Thousands of residents of Surakarta (Solo), Central Java were on hand at Vastenburg, an 18th century Dutch fort in the city'€™s Gladag district, for Solo City Jazz 2013, where dozens musicians displayed their skills and creativity at the much anticipated annual event.

While the government previously declared Vastenburg a cultural heritage object, neglect has reduced the site to ruins, leaving only its outermost structures standing. It was in the fort'€™s courtyard, where the concert, themed '€œJazz Up Heritage'€, was held late last month.

The choice of the fort, built on the orders of then governor general Baron Van Imhoff, was meant to arouse public awareness on the importance of heritage conservation, a mission that has been taken seriously by the concert'€™s organizers since the event'€™s inception in 2009.

The first and third iterations of Solo City Jazz were held in the city'€™s Ngarsopuro Corridor, inside the Mangkunegaran Palace, while the second edition in 2011 was held at Taman Sriwedari, the royal park
of the rival Kasunanan Surakarta Palace.

For this year'€™s concert, a minimalist, ethnic-tinged stage was set up in the fort, with bamboo decorations on both sides and at the rear. On hand were famous jazz artists, such as Iga Mawarni, Matthew Sayersz, Bintang Indrianto, Denny Chasmala and Harry Toledo.

Iga Mawarni '€” who got her start in Surakarta years ago '€” was the most awaited performer to grace the stage in Solo on the second day of the concert. The gorgeous chanteuse wowed the crowd with a moving rendition of '€œKasmaran'€ (In Love), the song that first brought her to the national spotlight in 1991.

Show stoppers: The concert wound up with a comic performance from Sahita, the city'€™s renowned dance theater group.
The concert also offered the reunion of Iga with the B'€™Allstars Band for a set. The B'€™Allstars, based on Solo, used to accompany Iga for performances in the early years of her career. '€œThis band has played with me since I was 10. Now, we'€™re reunited for this occasion,'€ Iga said.

After '€œKasmaran'€, Iga followed up with stylish renditions of other fan favorites such as '€œAndai saja'€ (If only) and '€œNgomong Cinta'€ (Talking about Love), which both received overwhelming applause from
spectators.

Iga, however, says that '€œNgomong Cinta'€ has impressed her most, as the song, which she co-wrote with Dodo Zakaria, was based on a true story. '€œIt'€™s about somebody who expects to be loved, but gets no response whatsoever.'€

The Bogor-born siren then went alternative, with jazzy arrangements of '€œLove Song'€ from The Cure and '€œLife'€ from British R&B star Des'€™ree. Iga didn'€™t fail to show her deep reverence for Surakarta'€™s greatest composer, the late Gesang, with an elegant rendition of his famous '€œBengawan Solo'€ (Solo River).

Then it was time for Harry Toledo to take the stage with his locally based Indonesian Bassist Family (IBF), performing a composition written especially for the audience in Surakarta, '€œSong for Solo'€.

The maestro thrilled the crowd, performing his slap bass technique while performing renditions of '€œMove like Jagger'€, '€œSeptember'€ and Iwan Fals'€™ always rousing political anthem '€œBento'€.

Bassist Bintang Indrianto was on hand, along with guitarist Denny Chasmala and drummer Mohammad Iqbal, stunning spectators by offering five musical pieces on the first day that showcased their superior skills as performers.

Bintang played an amusing melody of the Javanese children'€™s song '€œGundul-gundul Pacul'€ (Bald Head) and pop song '€œMadu dan Racun'€ (Honey and Poison), intermittently combining jazz themes with dangdut beats to the laughter of the audience.

Jazz newcomer Matthew Sayersz, vocalist of the Barry Likumahua Project, closed out the first day of the concert, covering '€œBeautiful'€ by Indonesian girlband Cherrybelle and '€œBengawan Solo'€.

Songbird: Jazz singer Iga Mawarni '€“ who got her start in Surakarta '€“ wowed audiences at the Solo City Jazz 2013.
Solo City Jazz 2013 also featured budding jazz groups that creatively blended dangdut, regional music and children'€™s tunes.

The Smoothies, for instance, livened up the concert with their rendition of '€œBurung Kakak Tua'€ (Cockatoo). Their Yogyakarta-based crew offered up easy-listening acid jazz that went down smoothly for the less-than-serious jazz enthusiasts in the house.

Are You Alone belted out a cover of the Javanese pop song '€œStasiun Balapan'€ (Balapan Station), among other pieces composed by the band. Originally performed in the campur sari (modern Javanese) rhythm, Didi Kempot'€™s song was reenvisioned by the Jakarta-based band with a jazzy tempo.

Meanwhile, Absurd Nation from Semarang, Central Java, added a humorous arrangement of '€œPacar Lima Langkah'€ (Five-Step Lover), a dangdut song by Uut Permatasari. The 1-year-old band also performed a Malay-styled '€œPak Ketipak Ketipung'€ (Bongo Sound) and a medley of children'€™s song.

The concert wound up with a comic performance from Sahita, the city'€™s renowned dance theater group. Although the performers aren'€™t jazz musicians, they have a knack for adding humor to local favorites.

The group'€™s iconic performers '€” Inonk (Wahyu Widayati), Sri Lestari (Cempluk), Sri Setyoasih (Tingtong) and Atik Sulistiyaning (Kencana Sari) '€” gave renditions of songs such as '€œTul Jaenak'€ from Java, '€œApuse'€ from Papua, and even the Italian standard '€œVolare'€ that set the house on a roar.

'€œActually we were a bit worried when invited to join the jazz show, because we'€™ve never had any experience with jazz,'€ revealed Cempluk. '€œWe were contriving to make some Latin blends with amusing Javanese words, which turned out to send everybody into fits of laughter.'€