The smooth, bluesy-pop melody of a saxophone filled the night air as the lean man clothed in a grey t-shirt, baggy jeans, sneakers and a fedora played famous saxophonist Dave Koz's Together Again as people strode by.
Luki Giripurnama, 35, could have been playing at Jakarta's many caf*s where performances like this are common. But the self-styled street saxophonist was playing on a busway bridge facing Hotel Indonesia, Central Jakarta.
"I've decided to play the saxophone because this is where my heart and soul is," said the high school graduate, who started working on the street three years ago after quitting his administrative job at a small accounting firm.
"These bridges are where I polish my saxophone skills as well as make a livelihood," he continued, referring to the various busway bridges along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, where he usually performs.
Luki added that he could earn roughly Rp 20,000 (US$2.2) to Rp 50,000 per night - more than his past minimum wage salary which was then slightly below Rp 1 million.
Luki is an uncommon street musician. Most of his peers rely on beat-up guitars, ukuleles or self-made instruments such as kecrekan - an instrument made of bottle caps nailed on a small piece of wood which makes a sharp, rattling sound - as they sing tunelessly for the sake of a quick buck at red lights and on buses.
Yet, Luki is not the only talented street musician. Neatly dressed in a purple kebaya and batik sarong with hair tied in a neat bun, Sumiyati Jais sings traditional Javanese tunes as her fingers pick the kecapi siter - a traditional instrument made of 18 to 20 strings stretched across a rectangular, wooden box.
"I have played the siter on the streets for three years ever since my husband suffered a stroke and was unable to work," said the 51-year-old woman who sings in a clear, melodious, high-pitched voice.
Sumiyati started her career as a sinden (female traditional Javanese singer) since her youth in Solo, Central Java. In 1991 she and her husband, a gamelan orchestra player, moved to Jakarta to make money at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah cultural park in East Jakarta.
According to Sumiyati, she can earn between Rp 30,000 and Rp 100,000 from people who dine at a row of roadside eateries in Blok A, South Jakarta. Although she suffers from cataract which dangerously blurs her vision, Sumiyati continues to hit the streets alone to help support her family, including her two sons in their 20s. (JP/gzl)
