Another great jazzy season is coming our way. The Java Jazz Festival will soon swing into town with world-class performers, and this year the much anticipated Jason Mraz could also be making an appearance.

But Jason, "the Mr. A-Z," would certainly not be alone in the festival, with a host of other top artists scheduled to perform from March 6 to 8. The Java Jazz stages will be full of our favorites - artists like Brian McKnight, Dianne Reeves, Peabo Bryson, Laura Fygi, Swing Out Sister and Matt Bianco.

And if these international performers don't do it for you, tune in for local star musicians like Tompi, Glen Fredly, Benny Likumahua, Tohpati, Slank, Syaharani, Maliq D'Essentials and newcomers Afgan and RAN.

While the artist lineup is long - some 100 local and international performers in 180 shows - you may only be interested in Java Jazz to see certain musicians.

Jason Mraz (AP/Chris Pizzelo)

If Jason Mraz happens to be the only reason you would want to come to the festival, there is some good and bad news for you.

The bad news is, all 9,000 seats to Jason's show have sold out already - within less than two weeks of going on sale.

The good news is, the Virginian-born musician has confirmed he will do a second show.

"Jason Mraz *popularity* is truly phenomenal. Our ticket outlets say their phones didn't stop ringing with people asking about tickets to his show," Java Jazz media coordinator Ressanda Tamaputra said.

"Because of the high demand, we negotiated with Jason's management for a second show."

The second show is set to capture another 5,000 fans. But you'd better be quick because "there are only dozens of tickets left," Ressanda said.

While the second show could be a surprise for Jason's fans, a special treat has also been made for all Java Jazz festival goers: discounted tickets.

"This way, the festival can be more accessible for all Java Jazz enthusiasts," Ressanda said. "Because most people think Java Jazz is all about expensive shows, now they won't have to think twice about coming," he said.

This year, a standard single day ticket costs Rp 350,000 (US$30) - in comparison to last year's Rp 500,000 tickets. And, a 3-day pass is now priced at only Rp 850,000 - much cheaper than last year's Rp 1 million.

Special performances like those of Jason Mraz, Brian McKnight, Laura Fygi, Swing Out Sister and Dianne Reeves will require the festival goers pay another Rp 350,000 per show.

Hoping to attract more people this year with the new pricing, Java Jazz is aiming primarily to bring people together - as seen in this year's festival theme "It's a Festival For All".

"This is the message we want to deliver to the public, following some criticism of Java Jazz - people saying it features other musical genres than jazz, like pop and R&B," Ressanda said.

"Actually, jazz has evolved considerably from its original form, and has mixed with other genres. So, there's no real strict definition of jazz, and this is what we're trying to develop."

Trying to balance the diversity of jazz, the festival also looks to reunite to promote Jazz to those who are not really interested in the genre.

"Imagine if a pop music lover who attends one of our shows happens to hear pure jazz music from a nearby stage. That person might like it and change their mind," Ressanda said.

And while the audience can benefit from the cross-genre musical experience, so can the musicians.

According to Ressanda, Java Jazz has allowed local artists to engage with their international counterparts. Incognito, for example, invited Indonesian singer Dira to sing with the band during its tour.

"So, Java Jazz expects not only to bring international musicians to Indonesia, but also to send our local artists to the world."

Tracing back to its origins, Java Jazz began in 2005 as a tribute concert to raise awareness about Indonesia, carrying out a mission to bring the world to Indonesia, which had been hit by a financial crisis and negative perceptions regarding terrorism and other security issues. Using the language of jazz, the festival wanted to create new perspectives of Indonesia.

And, the organizer's efforts have paid off. Java Jazz now has become one the most-discussed jazz events in the world. JJ's international performers have been more than satisfied and have had no doubts in stating their enthusiasm to return. Several musicians have also commented on how different Indonesia is from how it has been portrayed in the international mass media.

Now that the financial troubles have returned, Java Jazz hopes it can help develop Indonesian diplomacy with the rest of the world.

"From the beginning, our goal has not been just about making Java Jazz an annual event, but has also been to serve as a channel to promote Indonesia to the world," Ressanda said.

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