Joey performed over five days in April, playing compositions of Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, and the most-complicated “Countdown” of John Coltrane. He also proudly performed his very own pieces of music from his My Favorite Thing album, which was recently nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

As one of the few Indonesians among the many Swiss audience members, I felt both proud and ecstatic to see how much Joey has progressed.

I remember the first time I watched him was three years ago in Soehana Hall, Jakarta. He was still 9 years old at that time, but I could already sense that, with such natural skill, this kid was going to be a big star. And it did not take long until he appeared as a performer at the Grammy Awards night and the world started calling him “the child prodigy” at the age of 12.

Joey, who recently moved to the US to pursue his career and education in jazz, is one of many young Indonesians blessed with a jazz pianist’s talent. Off the top of my head, I can think of Nial Djuliarso and David Manuhutu who graduated from the Berklee College of Music; Sri Hanuraga who got his degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and Francesca Prihasti who is now based in Sydney.

I am sure that there are more names out there but unfortunately they are probably more popular overseas than in their homeland. This is simply because jazz musicians do not receive much appreciation back home, and the music itself remains highly segmented.

Jazz festivals and jazz cafes in Jakarta also struggle to survive. The options are either add more popular genres into their music program to attract larger crowds, or stick to jazz idealism and close down. It is indeed a tough choice for the industry.

The next question is, what can we do as the audience to support Indonesian musicians?

First, we should familiarize ourselves with as many Indonesian talents as possible, not only jazz, but other musicians as well. It is such a shame that we know less about Indonesian musicians than foreign artists.

Second, is to start appreciating the hard work of these musicians by legally purchasing their albums. Think of how much time and effort they have invested in producing an album; they truly deserve our genuine recognition.

Third, is to get to know them better by watching their live performances. In my view, live performances are always a different experience because we are able to feel the real interactions between the musicians and their audience, to be surprised by real-time improvisation and to learn the musical technique that they bring to their performances.

As John Coltrane says, “the emotional reaction is all that matters”.

***

Cherika Hardjakusumah works in an international organization in Geneva, Switzerland. She can be reached via her Twitter account @cherikanh.

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