Editorial: Jazz week

Sat, 03/08/2008 12:01 AM | Opinion

Danny was terrified of land. Having spent his life on a trans-Atlantic steamer, one day the pianist stepped timidly out on deck, took one look at the maze of streets before him, and turned right back from plans to meet a pretty passenger. The self-made musical genius decided he would stick to the ship, as master of the Virginian's ballroom and its grand piano in which he was found in a lemon crate, abandoned as a baby. The streets don't end, he said. The keyboard does.

Danny, the character in the film The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean, lived in his own magic world; like him, musicians have given us endless, magical tunes. With blues and jazz they glide, linger and prance up and down the scales in wild rhythms -- turning listeners into instant addicts, or those who promptly decide they don't like jazz.

But it's hard not to like jazz festivals. The rainy music season started late last year with Ireng Maulana's big party and now it's JavaJazz again this wet weekend. Welcome back to Chaka Khan and many other performers who have become familiar to Indonesian audiences, and are evidently glad to swing the crowds again.

It might go against the very free spirit of jazz if organizers were to attempt a strict "jazz-only" event. And so "purists" have grudgingly accepted the broad mixture in the festivals; they can come with family and friends who may be more into the "crossover", so-called easier-on-the-ear genres of jazz.

Such events make urbanites forget about traffic congestion, smog and potholes for a few cheerful hours. Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and tourism promoters love the festivals, whose logos and schedules they can put up to sell the city to visitors.

Every music or other cultural fest reminds us again of the slog that goes into preparing for such events, including, perhaps most frustratingly, the search for an adequate number of sponsors, and a sponsorship sustainable enough to ensure public satisfaction each year.

Private firms should be eager to participate and many do; it's their city, and their music, too. But even in this "Visit Indonesia Year" we're not sure of the government's share of the potluck.

For it shouldn't be a potluck, if we're so concerned about neighbors "robbing our culture". It would be much more heartening for art patrons, even for big businessmen like JavaJazz' Peter Gontha, if they knew of reliable partners in government, who could at least pledge tangible support for the nuts and bolts of art management and promotion.

As it stands, every year it's gladdening to find similar events to previous years in the few arts brochures, meaning that patrons managed in whatever way to make them "annual" again. And it's sad when you can't find, for instance, international arts events. You sense this time they failed, again, to come up with the money. So we stay deprived of the worthy names in ballet, for instance, of the exciting atmosphere of the world's top artists converging in the capital just for us. Then neighbors like Singapore get to lure Indonesian tourists with terrific performances.

With a planned ban on Big Tobacco paying for the arts, plus a government forever looking for ways to scrimp, we face an increasing gap in sponsorship. Indonesian audiences are known to be stingy when it comes to spending beyond property, snazzy cars and the mall. The rich will dish out a few million for Il Divo and Beyonce; but how would one draw attention to equally worthy but less known names, with few sponsors pushing down ticket prices?

Our creative development becomes dependent on foreign cultural centers, with few individuals working hard to bring the world to us, and also to bring audiences to local talents.

Patrons and sponsors provide a bridge between artists and audiences. But there needs to be more clear efforts to support their dedication of time and resources.

Danny, the pianist on the ocean, was content with his audience of passengers, who weren't going anywhere. On land people have more mundane concerns, often neglecting the need for beauty and inspiration. Slogans like "Visit Indonesia Year", with Jakarta trying to promote itself as a cultural hub, often sound hollow. One gets used to officials throwing up big ideas, expecting private individuals to work with companies, hash out the details and show them the results. A strange way to show one cares about promoting culture.

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