for Culture Shock! Jakarta, much of which you can read here – the interview that is.

He has sent out a celebratory email which is below. Do note his irresistible special offer.
…………………………………………………..
Dear Friends in Music

MoonJune Records is celebrating its First 10 Years this June.

Thank You for Your continuous support, for reviewing and spinning all ‘MoonJunies’ all those years. MoonJune Records’ CDs have been featured/reviewed/spinned in over 55 countries in all 4 corners of the globe and in more than 35 languages. The record label came into being in 2001. The company represents the fruition of vision from entrepreneurial producer, tour manager, promoter and international music impresario Leonardo Pavkovic (also of 2 Plus Music & Entertainment) – and draws its name from Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt’s famous 1970 epic “’The Moon in June‘. MoonJune has already long established its pedigree with “in-the-know” progressive music fans.
 
The focus of MoonJune is to discover and release music by artists from a variety of international settings – exploring the expanding boundaries of genuine, challenging, “non-over-produced music” that cannot be easily categorized into any specific format. The ongoing goal of MoonJune is to support music that transcends stylistic pigeon-holing, but operates within an evolutionary progressive musical continuum that places jazz at one end and rock at the other. The ever-expanding boundaries of these two musical categories have since come to include everything from progressive rock to ethno-jazz, from experimental avante-garde to jazz-rock, and anything in between.

Many more Moons and many more Junes are still to come.

Upcoming releases this summer/early fall:
simakDialog (new studio album)
Tohpati Bertiga ‘Tohpati Bertiga‘ (new studio album by Indonesian guitar virtuoso)
Moraine (new album, live)
Slivovitz - Bani Ahead (new studio album)
Machine Mass Trio – As Real As Thinking (another project by Michel Delville)
and many more, coming later this year and in 2012…

Thanks again
Leonardo Pavkovic

During the whole month of June 2011 MoonJune Records is offering the entire catalog of CDs for $10 (shipping to USA/Canada), and $12 (the rest of the world.)  FREE SHIPPING ANYWHERE.
BUY 8 CDs, get the one extra CD for FREE. BUY 12 CDs, get two more CDs for FREE.
Offer valid until July 5, 2011.

I am sufficiently acculturalised to enjoy a lot of Indonesian 'traditional' music, although I particularly enjoy those forms which have absorbed influences from elsewhere.

Culture is not static, although here in Indonesia what most tourists generally get to see are museum artifacts, a resemblance of those performed 'in-house' by members of particular ethnic and/or familial groups.

Due to my familial and cultural background as well as my musical journey through life, I have a particular penchant for 'ethno-jazz', so albums by Indonesian groups from Krakatau to Java Jazz (not this one) to simakDialog and Tohpati's Ethnomission get a regular airing in Jakartass Towers.

A few weeks back I spent four nights in Bali accompanying Son No.1 as he 'inspected' various luxury hotels and resorts for potential inclusion in the brochure of his travel company. Our last night was spent in Ubud and we ended up in an excellent restaurant, Bumbu Bali. This is opposite the palace which was crowded with tourist witnessing royal dances accompanied by the court gamelan orchestra.

There is no better way to enjoy a fine meal in Bali than with the sounds of a live, rather than canned, gamelan performance wafting over the warm breeze..

I'll be posting more later about our trip.

Last night, along with gamelan and volcano climbing aficionado Dan Q., I trundled up to Gedung Kesenian (the Jakarta Arts House), for a performance by Sambasunda which was part of the Festival Musik Indonesia. Formed in 1995, the group is lead by Ismet Ruchimat "who started his career in 1989 in Gugum Gumbira's famous Jugala Orchestra and has appeared on a number of international recording projects: with Spanish percussionist Vidal Paz ("Sunda-Africa", Globestyle); Indian flautist, Hariprasad Chaurasia ("Moon Magic", BMG India); the Madagascan group, Tarika ("Soul Makassar", Sakay); and on the Kartini label with Sabah Habas Mustapha & the Jugala Allstars ("Jalan Kopo" and "So La Li")".

This was to be the first time that I was to both hear and see the group, though I've had a couple of their CDs for nigh on ten years. I also have a couple of 'bootleg' recordingd from their gigs in Chichester, UK, back in 2002 and 2003. These I passed on to Pak Ismet shortly before the ensemble took to the stage.

Gedung Kesenian is a beautiful Dutch building, comfortable, although the air conditioning always seems to be set too low. It is one of my favourite venues of all those I've been in down the years. What we weren't prepared for was the incredibly sparse audience; From our vantage point in the centre seats of the front row of the balcony we counted just 49 folk, maybe five of whom were westerners like us – and as many as nine at any one time had their mobile phones lit up, With Sambasunda's 17 – count 'em – musicians, along with Gugum Gumbira's daughter, Rita Tilla, as 'lead singer' and three dancers, and with 20 or so staff and technicians, the audience was nearly outnumbered. That doesn't say much for my advertising potential nor that of the Jakarta Post which contributed just two lines in yesterday's issue.

What I also wasn't prepared for was the incredible drive generated by the gamelan instruments over which, in some of the compositions, Rita Tilla sang, but not as a western pop singer would. I don't understand a word of Sundanese, but judguing from her dancing, she sang about the familiar themes of love and betrayal.

I can say little about their music which isn't said here, but I heard enough of their "pulsating wall of sound that shakes the foundations of their tradition to the core, [emerging] with a spellbinding, at times wistful, and highly original blend of music both vocal and instrumental" to want more.

It is traditional music for urbanites, so I wanted to know where they were. As we left, I asked the lass I chat to on my increasingly frequent visits to Gedung Kesenian why more folk hadn't come.

She told me that they preferred western music.

Shame, I thought, and something the character instillers should take note of.

These are some gigs I’ll miss this week as I soak up some gamelan in Bali.

International Wayang Festival at Museum Wayang, Fatahillah, Jakarta:
Wed, 24 Nov, 10-12 am, Wayang Palembang
Wed, 24 Nov, 1-3 pm, Wayang Kulit Banjar
Wed, 24 Nov, 9 pm-morning, Wayang Kulit Purwa Ki Fatur Gamblang (Solo), lakon Sesaji Raja Suya
Fri, 26 Nov, 10 am-3 pm, Wayang Golek Menak Kebumen, Ki Kuswanto Sindu
Fri, 26 Nov, 8 pm to morning, Wayang Golek Sunda
Sat, 27 Nov, 10 am-3 pm, Wayang Golek

But I do have a ticket reserved for Sambasunda on
Sunday, December 12, 2010 – 8 p.m.
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
Ismet Ruchimat: 0817430937
Roely (021) 3808283 / 3441892
Tiket: Rp 50.000,-

Pementasan Musik Kontemporer ”Sambasunda”
Komposer: Ismet Ruchimat

Sambasunda will present an ethnic traditional music performance, which packed with new format by bringing up Cianjur’s songs and also Kiliningan within a unique collaboration between gamelan and Sundanese gamelan.

Although having latin conotation, the word ’samba’ in Sambasunda comes from Sundanese language, is actually referred to Cirebon mask character: Son of Kresna, which has dynamic young character, while ’sunda’ itself reffered to a culture where Samba sunda was born, getting inspired, motivated, getting interacted, explored, created, developed, struggled, and actualized.Sambasunda, is founded by Ismet Ruchimat, always explores music varieties, almost unlimited, but with focus more in maximizing using traditional music devices. Members of Sambasunda come from alumny of STSI (Indonesia Arts College) Bandung. So no wonder if each musician has enough knowledge about tradition music, as well as having capability playing other variety music instrument.

It was not the best moment to hold a gig on Friday. The rain was bad and the traffic was worse. It was quintessential Jakarta, save for the small section of Senayan Sporting Complex.
(fr. a review of a gig by 90's Brit-poppers where Ian Brown and Kula Shaker played 6.8.10.)

So here we have international 'stars' performing in a sports hall. Given the massive growth in Jakarta's population in the last 50+ years, one might have expected something more sophisticated.

Before 1965, when Koes Bersaudara were banned and imprisoned following Soekarno's "war against Beatle "music", declaring that "Beatleism" was a "form of mental disease", they had "regular spots at venues such as the Megaria cinema, where they played between films." They later managed "to secure a twice-weekly gig at the International Airport Restaurant in Kemayoran (North Jakarta)."
(fr. Wage War against Beatle Music! Censorship and Music in Soekarno's Indonesia by Steven Farram)

The Megaria cinema still stands, but isn't a gig venue. The Kemayoran airport is no more following the opening of Soekarno-Hatta; the area is now being redeveloped with industrial estates, a host of apartment blocks and as the venue for the annual Jakarta Fair. And just last year, 2009, the Aula Simfonia Jakarta (Jakarta Symphony Hall) was officially opened.

It was built as an answer to this big city's need of a 'proper' concert hall, as well as to fulfill the cultural mandate given by God. As the first, and currently the only concert hall in Indonesia, Aula Simfonia Jakarta accommodates 1,200 seats and offers a world-class acoustic experience. Both local and international musicians have performed in this hall, and Aula Simfonia Jakarta welcomes more good quality music performances in the future.

it is bloody difficult to get to at the best of times (i.e. at 2am when Jakarta isn't grid-locked) and I foresee further problems ahead in the rainy season as Kemayoran is in flood-prone northern Jakarta.

And I'm not sure that they have a "cultural mandate given by God" given that an upcoming concert on the 22nd (to mark Indonesia's Independence Day on the 17th) is sponsored by, among others, a women's magazine, a cigarette company, and a Japanese car manufacturer.

So, what else is there?

A search for 'music venues*Jakarta' on the World Events Guide "returned 0 results".

The real answer given by Widyasena Sumadio a year ago is 'not much'.

A number of concert venues have emerged recently in Jakarta and surrounding areas: from
the Jakarta International Expo and Mangga Dua in the centre of Jakarta, to Sentul City Convention Center in Sentul, a town in southern Jakarta known for its motor racing circuit. The well-established, if slightly dilapidated building Istora Senayan, the junior tennis indoor stadium Senayan, and the Jakarta Convention Center are also often used for festivals and events.

But these buildings were not intended for musical performances, so they are lacking in acoustics. The auditoriums in five-star hotels [and shopping malls. J.], which on some occasions have also hosted music performances, are not ideal venues for music performances either. And the number of buildings equipped with appropriate acoustics, unfortunately, cannot hold a large number of people.

As a result, for Jakarta to become a musical centre, regional and central governments, in addition to private parties, need to …. invest in specialised and well-equipped performance venues capable of accommodating larger numbers.

Not all gigs and performances need to attract large audiences, but, unfortunately, there aren't that many smaller venues specifically devoted to 'culture' either.

As a public service, I've compiled the following list. I fear that it is exhaustive, but if there are any glaring omissions, please add them in the comments box or email me so I can add them to this post, which may end up on the music links page above.

My favourite venue for performances is the beautifully restored Dutch building Gedung Kesenian. Although on the corner of a busy thoroughfare, upon entering, having traversed the car park, one can imagine a much less chaotic Batavia among a milieu admittedly 'free' of Indonesians.

There are a number of 'cultural centres' which offer a mix of exhibitions, workshops and performances. The somewhat rundown Taman Ismail Marzuki (T.I.M.) is, to my knowledge, the only facility under the aegis of City Hall.

Otherwise there are community-run initiatives such as Bentara Budaya, Theatre Salihara and Komunitas Utan Kayu.

There also a few 'foreign' Cultural Centres including Goethe Haüs, Erasmus Huis, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Centre, which are sponsored by their respective governments.

Unlike London and other western cities and towns which seem to have live music in pubs and bars within strolling distance, one has to be in the know to find them in Jakarta, and then make a strenuous effort to actually go out.

Jakarta 24.com has a now outdated list. (BB's is still going strong, but Jamz isn't.) The best list I've found, which, although not their fault, isn't saying much, is Jakarta 100 Bars.

Perhaps the $3 million that the City administration has earmarked for the Betawi Cultural Centre could be better spent on a cultural centre for all Jakartans, residents and visitors alike! Maybe a better short-term solution would be to invest this sum in the public transport infrastructure so that we could actually get to the few venues that exist.

Ho hum.