Friday, July 30, 2010 02:57 AM
Follow us on
Follow us on
A long weekend beckons, and it is such a great coincidence that the annual Java Jazz Festival is coming around at the same time. This year’s event offers a rich lineup, with more than 180 performances involving more than 1,000 local and overseas musicians on 19 different stages.
The three-day festival that opened on Friday is not strictly for jazz only, with hip-hop, pop and rock stars among the performers.
“Actually, jazz has evolved considerably from its original form, and has mixed with other genres. So there’s no real strict definition of jazz, and this is what we’re trying to develop,” festival media coordinator Ressanda Tamaputra said earlier.
Java Jazz began in 2005 as a tribute concert to use music to lift negative publicity about Indonesia after the financial crisis and terrorist attacks. It has now developed to become one of the country’s most awaited annual festivals.
This year’s festival will feature several collaborations between local and overseas musicians, such as that between Jason Mraz, 2005 Indonesian Idol winner Mike Mohede and indie jazz singer Dira.
— The Jakarta Post
