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Guitar lovers gather for Jubing concert, new album
The guitar must be the friendliest musical instrument ever made
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The guitar must be the friendliest musical instrument ever made.
It is the best companion for those who play and listen to music purely for excitement, know nothing about Mozart (not even his complete name) and who are intimidated by the more "serious" musical instruments, like the piano or violin.
It is no coincidence then that Jubing Kristianto's concert at Bentara Budaya Jakarta on Thursday night was attended by a diverse audience -- seniors, parents and their children, teenagers, journalists and, of course, guitarists. Most of them sat on the floor, while the rest stood toward the back.
The concert was more like a gathering of Jubing's fans; those who have been charmed by his finger-style guitar playing and his delicate renditions of Indonesian folk and pop songs. Though less well known compared to celebrity-guitarists like Dewa Budjana, Tohpati and Belawan, Jubing has some loyal fans.
They gathered at Bentara Budaya for a concert that presented songs from Jubing's newly released second guitar solo album, Hujan Fantasy (The Rain Fantasy).
"My first album, Becak Fantasy (The Pedicab Fantasy), sold more than 8,000 copies, discounting piracy. This is quite an achievement for a solo guitar album," he told journalists before the concert.
Jubing and his producer, Wandy Gautama, said many people doubted the wisdom of releasing Becak Fantasy, because they thought the audience would be too segmented.
"Some people said that only guitar players would buy the album. They turned out to be wrong. We are happy to know that there are some students who play guitar and enjoy the album very much," Gautama said.
Retaining the concept from his debut album, Hujan Fantasy explores the possibility of playing popular songs with a single guitar without losing its "orchestral tone". The first track of the album is "Aku Cinta Dia", a song by Adjie Soetama that was popularized by Chrisye in the 1980s.
It is a nice opening for the album, which contains 16 tracks. The melody is so catchy that Jubing seems to find no difficulty in improvising and adding to the classic.
"I always choose songs that boast beautiful and memorable melodies," he said.
The second track, "Bengong Jeumpa", is a traditional song from Aceh. The song has a strong Middle Eastern flavor and this is where Jubing excels; transforming traditional songs into lively guitar pieces laden with classical and jazz ornaments.
Another traditional song included in the album is the Javanese number "Gundul Pacul", which he plays in a duet with talented percussionist Suryadi from Surakarta, Central Java.
Jubing performed with Suryadi at the concert and the pair captivated the audience with their impressive rhythmic harmonies -- versatile and polyphonic -- and the bouncy traditional percussions. The audience saved its biggest applause for the piece.
Jubing also collaborates with singer Christopher Abimanyu, who provides vocals on covers of Gatot Sunyoto's "Gubahanku" (My Composition) and the Andra and the Backbone hit "Sempurna" (Perfect).
To prove to the audience that the guitar is the most versatile musical instrument, Jubing impressed his audience with an arrangement of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
He said the song was the most "technically difficult to play" on the album. However, his fidelity to the details of the complex song makes his arrangement tedious and less attractive than his other free renditions, such as The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and Sting's "Every Breath You Take".
The album's title, Hujan Fantasy, is an interpretation of Ibu Soed's song "Hujan". The arrangement is more melodious but less formidable than that of the song "Becak Fantasy" (also by Ibu Soed).
He includes some of his own compositions on the album. "Moonrise", "Windbells" and "Rickshaw" -- referred to as the "three Oriental songs" -- are reminiscent of the songs composed by Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Kitaro.
"I composed the songs long ago. They are all pentatonic melodies," he said.
On the previous album, he composed two songs, "Song for Renny" and "Amelia" -- both inspired by his wife, Renny, who writes children's stories.
Jubing said he was fully aware that music was all about taste and what he was playing might not satisfy the ears of certain listeners.
"But I can be sure that it sounds good to me," he said.
Self-doubt aside, he was indeed thankful for the enthusiasm and the applause of the audience at Bentara Budaya, who cherished the melodies of his guitar and found his playing amazing and entertaining.
