Strait Provocation
Jazz is hitting the youth of Pekanbaru. The Malacca Strait International Jazz Festival was held in the capital of Riau province two weeks ago. It is hoped that the annual jazz festival will be able to compete at the same level as other prestigious festivals in the country like Java Jazz and Jak Jazz. If the Malay language was able to become the lingua franca of all ethnic groups in the country, it is hoped that the Pekanbaru jazz performance can create a breakthrough in the rigidity of Sumatra’s tradition. Jazz can become the musica franca that can attract jazz enthusiasts from everywhere to come and liven up Sumatra.
July 31, 2007
"We have taken the following song from the Sufi language: Saz Semaisi….”
Sitting cross-legged in front of a set of Sundanese drums, the percussionist Ron Reeves began to beat the drums. Blair Greenberg then followed by playing the didgeridoo, an aboriginal wind instrument. Kim Sanders played the ney, a bamboo flute from Turkey. Together, the trio produced a mixture of Indian-Middle Eastern beat.
This was one of the interesting performances a
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