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span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">JP/Wahyoe BoediwardhanaAt the end of last year, the Surabaya Jazz Traffic Festival 2011 presented the best jazz musicians in the country on three open stages in East Java’s capital.

One of the festival participants, a youth who on Jan. 15 turned 18, stunned jazz fans who saw his show.  

Not many Indonesian jazz enthusiasts, however, knew who he was. Moreover, the youngster was only featured in the Jakarta rock jazz group Ligro Trio. Still, his fingers danced impressively across the keyboard and the tones he created blended harmoniously with his seniors in the jam session, leading to a round of applause from the
audience.

That youth is Muhammad Ade Irawan, a jazz and blues musician and a third-year student at the National Extraordinary High School of Lebak Bulus, Jakarta. His sight has been impaired since he was born. But, the disability has made the first child of Irawan Subagyo and Endang Mardeyani a special jazz player in the country.

Although lacking the power of sight, Ade has an unusual capability at piano. Some of the nation’s jazz and blues musicians have called him a world-class young performer. Such big names in jazz as Idang Rasjidi, Indra Lesmana, Bubi Chen and Jaya Suprana, who also sponsor the Recital Master Class program of the Jaya Suprana School of Performing Arts, even agreed to dub Ade a wonder boy.

“Talented youths emerging from the Indonesian jazz world are remarkable. They’re going to refresh seniors like us. Their capacity is far above mine. The wonder boy Ade Irawan has shown it. They guarantee a future for Indonesian jazz,”
said Idang.

Ade Irawan told The Jakarta Post he enjoyed jazz music very much. “I’m not saying the other genres are inferior, but jazz gives me room for greater freedom of musical expression. There’s a lot more to explore in jazz,” said Ade, who claims to get bashful with others in formal
situations.

Ade’s abilities are real. At his youthful age he managed to mesmerize hundreds at the Sydney Opera House in Australia in a two-hour solo piano recital in June of last year. In the program titled “The Wonderful Sound of Darkness”, Ade, accompanied by Jaya, presented “Indonesia Pusaka”, “Joy-Joy-Joy”, “Chicago Blues”, “The Light”, “Untuk Ayla II” and “Waltzing Mathilda”.

Both Irawan, a retired naval officer, and Endang, a Foreign Ministry employee, call Ade the greatest gift from God to their family. Ade is entirely self-taught. When he was two-and-a-half years old, he started listening to music, identifying musical notes and trying to play musical instruments.

Between three and five years of age, he played the melodies learned from CDs and cassettes on his toy piano.

A turning point for Ade happened at the age of 7. With a Casio keyboard bought by his father, the admirer of George Benson began to imitate the music he heard on television within a day.

“At eight, Ade chose jazz as his favorite music,” said Irawan. Ade, who appeared at the Chicago Winter Jazz Festival in 2006 and 2007, was able to distinguish musical elements and discover jazz techniques at the age of 11.

Inevitably, Ade’s unusual gift drew the attention of US jazz performers, including Robert Irving III.

 Ade was invited to perform at a special birthday program for the Illinois secretary of state, Jessy White, in Chicago in January 2007. He was also part of the Barack Obama Fund Raising group in Chicago in September 2007.

At home, Ade is not so popular yet among jazz music aficionados. Apart from his low-profile nature, his parents have strived hard to “protect” him from excessive media coverage following his time in Chicago.

Endang said between 2006 and 2007 Ade had a number of interviews that caused him some stress that resulted in a sudden stutter. Owing to its severity, he underwent intensive speech therapy.

That’s why his parents speak a lot more during interviews with national TV stations. Nonetheless, Ade’s stutter has had no adverse effects whatsoever on his musical skills, and he continues to flaunt his “aggressive feats” at a number of concerts in Indonesia.

For his achievements, the Museum of Indonesian Records conferred the Youngest Blind Pianist title on 16-year-old Ade in 2010.

On the occasion, Jaya declared Ade Irawan the wonder boy of jazz. “This is the power of God. Ade’s teacher is God,” added Jaya.