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Robin Thicke grooves Java Jazz
Musical melody: American singer Robin Thicke entertains his fans during the first day of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival at the JIExpo (PRJ Kemayoran) in Jakarta on Friday (JP/Seto Wardhana)The first day of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival satisfied thousands of music lovers by presenting prominent artists of different genres, including American crooner Robin Thicke
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Musical melody: American singer Robin Thicke entertains his fans during the first day of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival at the JIExpo (PRJ Kemayoran) in Jakarta on Friday (JP/Seto Wardhana) (PRJ Kemayoran) in Jakarta on Friday (JP/Seto Wardhana)
Musical melody: American singer Robin Thicke entertains his fans during the first day of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival at the JIExpo (PRJ Kemayoran) in Jakarta on Friday (JP/Seto Wardhana)
The first day of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival satisfied thousands of music lovers by presenting prominent artists of different genres, including American crooner Robin Thicke.
Only half of the BNI Hall was filled by the audience, but they were able to give resounding cheers when the band played the intro of 'Blurred Lines' and Thicke came onto the stage.
Clad in a sharp black suit and matching sunglasses, Thicke opened the performance with 'Give It 2 You'.
Thicke belted out his hits, 'Magic' and 'Lost Without You', prompting mostly female members of the audience to sing along and cheer.
There was not much interaction with the audience and Thicke swiftly moved from one song to another and at times danced energetically.
'I came to Java Jazz only for Thicke,' said Dela from Cibubur, who brought along her husband and 5-year-old son.
'He sounds sexy; he looks sexy,' she added.
Visitors started entering the venue at PRJ Kemayoran in Central Jakarta around 4 p.m., enjoying the shows of local artists, including pop star Raisa.
The romantic mood filled the BNI Hall as she covered Ronan Keating's 'Nothing At All', from the soundtrack for Notting Hill.
Dedicating the performance to soundtracks, Raisa went on to sing 'Kiss From a Rose' from Batman Forever.
The audience, dominated by teenagers, cheered as singer Afgan appeared on the stage to perform duets of 'Someday We'll Know' and 'Percayalah' (Trust Me), an Afgan and Raisa single that became a song on the soundtrack for London Love Story.
Although dubbing itself as a jazz festival, Java Jazz has grown into a place for people of different ages and music tastes. While the young audience packed Raisa's show, a visibly more mature audience swayed to the smooth jazz tunes of saxophonist Boney James.
Boney, who is listed by Billboard as one of the best contemporary jazz artists of the decade, charmed the audience with his cover tunes, including Sergio Mendes' 'Carnaval Batucada' and Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine'.
Along with his four-man band, Boney delivered a dynamic performance, skillfully changing from slow to upbeat tempo. The audience followed by clapping hands and standing up to his music.
'I really enjoyed Boney's performance,' said Julius, a regular Java Jazz visitor from West Jakarta.
'This year's lineup is not as spectacular as last year's, but it is still good though,' he added.
A young musician named Jacob Collier presented same very distinctive music. Collier, who rose to stardom after uploading his performances onto YouTube in 2011, sang and juggled between drumset, keyboards, piano and other instruments.
He dazzled the audience by combining elements of jazz, a cappella, groove, folk, trip-hop, classical music and Brazilian music.
The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw (JOC) filled the show slot left by Northern Irish band Relish, which failed to come to Jakarta because of contractual, health and safety issues.
A significant number of audience members sat on the floor as they listened to JOC's grander covers of well-known jazz numbers.
'This is the first time I came to Jakarta, but I will come again because you are really great,' JOC's conductor said before closing the show.
JOC will perform again on Saturday, accompanying Grammy-winning pop and jazz singer Patti Austin.
Headlining artists, such as composer David Foster, trumpeter Chris Botti and Sting will deliver their shows on the weekend.
Foster, one of the most successful record producers in history, will share the stage with Indonesian musicians on Saturday at 8 p.m. and on Sunday at 7:15 p.m.
American trumpeter and composer Chris Botti, who will be joined by ex-Police frontman Sting, will take the stage at 11 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
More than 100 international and local musicians will perform on 11 stages, a decline from last year's 17 stages, throughout the three days of the festival. The festival promoters are aiming to attract 120,000 visitors this year, an increase from last year's 110,000.
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