Interviews

WartaJazz.com: An Indonesian Jazz Mission

By
IAN PATTERSON,
Ian Patterson

Ian Patterson

Senior Contributor since 2006

Ian is dedicated to the promotion of jazz and all creative music all over the world, and to catching just a little piece of it for himself.

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Published: August 11, 2010

WartJazz.com certainly has taken the business seriously since then, realizing one goal after another.

"Year after year, our history grew," Setiawan said. "We wanted to do a concert ... we did it. We wanted to have a radio station ... we have it. We wanted to have a jazz festival ... we did it. We wanted to make a jazz documentary ... we did it. We wanted to release CDs ... we did it. We wanted to have a photo exhibition ... we did it last year.

"We've covered most of the aspects of jazz, from managing artists to putting on festivals, doing interviews, arranging press conferences—we've done all that," he added.

And that list doesn't include the group's production of high-quality merchandise, web design for other jazz festivals, booking Indonesian bands around North America, and a forthcoming book publication.

Nonetheless, WartaJazz.com still has plenty of unrealized goals, and like all the others thus far, obstacles do not stand in the way—they are stepping stones on the way to fulfillment.

"We still have a dream which we want to do in the very near future," enthuses Setiawan, "which is to have an Indonesian Jazz Meeting, and promote jazz to Indonesian people, learning from everybody like obviously IAJE, and Jazz Ahead in Germany. We want to bring something very good to Indonesian people and also for the world of jazz. We want to make this music as accessible as possible."

Bringing the music to the people is at the core of everything WartaJazz.com does. In 2003, the group toured Indonesia with an Indonesian band called Cherokee. Although no one in WartaJazz.com had any previous experience managing a tour, it was a resounding success and paved the way for more tours to follow. From early on WartJazz.com has also brought international jazz acts to Indonesia. In 2001, it promoted Spanish improvisational group Zip Zap in Jakarta.

The musical events WartaJazz.com promotes often have a "one-time only" character, uniting international and Indonesian musicians to explore music together. In 2003, WartaJazz.com produced Jazz Meets Gamelan, which brought together Swiss jazz trio Podjama with gamelan (music performed on a group of traditional instruments found in Bali and Java) masters. In 2005, WartaJazz.com did a project with the Goethe Institute called Pata Java, a collaboration between Djaduk Ferianto's Kua Ethnika and Norbert SteinNorbert Stein Norbert Stein
's Pata MastersPata Masters Pata Masters
from Koln, Germany. The collaborative project toured three cities in Indonesia and went into the studio to produce a recording.

The desire to stage a jazz festival was realized in 2005, when the Bali International Jazz Festival was launched—although its timing, coming only two months after two tragic bombing attacks killed 20 people, meant it was doomed from the start.

"Obviously everybody knew that the festival couldn't continue after that, though the hope is to re-launch the festival in the future," Setiawan said.

Undeterred, WartaJazz.com has been involved in running jazz festivals throughout Indonesia, providing its expertise in the production side, in festival programming and promotion. One notable example is Jazz Goes to Campus, held at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.

"Jazz on Campus started in '78," Setiawan explained. "It's 100 percent organized by Indonesian students. They have had some international names like Bob JamesBob James Bob James
b.1939
piano
and Dave KostaDave Kosta Dave Kosta
, but it's mostly Indonesian artists like SyaharaniSyaharani Syaharani
b.1971
vocal
and Bubi Chen.

"It's held around the end of November," he added. "This year, 25,000 are students expected to attend. The audience is 90 percent students and it's the only jazz festival in the world managed 100 percent by students, attended mostly by students and this legacy is passed on year after year. It's one of the oldest festivals in Indonesia."

The latest of festival ventures involving WartaJazz.com is Jazz Gunung, a one-day jazz festival held in the mountains of East Java at more than 2,000 meters above sea level, in an area of active, smoking volcanoes and spectacular volcanic terrain.


Jazz Gunung, 2010

Collaborations have unfolded, too, with Indonesian-based cultural centers in France, Italy and Holland, as well as the embassies of Portugal, Finland and Norway, among others. As a significant on-line presence in Indonesia WartaJazz.com has been the official online partner for a range of artists from David BenoitDavid Benoit David Benoit
b.1953
piano
to Level 42Level 42 Level 42
.

The promotion of home-grown jazz artists is not restricted to Indonesia, and the first international tour promoting a gamelan-jazz fusion band, KrakatauKrakatau Krakatau
, took place in 2004, with a tour of North America and Canada. It was an important move in more ways than one, Setiawan said.

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