T

he Borneo Jazz Festival will take place from May 12 to May 15 in Miri, a destination in Sarawak renowned for its oil and gas industry.

But you can expect thousands to converge at the Park Everly Hotel, the event’s venue, where a specially built stage will be situated next to the South China Sea. The festival will feature eight foreign acts and two Malaysian headliners during the three-day event.

Highlights include Grammy nominated Maria Muldaur from the US, Cunha & Piper from Brazil, Les Doigts de l’Homme from France, SIU2 from Hong Kong, State of Monc from Holland, and RALYZZ DIG from Japan, who will be led by Yuichiro Tokuda.

Formerly known as the Miri International Jazz Festival, the event’s moniker has been changed to the Borneo Jazz Festival only recently, “to highlight its vibrant qualities and prominence with other international festivals, as well as to present Borneo as a top destination among tourists,” the festival organizer, the Sarawak Tourism Board, said.

Currently in its sixth installment, the festival organizer has promised festival-goers “will enjoy the entertaining showcases to be held against a picturesque setting next to the sea.

“The festival will cover a gamut of jazz scales which will appeal to a wide audience, including both purists as well as those who’re seeking fusion and even edgy-sounding jazz music. Expect repertoires such as gypsy-style jazz, bossa nova, samba, Oriental-style jazz scales and traditional forms of jazz music”.

One of the attractions is Maria Muldaur, who has been touted as the US’ “First Lady of roots music”. Having begun performing folk music in the 1960s, Muldaur has subsequently released 35 albums and won many awards.

In 2005, she released Sweet Lovin’ Ol’ Soul, an album that earned her a Grammy nomination in the “Traditional Blues” category. For Louisiana Love Call released in 1992, she won the “Best Adult Alternative Album of the Year” award presented by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors.

Born in New York City, Muldaur has spent more than 40 years delving into an array of genres such as blues, jazz, gospel, folk, country and R&B. When performing on stage, she is renowned for combining various genres in a “highly polished manner, just like the transmission on a Rolls Royce,” according to one critic.

Yuichiro Tokuda, an emerging star in the Japanese music scene, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston before returning to Japan where he established the Yuichiro Tokuda Quintet.

A few years ago, the quintet released their debut album, which earned wide acclaim. In fact, the respected Jazz Life magazine has touted the album as “representative of the cutting edge of the progressive form of jazz music”.

Tokuda – who has released four albums – has even been honored as the first jazz act to have been given an award as the “New Face of the Year in Art & Culture” from the Chiba-City Government in 2008. In the same year, he changed his band’s name to Yuichiro Tokuda’s RALYZZ DIG.

Last year, the band, led by Tokuda, performed at Japan’s most prestigious jazz festival “Yokohama Jazz Promenade”, as well as headlining many other smaller-scale festivals throughout the country. The band will be performing in Southeast Asia for the first time at the Borneo Jazz Festival.

In spite of the aforementioned highlights, you should not miss John Hammond’s showcase, which the festival organizer promises to be “a truly one-of-a-kind experience”.

The Grammy Award winner and seminal American blues performer is renowned for offering songs that “sound so compelling, complete, symmetrical and soulful with just his voice, guitar and harmonica, it is at first impossible to imagine improving it. He’s a great force of nature. John sounds like a big train coming. He chops them all down,” according to Tom Waits, who is a veteran inimitable musical act.

In fact, music-based Elmore magazine once said that Hammond “has made his own history, and had also helped make history for others [including Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan] in various ways — to our [music fans] benefit”.

For a different sonic experience, France’s Les Doigts de l’Homme will transform the pace by offering “explosive, eclectic and unexpected interpretations of gypsy jazz music that’ll incorporate exciting up-tempo rhythms and elements of swing, rock and even punk-influenced scales,” the band members said.

Also renowned for combining gypsy jazz standards and their own original music with influences of rock vibes and various traditional musical styles synonymous with the Balkan region, the band members will also be displaying “top-notch musical instrumentation skills and powerful showmanship, to steer our brand of music in a new direction, whatever it means”.

For those who fancy a fusion of jazz and dance music, Holland’s State of Monc’s showcase will be ideal. Renowned for infusing complex-sounding breakbeat vibes with traditional jazz music, the Dutch sextet – led by Arthur Flink and Hielke Praagman – has performed at sold-out gigs held at top nightspots and music festivals around the world.

If anything, the festival-goers can look forward to listening as well as dancing to the band’s jazzy sounds lined with dance scales as well as acoustic sounds – resulting in a melange of highly energetic fusion.

For more information, call +603-9222 8811, +6085-434 180 or visit http://jazzborneo.com.