TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Chris Minh Doky: A knight of jazz
Courtesy of Maarten MooijmanMusician Chris Minh Doky is a knight, literally â and his ultimate weapon is an upright bass, which he calls âthe Silent Bassâ
Change Size
Courtesy of Maarten Mooijman
Musician Chris Minh Doky is a knight, literally ' and his ultimate weapon is an upright bass, which he calls 'the Silent Bass'.
Not many musicians are recognized by their home countries, but Doky, who is half Danish half Vietnamese and holds Danish and nationality, is one of the few who has received royal appreciation from the Danish queen.
The 46-year-old, who was recently in Indonesia to perform at the Jakarta International Java Jazz festival, was knighted in 2010 by Queen Margrethe II for his contribution to the arts.
Known as an original master of the upright bass, Doky, who spent two decades in New York, the US, learning music from jazz maestros like Michael Brecker and Mike Stern, said he did not expect such recognition.
'I became a musician when I was 18 and that was the time I left Denmark, so I did not really spend any time or see anybody in Denmark until I came back 22 years later,' he says in an interview.
'I didn't know the cultural ministry and queen were also aware of what I did.'
In fact, Doky thought the offer was a joke when the notification first arrived on April 1 that year.
'I picked up the phone and they said, 'This is the office of the cultural minister, is this Chris Minh Doky? The queen would like to give you a knighthood; will you accept?' I said, 'April fools right?''.
He has become used to having the word 'Sir' in front of his name even though his friends still like to tease him, making fun of his knighthood. 'If we are in a queue, they say, 'Hey hey, he is a knight'. And people will say, 'really?' he said, smirking.
As a knight, Doky even has his own weapon ' an acoustic electric bass called 'the Silent Bass' designed by Yamaha's designer Shinya Tamura.
Being a knight of jazz, Doky said his mission was to get a sense of community through his music.
'When I play with my musicians, I want all of us to play together ['¦]to really play together, you have to listen so much, and have constant dialogue and constant awareness of each other, so you can become one. For me, that's very important when I play music,' he said.
His other mission is to express the sound of the bass.
'When I play a melody or a solo, I want to be singing with the bass, and that sound is very important for me to convey.'
Doky has been praised for his rare ability to blend creativity and dynamism in his music ' either as a solo artist or sideman.
He mixes his traditional musical background from his ancestors ' Vietnamese and Danish ' with the funky groove of American jazz.
For his accomplishments, the International Ben Webster Foundation gave him an award in 2008. He has also received four Grammy nominations throughout his career.
Despite being raised by a family with strong musical influences ' his mother is a singer and his father is a doctor who plays classical guitar ' Doky said he never wanted to become a musician when he was little. Instead, his aspiration was to become a doctor.
He started playing piano at six but soon neglected it. He then joined a marching band in junior high school but nothing was serious. 'But music kept finding me,' he said.
It was not until he was in high school and joined a band did he realize that music would be his life.
The epiphany came to him when he listened to Miles Davis' 'My Funny Valentine'. Inspired by Davis, his favorite musician, Doky then decided to pursue a career in music, moving to New York to be closer to the roots of the music he loved.
In New York, he learned so many things and got the chance to play with great musicians like David Sanborn, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Michel Camilo. He stayed in New York for 22 years before returning to Copenhagen to raise a family.
New York and Copenhagen have played important roles in shaping Doky's music, which is a mix of the lyrical traditions of Scandinavia with a touch of a groovy US sound.
Becoming an international jazz phenomenon, Doky has been busy touring around the globe.
'I toured a lot, I had 10 years in my life where I toured 300 concerts per year, or almost a concert a day,' he said.
After having a family, the father of two said he wanted to tour less, reducing his shows to 100 or 120 concerts per year.
When in Jakarta, he performed at Java Jazz with a bunch of musicians from Scandinavia. It was his second time in Jakarta. The first was seven years ago when he performed as a sideman for the same event.
He said he still loved the country, especially the food, like rendang and satay.
'I am a complete foodie. I am complete nut with food. So I love Indonesia because there are so many inspirations,' Doky added.
Doky also said he loved to cook and had even published his own cookbook, titled Jazz Kitchen, which became a bestseller.
'It's my obsession, I cook every day, all day. When I don't do music, I cook, all the time.'
