M

onday is here and it's time to scan the fun-itinerary in Jakarta this week. Several highlights to brighten up your week revolve around fusion jazz and the ominous attempts to describe the word by our local masters.

Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, the webpage of which is currently down without any prospect of resurrection, will host a couple of concerts worth checking out this week. The first to grace the stage is Yovie Widianto Fusion (YWF), whose debut at the Yamaha charity concert several months back convinced people that fusion, ladies and gentlemen, is hip.

Yovie Widianto, famous for his mellow tunes with his previous band Kahitna and songs for artists like Glenn Fredly and Ruth Sahanaya, is bringing veteran drummer Gerry Herb, Balawan bassist Adi Dharmawan and half a dozen other musicians to play music inspired by Casiopea and Return to Forever - this time with an Indonesian touch here and there.

Their performance will be on Dec. 9, at 8 p.m., in which an early call to GKJ secretariat at 3808283 or 3441892 for ticket information would be a wise move. Adi Dharmawan is expected to return with Balawan Batuan Ethnic Fusion on Dec. 11 at the same hour. Focusing on Balawan's intense two hand tapping technique, Batuan Ethnic Fusion has always brought highly coordinated chaos to the stage, shredding the hearts of its listeners - and audiences - with music that's somewhat best described as the mathematical formula for the end of the world. It's going to be loud, but it's going to be precise.

Balawan's previous concerts have featured prodigal violinist Didiet, which together bring out the best of each other. This week's performance, nevertheless, will feature Riza Arshad from the notorious Simak Dialog on keyboard, Jubing Kristianto on nylon guitar and Marusya Nainggolan, the director of GKJ, on piano. You've got the phone numbers, so do check for tickets.

The most exciting concert this week, God's answer to the prayers of fans from around the nation is, lo and behold, the return of Java Jazz.

Not to be mistaken with the Java Jazz Festival, Java Jazz was, as a matter of fact, an Indonesian super jazz group that reigned supreme back in the 1990s. They released two albums as a group, the double album Bulan Diatas Asia (Moon Over Asia) in 1994 with Dewa Budjana on guitar, Indra Lesmana on keyboard, Gilang Ramadhan on drums, Mates on bass and the legendary Embong Raharjo on sax and flute.

Their second and final album in 1998, Sabda Prana (Words of Life Force) saw the return of Donny Suhendra replacing Budjana. And after the untimely death of Embong Raharjo on Nov. 30, 2001, they broke up.

The re-grouped Java Jazz, performing this Thursday, Dec. 10, at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, will not have a replacement for Embong, but will have both guitarists playing side by side instead. Order tickets now at www.wartaJazz.com, contact (021) 8310769 or email info@wartajazz.net for information, and you're in for possibly the biggest local jazz concert this year.