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View all search resultsJubing creates sparks, magic with his fingers
Night of music: Guitarist Jubing Kristianto (right) performs live at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center in Jakarta recently â he created magic with his guitar
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Night of music: Guitarist Jubing Kristianto (right) performs live at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center in Jakarta recently ' he created magic with his guitar.
There is something magical about the way master finger-style guitarist Jubing Kristianto plays his guitar.
Some 300 music enthusiasts had the privilege of watching renowned guitarist Jubing Kristianto perform live at Bentara Budaya Jakarta cultural center in Jakarta recently ' he created magic with his guitar.
Jubing's 'Pagi Putih' (White Morning) concert, whose title was taken from his latest solo album, started at 7:30 p.m., a time during which most Jakartans find themselves trapped in a chaotic traffic jam.
Those lucky enough to attend found solace and Jubing kicked off his performance with 'Kaki Langit' (Horizon), a song taken from his previous album of the same title. It was a promising start as Jubing played it flawlessly, enticing the audience into the right mood for the songs to come.
Before continuing with his next song, the 49-year old Jubing took some time interact with the audience, explaining to that the concert was not the official launch of his latest album.
'The album Pagi Putih has been available on iTunes for several months. I never planned to sell the album in a physical CD format because, well, we all know most CD stores have closed,' Jubing said.
'However, a lot of friends and fans, who have downloaded the digital version, have been asking me to release the album in a CD format because they say that they want to have my autograph on the album. In the digital format, of course, I can't physically put my autograph on it.'
After performing 'Kaki Langit', Jubing began to play songs from his new album, including the album namesake 'Pagi Putih' (White Morning).
Jubing said that he received the inspiration to write 'Pagi Putih' during a visit to Davos, Switzerland. He said that when he woke up and opened the window, he saw snow everywhere and he decided to make a composition to describe what he had felt during a cold snowy morning walk in Davos.
In 'Pagi Putih', Jubing displayed his adventurous mindset as a musician ' instead of using regular guitar stem settings, he changed them to produce a unique and almost hypnotic sound.
'Pagi Putih' was not the most impressive score performed by Jubing. Jubing performance of 'The Entertainer', a classic rag time song from the rag time era composed by Scott Joplin was a showstopper.
'The Entertainer' had been intended for piano, not guitar. To perfectly execute the song is hard enough for a decent piano player but Jubing decided to play the song on guitar as a musical experiment.
By performing 'The Entertainer', Jubing showed both a flawless performance and a showcase of his virtuoso skill level. He and his guitar became one ' hitting all the right notes and twists.
While other great guitarists seem to make love with their instruments during a performance, in Jubing's case, he and his guitar look as if they are two best friends having fun.
Just when it seemed as if Jubing could no longer add a better performance, the guitarist stood proud, taking on an even higher challenge.
He covered a classic composition from Johannes Brahms, titled 'Hungarian Dance No. 5', confirming many a critic's description of him as being a guitarist who can utilize a guitar to play to the performance level of a mini orchestra.
When performing 'Hungarian Dance No. 5', he and his guitar became a complete orchestra. It was unbelievable to hear the number of unique sounds produced by Jubing's fingers with the guitar strings.
In all, Jubing performed 24 songs, including collaborations with other musicians, such as singer Imada, Reda Gaudiamo and young violinist Didiet. It was around two hours before Jubing and his friends had completed the set, but the memory of his brilliance lasted long after the show was over.
' Photos by JP/Jerry Adiguna
