Insight into the World of....Java Festival Production

BNI Blackberry Application for AXIS Java Jazz Festival 2010

2010-01-24T23:18:00.000+07:00

You love your Jazz!
You love your BlackBerry®!
Now, you're IN LOVE with your Festival.
The Java Jazz Festival 2010 BlackBerry® Application.

» the JavaJazzFestival 2010 on your BlackBerry
» get notified, updated, the latest news, venue layout & location, free tickets, artist info and performance schedules direct on your mobile
» updated as it happens, get the @JavaJazzFest twitter timeline inside the application
» easily search your favorites artists by their names, get performance schedules, stage and navigate the venue with festival map
» ticket box information

Compatible with OS: 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.7.0, 5.0.0
Compatible for devices: 81x0, 83x0, 8520, 88x0, 8900, 9000, 95x0, 9700

Get the app now, click here to download.

Toni Braxton Confirmed to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010

2010-01-13T10:54:00.003+07:00

With one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in contemporary music, Toni Braxton returned to the international marketplace with her just released Essential CD.

Toni came on like a delicious, soulful breeze in the summer of 1993. Her eponymous debut was an instant smash, winning two Grammy Awards and selling more than eight million copies worldwide. Anticipation had been simmering for nearly a year, after urban and pop wrapped their arms around “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” from Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang. The soundtrack was the best thing about the movie, Toni was the best thing about the soundtrack, and folks were clamoring for more.

Toni’s brand of from-the-guy belting was a throwback. She brought the blues back to R&B. Gracefully, elegantly. Smoothed all the way. The Best New Artist of 1993 returned triumphantly with Secrets, a sultrier set that continued her hot streak. For this more carnal collection Toni changed her look. This time out, Toni wasn’t rocking the stylish shot ‘do, instead, the songstress got herself a fierce honey-brown weave that rained down her back. Toni wanted to play up her sexy side. Her outfits became slinkier; her voice became more revealing. But her aesthetics remained unchanged. Toni demonstrated her universal appeal on Secrets. She was soulful enough to keep her ghetto credential yet polished enough to reach folks out in the ‘burbs. “You’re Makin’ Me High”, an across-the-board smash, brought a little steamy funk to the mix. It set up the indelible Super Ballad, “Un-Break My Hear,” and “There’s No Me Without You” brought her a new kind of divadom.

Then on 2000’s The Heat, Toni snagged the sophisticated urban club crowed with “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” While doing promotional work on The Heat, Toni made her silver screen debut in “Kingdom Come,” which featured an all-star cast and earned her a BET Black Oscar. In 2000, she was given the coveted Aretha Franklin Soul Train Award for Career Achievements. The October 2001 release of Snowflakes, Toni’s critically-acclaimed holiday album, provided further validation for her popularity. In 2002, Toni began work on More Than a Woman, which she describes as “more ‘in-your-face’ than my previous albums.” At the time, she explained, “My first love has always been R&B and I’ve been into hip-hop since it first started. On each of the albums I’ve done since my first one, I’ve done things to introduce people to other aspects of what I’m about musically.”

When she’s not at home cooking and being a loving wife and mother, Toni continues to entertain her fans in a spectacular live show in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel, where she is the resident headliner. “Toni Braxton: Revealed” is a sexy, entertaining and intimate evening with the woman who interprets the emotional essence of a song the way no other artist can. “Revealed” a full-scale musical production that draws upon Ms. Braxton’s experience as an accomplished musician, singer and Broadway performer has been so successful that the Flamingo Las Vegas recently extended the dynamic live show through August 2007.

Visit her website

This is her Myspace

Get a taste of her singing 'Yesterday' feat. Trey Songz

Back for His Second Time at Java Jazz Festival...Babyface

2010-01-04T12:20:00.006+07:00

If you were to closely examine the annals of modern pop music history, few creative forces have been more seminal or impacted the contemporary pop/urban genres as much as Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. In a relatively short time, he has reached icon status as a poignant tune smith, prolific hit maker/producer, superstar recording artist and revolutionary label owner. He is a statistical juggernaut, who keeps adding milestone after milestone to a legacy that seems to have no threshold or peak insight. A 10-time Grammy winner with 11 solo albums of his own, Edmonds' impeccably crafted explorations of love, romance and relationships have made an indelible imprint on the evolution of contemporary pop music throughout the world: over 125 Top-10 R&B and Pop hits, 41 #1R&B hits, and 51 Top-10 Pop hits (including 16 #1's), which have produced single and album sales in excess of over 100 million units.Just a few of the vocalists from which his music can be heard: Whitey Houston, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mary J.Blige, Michael Jackson, TLC, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion, John Mellen camp, Brandy, Aretha Franklin, Fall Out Boy, Pink. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Soul Train Music Awards, BMI Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and American Music Awards. Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds was the recipient of the third BET Walk of Fame Award (previous honorees were Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston), and was named BET's "Entertainer of the Year" at the First Annual BET Awards Ceremony. He will receive a star on Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame in 2009. Edmonds' charitable work is as impressive as his professional accomplishments. His caring and generosity have garnered him several awards, including the Essence Award for Excellence, The City of Hope Award, and Variety Magazine's "Top of the Town" Honoree Award. He was National Spokesman for Boarder Babies, and personally helped raise over $500,000 for a transitional home, The Little Blue House, located in Washington D.C. Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds has also personally donated over $100,000 to the VH-1 Save the Music program. He continues to contribute to a host of other worthwhile organizations,including the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

Babyface's website

His Myspace

A video of his previous performance at JJF 2008

Roy Hargrove Quintet is Coming to Jakarta International JAVA JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010

2010-01-04T12:10:00.006+07:00

At 36, trumpeter Roy Hargrove has firmly established himself as among the premier players in jazz and beyond. Ever-stretching into more challenging and colorful ways to flex his musical chops, Hargrove has left indelible imprints in a vast array of artful settings. During his tenure on the Verve label alone, he has recorded an album with a hand-picked collection of the world’s greatest tenor saxophonists (With the Tenors of Our Time), an album of standards with strings (Moment to Moment) and, in 2003, introduced his own hip hop/jazz collective The RH Factor with the groundbreaking CD Hard Groove (swiftly followed by the limited edition EP, Strength). Hargrove has also won Grammy® Awards for two vastly different projects. In 1997, Roy’s Cuban-based band Crisol (including piano legend Jesus “Chucho” Valdes and wonder drummer Horatio “El Negro” Hernandez) won the Best Latin Jazz Performance Grammy for the album Habana. And in 2002, Hargrove, Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker won Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group, for their three-way collaboration Directions in Music.

On XXXXXX, Hargrove will bring two of his musical worlds closer together with the simultaneous release of Distractions and Nothing Serious – all new recordings by both of Roy Hargrove’s touring ensembles. Distractions features the contemporary funk/jazz sounds of The RH Factor. Nothing Serious features straight ahead jazz by The Roy Hargrove Quintet with special guest Slide Hampton on trombone. Verve A&R executive Dahlia Ambach-Caplin explains, “When it came time to work on a new album, it became clear that Roy currently has two sides to his music. Choosing one over the other would not do him justice, so we went for both, approaching them as two separate projects. The quintet recorded in March of 2005 with 15-time GRAMMY award winning engineer Al Schmitt at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California. The RH Factor recorded later in May at Sausalito’s The Record Plant with engineer Russell Elevado.”

“I've been doing more touring with RH Factor than my quintet lately,” Hargrove muses. “People are turning a deaf ear to jazz. Some of that is the fault of jazz musicians trying too hard to appear to be cerebral. They aren’t having fun playing the music and that's why people aren't coming to hear it live anymore.

What do we have to offer in the world of jazz today? It's about being innovative, which is cool. But innovation right now will come in music that's swinging and feels good. It's meaningless if it doesn't make you feel something.”

The bulk of the new 12-track RH Factor disc is inspired vocal ruminations. Most telling is the knee-deep funk of “A Place,” the hook of which poses the musical question, “If I take you to a place I love / If I change my style / Would you like it?” For the man who came to prominence in the jazz realm, these lyrics reflect the on-going challenge he has bridging the gap between the two styles of music that dominate his direction. “My goal with RH Factor has always been to try to erase the lines between the mainstream and the underground - straight ahead and hip hop/R&B. You have musicians who know all the theory and harmony. Then you have the musicians who have a direct line to the masses and what they like to hear. If you can combine the two, it can be something innovative as well.”

Other vocal numbers on the RH Factor disc include the feel-good track “Crazy Race” (in which some of Hargrove’s trumpet lines recall a melody from Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Brazilian Rhyme”) and “Can’t Stop,” both uplifting messages about striving in the face of adversity. Singer/songwriter Renee’ Neufville, a former member of the female soul duo Zhane’ who has been performing with RH Factor for the last two years, wrote the laidback “On the One” (about missing an old lover), and co-wrote three others with Hargrove: the aforementioned “A Place,” the chill meditation “Family” and “Hold On,” which features vocals by none other than Roy himself, Renee’ and RHF drummer Jason “JT” Thomas. Commenting on his vocal feature on this album, Hargrove quips, “I sang on “I’ll Stay” from the first RH Factor album, but this is the first time I’ve sung several bars by myself.”

The man who sang with Roy on “I’ll Stay” was neo soul pioneer D’Angelo, who returns on the new album producing, writing, singing and signifyin’ on the fiery “Bull****.” “I guess he brought me a track he thought would be good for me to play over,” Roy states modestly. “He did the automation at the Record Plant in Sausalito. The band played along to what he programmed, he took it to L.A. to work on it some more, then sent it back to me in New York where I worked on it at Electric Lady Studios.” The song recalls old New Orleans as filtered through a funky haze of modern hip hop boom-bap. “‘D’ most definitely blessed me,” Roy concludes. The remaining RH Factor tracks are groove interludes titled “Distractions” (1-4), plus the percolating psychedelics of the instrumental “Kansas City.”

Recalling the humorous origin of the latter, Hargrove begins, “I was playing a gig there with Directions in Music featuring Michael Brecker and Herbie Hancock and I always carry my portable studio with me. I wrote that in the hotel just after walking to get some fried chicken and Blue Bell ice cream, which they don't sell in New York. I used to OD on that stuff when I was living in Texas. When I got to KC and saw that they were selling it there, I was so happy, I went back to the hotel and wrote that song on the spot!”

Bringing all this RH Factor funk to life is a unique ensemble of Roy on trumpet, two saxophonists (Keith Anderson and the legendary David “Fathead” Newman), three keyboardists (Charles McCampbell, Bobby Sparks and Neufville), one guitarist (Todd Parsnow), two drummers (Jason “JT” Thomas and Willie Jones III), and - most amazingly - two bass players (Lenny Stalworth and Reggie Washington). “My regular bass player, Reggie, couldn't make the recording sessions at first,” Hargrove shares. “So I hired Lenny, a friend from Berklee, to do the record. But when Reggie heard about Lenny – not wanting him to creep in and take his gig - he was like ‘Wait a minute!’ I thought, ‘two bassists-two drummers - let's go!’”

Going with the flow – in more ways than one – has long been a hallmark of Hargrove’s approach. A major influence along those lines is sax man David “Fathead” Newman, a world class player and among the most fabled members of the late great Ray Charles’ band. It was an honor for Roy to have him in the band for this special RH Factor project. “Fathead was the first musician I ever saw improvise,” Hargrove remembers. “I was about 14 when he came to Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School in Dallas. My band director, Dean Hill, was friends with ‘Fathead’ and invited him to the school. Fathead did a baritone solo over our tuba and drum sections playing (Herbie Hancock’s) “Chameleon”. He was making a whole lot of music without reading anything and I became very fascinated with that. It put me on the road to learning how to improvise.”

Where Roy describes the RH Factor disc Distractions as “coming more from my personal archives,” Nothing Serious featuring his jazz quintet is a completely different animal...and not just stylistically. “It's important with a straight ahead group for everyone to contribute,” Hargrove explains. “Opening things up compositionally keeps the program well-rounded. And even when they're playing my tunes, everybody’s sound shapes the song.” A key to this cohesiveness can be found in the title of the quintet disc’s fourth track: “Camaraderie.” “That tune is a vehicle for the band to play in a more avant garde way yet still keep it ‘in,’” Hargrove states. Breaking it down even further, he elaborates, “The title suggests togetherness, and a good group has to be very cohesive…everybody knowing where everyone else is breathing. That way if you decide to take the music ‘out,’ whatever happens remains musical. The song is organized chaos, all coming together within a minor blues.” “Camaraderie” also has the distinction of being inspired by the late trumpet great Lester Bowie, the forward thinking co-founder of the acclaimed Art Ensemble of Chicago. Roy recalls their meeting. “I was playing a jam session one night in Italy and Lester was there listening. I was playing all my bebop. He came up to me and said, ‘Man, take it out!’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Stop playing all that pretty stuff. Play something ugly!’ So I started playing less inside…screamin'...makin’ a lot of noise. Lester lit up like, ‘Yeah!’ It was a lesson for me.”

The 8-song Roy Hargrove Quintet disc Nothing Serious moves from Roy’s breathtaking and sensual Flugelhorn ballad “Trust” and the enveloping warmth of “The Gift” to a fierce waltz time swinger “Salima’s Dance” (from the pen of pianist Ronnie Matthews), a relentlessly winding study in melody from bassist D’Wayne Burno evocatively titled “Devil Eyes,” and a whirl through the magical changes of Branislau Kaper’s “Invitation,” the set’s sole jazz standard. Rounding out the stellar quintet are alto saxophonist Justin Robinson (who also plays some lovely flute on “Trust”) and drummer Willie Jones III, the latter of whom has been playing in Hargrove’s groups for eight years. As a whole, this incarnation of the Roy Hargrove Quintet has been playing together for four years, the tightness of which is evident throughout the disc. The band perfected most of the material on the road before the recording.

One glowing exception is the lushly swingin’ “A Day in Vienna,” contributed by special guest Slide Hampton, a living giant of jazz. Roy cut his teeth with Hampton’s band in a trumpet section that included greats Jon Faddis and Claudio Roditi (documented on the Telarc Records CD Dedicated to Diz, a Slide Hampton & The Jazz Masters set from `93 recorded live at the Village Vanguard). “Slide has been a big part of my education. I can't tell you know much playing charts from the original Dizzy Big Band book with that group helped me. The way that Slide arranges and voices, he knows how to take a small group of horns and make it sound like an orchestra.” Listen to Roy’s own “Trust” to hear that he learned Slide’s lessons well.

Roy Hargrove was born in Waco, TX on October 16, 1969. Inspired by the gospel music he heard in church on Sundays and the R&B and funk music that played on the radio, Roy began learning the trumpet in the fourth grade. By junior high school, he was playing at an advanced level of proficiency. At 16, he was studying music at Dallas's prestigious Booker T. Washington School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

Midway through his junior year, Roy was "discovered" by Wynton Marsalis, who was conducting a jazz clinic at the school. Impressed, Marsalis invited Roy to sit in with his band at Ft. Worth's Caravan of Dreams Performing Arts Center. Subsequently, Hargrove was able to return to the venue over a period of the next three months, sitting in with Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. Word of Roy’s talent reached Paul Ackett, founder and Director of The North Sea Jazz Festival who arranged for him to perform there that summer. This lead to a month long European Tour.

Hargrove spent one year (1988-1989) studying at Boston's Berklee School of Music, but could more often be found in NYC jam sessions, which resulted in his transferring to New York’s New School. His first recording in NYC was with the saxophonist Bobby Watson followed shortly by a session with the up-and-comers super group, Superblue featuring Watson, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Washington. In 1990, he released his solo debut, Diamond in the Rough, on the Novus/RCA label, for which he would record a total of four albums that document his incubational growth as a “young lion” to watch. Hargrove made his Verve Records debut in 1994 on With the Tenors of Our Time, showcasing him with stellar sax men Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Joshua Redman and Branford Marsalis.

Every album Roy has released on Verve has been different from the one preceding it. And the same can be said of the array of talents who have invited him to grace the stage and/or their recordings - from jazz legends Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean to song stylists Natalie Cole, Diana Krall and Abbey Lincoln. From pop veterans Diana Ross, Steve Tyrell and Kenny Rankin to younger stars John Mayer and Rhian Benson to the crème de la crème of jazz divas: Carmen McRae and the late, great Shirley Horn. Hargrove was also commissioned by the Lincoln Jazz Center to compose the piece “The Love Suite: In Mahogany,” which was performed in 1993. He is also a superstar of the international touring scene with his quintet, RH Factor and as a soloist.

In 2005, he was a featured guest with Slide Hampton and the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band in bi-coastal tributes to James Moody in honor of the saxophonists 80th birthday at Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and approximately 25 other concerts around the globe. As RH Factor attests, Roy is also a product of the hip hop generation. He can be heard on a cover of rapper Method Man’s “All I Need” the album-opening track of producer Tony Joseph’s 2005 Verve project Def Jazz (instrumental interpretations of rap classics from the Def Jam label).

He has further ventured into the black pop mainstream as a collaborator with edgy soul star D'Angelo and guest appearances on albums by neo soul priestess Erykah Badu, thought-provoking rapper Common, and English acid jazz DJ/producer Gilles Peterson.

Touching back on the statement Roy made at the outset about the state of jazz and jazz audiences today, the music world would be hard pressed to find another ambassador capable of traversing the worlds of straight ahead swingin’ and the funky underground better than Brother Hargrove. The RH Factor’s Distractions and The Roy Hargrove Quintet’s Nothing Serious stand as the actual proof.

To read more about Mr. Hargrove, please go here

Check out his Myspace

The Quintet in Action

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 !!

2009-12-31T12:07:00.004+07:00

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Ron King Big Band

2009-12-31T11:43:00.003+07:00

Prepare for a vibrant performance when Ron King performs with his big band! Ron King is one of the best trumpeters, composers and arrangers in the world. A Grammy nominee, he was the recipient of awards from IAJNE, NAJE, ASCAP and RMA. The line-up of musicians with whom he has jammed with is extremely diverse, starting from George Benson, Ricki Lee Jones to Marvin Gaye. At Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008 and 2009, Ron King performed a number of times to a full audience.

Ron King's Website

Check Out Ron King's Big Band Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Mindi Abair

2009-12-31T11:32:00.004+07:00

Born on tour into a musical family, Mindi Abair was playing piano by the age of five. Within three years, she was playing saxophone and writing songs. She made her way through Berklee performing all kinds of music from jazz to rock and R&B. Upon moving back to Los Angeles, Abair started her own band. She also took on session work with artists as diverse as the Gap Band, Adam Sandler, Mandy Moore, John Tesh, Teena Marie, and the Backstreet Boys. During this time, she worked on creating her own sound and released her debut disc in 1999. The Backstreet Boys connection really paid off for her, and her website and CD (entitled Love) took off. The year 2000 saw the release of the follow-up, Always and Never the Same, and shortly thereafter Abair signed with GRP Records. A sophomore effort, It Just Happens That Way, was issued in 2003. "Lucy's," "Save the Last Dance," and the album's title track went on to impact Top Ten radio. A year later, Abair returned with Come as You Are, her second set produced with her writing partner, Matthew Hager. In 2006, Abair released Life Less Ordinary, which featured guest vocals from Lalah Hathaway and Keb' Mo', and also performed at the Governors Ball, the official Oscars afterparty. The following year, she appeared on guitarist Peter White's -- with whom she had performed frequently -- Christmas album, but 2008 saw a return to her solo material (and an introduction to Abair as a singer) with Stars.

Mindi Abair's Myspace

Mindi Abair's Website

Check Out Mindi Abair's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Michael Paulo

2009-12-30T15:45:00.003+07:00

Michael Paulo is no stranger for the jazz lovers who are also the loyal followers of Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival. This saxophonist is the artist in residence for one of the world's largest jazz festivals. Michael Paulo came into prominence as a smooth jazz saxophonist during the late 70's. Renowned jazz musicians, including Al Jarreau, Olleta Adams, Jeff Lorber, Jeffrey Osborne, David Benoit and Rick Braun, have invited Michael to collaborate with them. The host of "Dolphin Days Music Festival" in Hawaii, the founder of "Temecula Wine & Music Festival" in California, and owner of recording label "Noteworthy Records", Michael Paulo began his music career in his teen years. It was in Los Angeles that he then developed his career further. His saxophone-playing is rich in harmony and impressive. Songs from Michael Paulo's solo album have held various spots at the "Top Ten Hit" of "Contemporary Jazz/NAC Chart" and "Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Chart".

Michael Paulo's Website

Check Out Michael Paulo's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Jonathan Butler

2009-12-30T14:11:00.004+07:00

Every now and then, an artist creates a special project so rich in content, so joyous in emotion, so fresh and inspired, that it becomes almost impossible to find a title that fully embraces the range and heart of the project. Such was the challenge when the gifted singer, two-time Grammy nominated songwriter, guitarist, and producer, Jonathan Butler, delivered his latest CD to his new label, Rendezvous Entertainment.

After numerous creative meetings between artist, managers, and the label, to find just the right title to convey the essence of the music, it became evident that the challenge was so difficult because Mr. Butler is such a truly unique talent. So, the album is simply titled Jonathan, reflecting exactly what this album is: pure Jonathan Butler. And that says it all. Jonathan is the product of South Africa. Born and raised in Cape Town, Jonathan Butler spent his youth under the shroud of apartheid, an official government policy of political, legal, and economic discrimination against non-whites. His escape was music. The youngest of twelve children, he began singing publicly in South African townships at the tender age of seven. Not even in his teens, Butler's talents as a singer and guitarist were recognized and he soon found himself touring his poverty-stricken country in a traveling variety show.

Though his musical abilities would soon take him away from the world he grew up in, Jonathan would neither forget the plight of his fellow South Africans nor the man who ultimately led them to freedom. "Mandela Bay", the second track on Jonathan, is a lively instrumental tribute to the legacy of Nelson Mandela. The song exudes optimism - the joy of liberation, the celebration of life. Akin to a musical sunny day, "Mandela Bay" will raise spirits and stamp a smile on faces, guaranteed to last at least four minutes and eleven seconds, though no one will be blamed for putting it on repeat. Jonathan is the product of the Western World. At thirteen, Jonathan's talents caught the ears and eyes of British record producer Clive Caulder. He was signed to Caulder's Jive Records and as the old cliche goes, the rest is history. Jonathan's first single broke down racial barriers, becoming the first song by a black artist to be played by white radio stations in South Africa. Because Jive was headquartered in England, Jonathan decided to move there to focus on his recording career. His commitment to his craft paid off with his self-titled debut album, which received a Grammy nomination for the pop hit "Lies." Jonathan's ability to blend his roots in African music with western pop sensibilities would be a trademark of many albums to follow, though never more refined than in his latest release. For example, the first single from Jonathan is a rendition of the folk-rock classic "Fire and Rain." Butler breathes new life into this classic, infusing the vocals with intensity, as subtle as it is powerful. The musical arrangement is lively and soulful, indicative of his roots in World music. "Fire and Rain" is already garnering accolades from top radio programmers. Lori Lewis, program director for WSMJ in Baltimore states, "It literally gave me a lump in my throat. I walked into the studio and introduced it live on air. Vocals this great are really rare."

British record producer Clive Caulder signed Butler as a teenager to Jive Records. His first single was the first by a black artist played by white radio stations in South Africa and earned a Sarie Award, South Africa's equivalent to the Grammys. Jive was headquartered in England, so Butler moved there and called it home for seventeen years. His self-titled debut album introduced him internationally and scored a Grammy nomination for the pop hit "Lies." An instrumental, "Going Home," earned a Grammy nomination and the mid-tempo ballad, "Sarah, Sarah," confirmed Butler's place in popular music. A collection of diverse albums followed. Through them and extensive concert tours, Butler solidified his presence in the 1990s with a body of music that crossed color and age lines. Was he a jazz instrumentalist that sang soulfully or a passionate R&B singer that played a cool jazz guitar? "I came to the West seeking artistic freedom to express myself," he recalled.

"While my albums have always offered vocal cuts and instrumentals, for me it was never about creating music for a particular format or type of audience. That's too narrow and restrictive. For me, it's about surrendering to the will of the music and just letting it flow through me, whichever direction it may go."

Jonathan Butler's Myspace

Jonathan Butler's Website

Check Out Jonathan Butler's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Indro Hardjodikoro Trio

2009-12-30T13:55:00.003+07:00

"Bass is not merely an instrument that produces rhythm, but also melody and rhythm section with harmonious effects when performing solo," explained musician-arranger-session bass player-performer Indro Hardjokoro about the concept of Indro Hardjodikoro Trio's performance at JJF 2010 Alongside Demas Narawangsa (drums) and Lal Intje Makkah (keyboards), Indro aims to showcase the minimalist, effective and solid trio concept tinged with modern jazz flavors. The trio is due to perform the likes of "Drums and Bass", "I Like Surprises", "Psychophat" and "Titik Awal".

Check Out Indro Hardjodikoro's Trio Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Jessy J

2009-12-30T13:30:00.005+07:00

Jazz saxophonist Jessy J was born Jessica Spinella in Portland, OR, to parents who had emigrated from Mexico. She grew up in Hemet, CA, and began playing the piano at age four, spending her childhood studying and performing in musical competitions. At 15, she was named Piano State Champion at the Bela Bartok Festival in California. Later, she switched instruments to the saxophone. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in jazz studies, she turned professional, finding work backing Michael Buble in the recording studio and playing in the touring bands for the Temptations, Jessica Simpson, Michael Bolton, Gloria Trevi, and Armando Manzanero. In 2004, she joined the touring cast of the Off-Broadway musical Blast! as a singer/actress/dancer/saxophonist and toured with the show in the U.S., the U.K., and Japan. Producer/guitarist Paul Brown first gave her a featured spot in his show on February 14, 2006, after which she began to make appearances on her own, her first major show occurring at the Catalina JazzTrax Festival later in 2006. She issued a self-titled album in 2007, then signed to Peak Records for her second CD, Tequila Moon, released on March 4, 2008.

Jessy J's Myspace

Jessy J's Website

Check Out Jessy J's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Sheila Majid

2009-12-29T17:20:00.006+07:00

Malaysia’s foremost singing sensation, SHEILA MAJID has continued to hold her rank presence in regional music scene for the last eighteen years with her trademark contemporary pop music tastefully with a Jazz and R&B flavor.

With the 1985 release of her debut album, aptly entitled Dimensi Baru, (translation: New Dimension), SHEILA MAJID brought a new dimension to the local music industry; building a phenomenal following manifested by sold-out concerts in various cities.

With Emosi (translation: Emotion), released a year later, SHEILA MAJID made a Malaysian invasion of a very protective Indonesian market. She went on to win the prestigious BASF Award for Best Female Artist in R&B category in 1987; never before by a non-Indonesian. Her success in Indonesia was further entrenched by a 1988 nationwide tour, which received an overwhelming response.

From Indonesia SHEILA MAJID spread her wings to Japan where she performed at the Tokyo Music Festival in 1989. She left such an impression at the Okinawa Music Pageant in 1990 that she was invited back to perform in Japan by popular demand that very same year. With two well-received albums and singles respectively she remains the first and only Malaysian artist to successfully infiltrate Japan, the world’s second biggest market.

By the same time SHEILA MAJID released her 1988 multi-platinum selling album Warna (translation: Color) her album sales abroad were outstripping sales in her home country. Her music had broken all age and racial barriers and she had by now become a household name. Her popularity topped New Straits Times reader’s poll four consecutive years between 1987 to 1990, which incidentally was the last year the poll was held.

Even before she could take time to revel in the resounding success of Warna, SHEILA MAJID embarked upon yet another pioneering project in 1990, fourth album Legenda (translation: Legend) which featured her fresh interpretation of several classics by the late P.Ramlee; perceived as a daring effort by critics and fans alike. Her tribute to Malaysia’s most unrivaled legendary artist captured the imagination of the nation across the board. Little wonder when in the same year, His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agong IX awarded her the Ahli Mangku Negara (A.M.N), a federal honour. To date, Legenda remains her best-selling album which was complemented by an enormously success nationwide tour, spanning over two years and culminating in a concert at Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur which drew a record-breaking crowd of more than 10,000 – hitherto the biggest by a local solo artiste.

The release of her fifth original studio album, Ratu (translation: Queen) in 1996 was a marked transition in SHEILA MAJID’s singing career. By now her voice and singing style have matured completely. Her immense popularity, despite a 6 years break, coupled her enchanting new found velvety smooth sound had enabled her to collaborate with some of the world’s best musicians – most notably bassist Nathan East of American jazz group Four Play, who has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Babyface, etc. and Rex Goh of Air Supply fame on guitars, as well as Japanese violinist, Aska Kaneko.

With this critically acclaimed album, SHEILA MAJID took her music to United Kingdom where she performed at a sold-out concert at London’s West End Royalty Theatre in March 1996. To mark this historic event – again, Malaysia’s first – East West Records, her UK affiliate label, occasioned a special release of Ratu with a meet-the-fans session at the world’s biggest music store, Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus, London – a privilege usually reserved for international superstars.

With growing demand for her presence in London, in December of the same year she accepted an invitation by Ronnie Scotts’, the jazz Mecca of the Music world to take to the very stage where her idols like Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder had once performed. In the United Kingdom, much encouragement was given for her to embark upon a long awaited English album but SHEILA MAJID’s orientation remains committed to her roots. Many critics believe her magical delivery is most apparent in her mother tongue but none has so far ruled out the viability of an English project. Neither has she.

The release of SHEILA MAJID’s highly anticipated sixth studio album, Ku Mohon (translation: I Pray) in November 1999 is an affirmation of her leading position in the music industry. With a successful nationwide tour preceding the album release, Ku Mohon went on to win four awards most notably ‘Best Pop Album’ at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) 2000, Malaysia’s equivalent of the Grammy. The title track, one of her five compositions in the album and incidentally her first lyric creation was named ‘Song of the Year’.

In July 2000, SHEILA MAJID created history yet again by being the first local artiste to perform at the Dewan Filharmonic PETRONAS. The two night sell out concerts were held in conjunction with her fifteenth year anniversary in the music industry. Amongst those present to celebrate the occasion were Their Majesties The Yang di-Pertuan Agong XI and The Raja Permaisuri Agong on the first night and the Prime Minister and First Lady on the second.

In November 2001, SHEILA MAJID was invited to represent Malaysia in Jakarta entitled DIVA SEA which brought together leading singers from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The concert was televised live to millions all over Indonesia.

In October 2003, SHEILA MAJID was invited to headline a live concert by TransTV, Indonesia. This two hour special, entitled 'Konsert Perjalanan Seni Sheila Majid' was a prelude to the release of her much anticipated new album. Cinta Kita, her seventh studio effort was another milestone in her career if not the Malaysian music industry as a whole. This album, helmed by Warner Music Indonesia saw SHEILA MAJID collaborating with some of Indonesia's industry giants like Andi Rianto, Tohpati and Indra Lesmana who collectively contributed towards 80% of the album production. To date, both the album as well as its first single, 'Kerinduan' have reached number one in Indonesia.

Sheila Majid's Website

Check Out Sheila Majid's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... The Manhattan Transfer

2009-12-29T14:49:00.016+07:00

The Manhattan Transfer were not an overnight success, but a result of many years of dues-paying and persistence, particularly by bass singer and founder Tim Hauser. Tim's musical history goes back to a doo-wop group called the Criterions, who recorded a couple of singles on Cecilia Records when Tim was 15. Subsequently, Tim formed the first Manhattan Transfer, five members strong and featuring Gene Pistilli, who had co-written some songs recorded by Spanky and Our Gang. The resulting album wasn't stylistically well-integrated, and didn't catch on commercially either. That first version of the group broke up in 1971.

The Manhattan Transfer re-emerged as a four-piece, with Janis Siegel (alto), Laurel Masse (soprano), and Alan Paul (tenor), who found each other in a series of happy accidents. Tim Hauser was driving a cab at the time, and picked up passenger Laurel Masse; they got to talking. Tim met Janis Siegel through a drummer acquaintance. Janis had been performing at the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene with a group called “Laurel Canyon.” Alan Paul had been appearing in the musical “Grease!” (Laurel's boyfriend was a musician in the production, and referred him).

With personnel in place, they began to build a following at all of the hip New York clubs: Max's Kansas City, Reno Sweeney's, Cafe Carlyle, etc. Atlantic's Ahmet Ertegun heard of them and came to a gig. His enthusiastic response resulted in a record deal and an association that lasted for many years. The Manhattan Transfer's first recording, the self-titled “Manhattan Transfer” featured “Operator,” a fifties gospel tune, which reached number #22 on the Billboard chart and was their first hit. They were hard to catagorize - “Cabaret Rock” or “Disco Sha Na Na” were some of the labels attached to them - but their popularity grew solidly, accompanied by intensive touring. They even had their own short-lived TV series (as well as frequent guest appearances on other variety programs). “Coming Out, “ “Pastiche” and the first live album followed. “Pastiche” was noteworthy as it was the first time the group collaborated with Jon Hendricks (of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross), and was the beginning of a long and remarkably fecund relationship. However, the record did not sell well, and as fate would have it, Laurel was in a car accident in 1978, which curtailed her activities (her jaw was wired shut for three months). She ultimately quit the group. The Manhattan Transfer re-located to California and began the search for a new soprano vocalist.

Cheryl Bentyne joined in 1979. Her father had been a jazz bandleader and she had sung with him, developing a technical facility that she would need with the Transfer. Her audition pieces were “You Can Depend On Me” and “Candy.” With Cheryl in the group, the group went forward with their next record: “Extensions.” It was a hit and the group were swept up in the disco craze with the single “Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone.” In addition, “Extensions” included “Birdland,” the Weather Report composition that became a Manhattan Transfer signature tune. The group won two Grammy's for that album, the first of many.

“Mecca For Moderns” followed, which included Gene Puerling's “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square” and “Boy From New York City.” Having discovered them, the public and the critics continued to bestow honors upon the Manhattan Transfer, as they received the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy, and “Boy” reached number seven on Billboard.

Atlantic released their first greatest hits album, while the group went to work on “Bodies and Souls.” The record company's agenda, which necessitated more pop hits, prevailed, but the record did not do well and the group wasn't musically satisfied. The record that followed it, “Bop Doo Wopp,” included some live recordings of standards and doo-wop classics, but didn't connect with its audience either. Given the disappointing sales, the group saw no reason to pursue a commercial direction, but decided to go back to the music that they felt was their strongest suit, and for which they had a demonstrated ability unlike any of their contemporaries. With collaborators Jon Hendricks and Richie Cole, they focused on the use of the vocalese technique - singing lyrics over jazz solos - the album, entitled naturally, “Vocalese.” The group already had modeled their distinctive voicings on that of the big band horn section of Count Basie, and this approach culminated in a triumph. They received twelve Grammy nominations for “Vocalese,” and won three.

“Brasil” was an exploration of the textures and rhythms of world music, juxtaposed with jazz. The group worked with Brazilian songwriters such as Milton Nasciment, Ivan Lins and Djavan on the record, and it was another unique musical collage, bringing the decade of the 1980's to a close. Manhattan Transfer also had won the Playboy and Downbeat “Best Jazz Vocal Group” category every year from 1980 to 1990.

The group went to Columbia for two releases: “The Offbeat of Avenues,” which was a mostly self- written collection, and their Christmas record. Unfortunately, “Avenues” did not get the attention it deserved. The group members also ventured out on a variety of solo projects, including movie soundtracks, and guest starred on the TV series, “Home Improvement.”

The group's next project was a children's album, “Tubby The Tuba.” The group played all the parts for this charming story of an insecure tuba searching for a melody. Then, after returning to Atlantic, the Manhattan Transfer produced “Tonin',” featuring such luminaries as Laura Nyro, Frankie Valli, James Taylor and Chaka Khan, singing classic pop hits. A most entertaining record, it nonetheless didn't break any new ground musically for the group. Their latest recording, “Swing,” was a tribute to the music of the 1930's and 1940's, and no one could do it better than America's preeminent purveyors of vocal harmony. They reinterpreted several tracks, such as “Java Jive,” specially for this recording, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz Chart.

What now, after so many years of success? Only time will tell, of course, but the four singers continue to be partners personally and professionally, and certainly an inspiration to all who hear them. Whatever it is, it'll be done as only the Manhattan Transfer can do it!

Members - Tim Hauser, Janis Segal, Alan Paul, Cheryl Bentyne

Read the fantastic review of The Manhattan Transfer's latest album "The Chick Corea Song Book" in All About Jazz

The Manhattan Transfer's Myspace

The Manhattan Transfer's Website

Check Out The Manhattan Transfer's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Tohpati & Friends

2009-12-29T14:17:00.003+07:00

"Gitaris yang sangat dikenal karena kekalemannya, di atas maupun di luar panggung. Tapi dia memang banyak senyum, akrab dengan banyak musisi dan penyanyi. Kini ia telah menjadi salah satu gitaris papan atas, yang disegani di tanah air saat ini. "

 Tohpati Ario Hutomo, begitu nama lengkapnya. Biasa dipanggil dengan, Bontot. Ia memang anak bungsu dari tiga bersaudara, dari pasangan Ir. Harnoko Hadisubroto dan Siti Werdhi Harini.  Perjalanan bermusiknya, teristimewa untuk gitar dimulai sejak ia di Sekolah Dasar kelas empat. Ia ingat, pertama kali ia menyentuh gitar kepunyaan pamannya, yang dipanggil, Oom Herri. Sejak itulah ia mulai mencoba belajar serius, dengan mengambil kursus gitar klasik di Yayasan Musik Indonesia. Di situ ia sampai Level 5.

Dari Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple sampai Didi AGP, Dian HP dan Ubiet   Saat itu masih diingatnya, ia tertarik dengan musik-musik cadas seperti Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Genesis, Yes, Police dan sebangsanya. Kemudian ketika ia masuk SMP, di SMN 68, ia bertemu dan kemudian banyak bermain bersama Didi AGP dan Dian HP, yang lantas membuatnya masuk formasi grup Splash Band. Dalam grup itu, terdapat pula musisi kawakan lain seperti Cendi Luntungan (drummer), Nya’ Ina Raseuki alias Ubiet (vokal), Ricky Johannes (vokal) dan Yoyok (saxophone). Bontot kelahiran Jakarta 25 Juli 1971 ini sejak itu mulai mengecap pengalaman untuk mengisi rekaman, juga mengisi acara jazz di TVRI. Ketertarikan musiknyapun berkembang, ia mulai menyimak dan menyukai nama-nama yang kondang di dunia musik jazz, antara lain Mezzoforte, Casiopea, Uzeb, Spyrogyra, Kazumi Watanabe dan banyak lainnya. Lantas ia mengikuti kursus band di PPMC di sekolah musik Yamaha, yang dilanjutkan dengan membentuk formasi Tohpati Band, bersama kakak kandungnya sendiri. Grup tersebut mengikuti ajang kontes band paling bergengsi saat itu, Light Music Contest, menembus hingga final nasional.

Halmahera, Frontpage, Be Soul dan Erwin Gutawa   Setelah Tohpati Band, ia lantas membentuk Halmahera, saat ia kelas satu di SMAN 70 Bulungan. Grup tersebut dibentuknya bersama Ari Darmawan (drummer), Sonny keyboardist), Asep (Bass) dan Genky Gutawa (synthesizer). Dengan formasi ini, Halmahera menjadi finalis kontes band lanjutan Light Music Contest, yang berganti nama menjadi Band Explosion.  Halmahera berubah formasi dengan keluarnya Asep, digantikan Indro Hardjodikoro dan masuknya pianis, Kemal Panigoro. Kemudian Halmahera menjadi home-band acara mingguan di TVRI, Kuis Gita Remaja. Dan juga sempat menghasilkan dua buah album rekaman, masing-masing adalah Halmahera 1 dan Alam Seniku. Halmahera juga sempat mengikuti kompetisi band di Taiwan.

 Di saat ia kuliah, ia meneruskn karir bermusiknya dengan masuk formasi beberapa entertainer-band yang sempat bermain rutin di lingkungan kafe atau clubs seperti Frontpage, Be Soul. Grup terakhir itu, sempat bermain bersama penyanyi dan musisi terkemuka asal Amerika, Warren Wiebe dan Kenny Garret.  Selain itu, ia juga diajak bermain bersama Erwin Gutawa, untuk orkestra maupun grup bandnya. Dengan Erwin Gutawa tersebut, ia mendukung Konser Ruth Sahanaya, dan konsernya keliling Amerika. Kemudian juga Konser Chrisye, dan turnya ke Australia. Hingga Konser KD. Saat itu ia juga kian aktif terlibat dalam rekaman banyak penyanyi. Iapun juga masih sempat menyisipkan waktu sesaat untuk melanjutkan menimba ilmu ke musisi kawakan seperti Donny Suhendra dan Indra Lesmana. Lantas ia berkawan dekat dengan Aminoto Kossin, keyboardist dari kelompok Karimata. Aminoto menawarkannya untuk membuat album solo gitar.

 Tawaran tersebut dijawabnya dengan yakin dan hasilnya adalah dua buah album, Tohpati (1998) dan Serampang Samba (2002). Beberapa bintang tamu musisi kenamaan ikut mendukung solo albumnya tersebut, seperti Eric Marienthal, Indra Lesmana, Glenn Fredly, Shakila dan lain-lainnya. Kedua album solo tersebut dirilis di bawah label Sony BMG.

Dengan simakDialog dan Trisum   Bontot kemudian masuk formasi kelompok jazz-kontemporer, simakDialog. Ia bermain bersama Riza Arshad, Indro Hardjodikoro dan Arie Ayunir. Grup tersebut menghasilkan empat buah album yaitu Lukisan, Baur, Trance/Misión dan Patahan. Grup ini sempat melakukan konser di gedung Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaisya.  Ia memperistri Ratih Mustikawati dan memiliki dua orang anak, Saskia Gita Sakanti dan Adwitya Gita Tisti. Selanjutnya, ia juga makin dikenal sebagai Music Director yang antara lain menggarap musik untuk KD Show di Trans TV dan Konser Titi DJ Sang Dewi di Plenary Hall, JCC. Selain beberapa pertunjukkan musik lainnya.

 Terakhir ini, Bontot membentuk Trisum bersama Dewa Budjana dan I Wayan Balawan. Trio gitar yang didukung pula oleh Sandy Winata (drummer), Indro Hardjodikoro (bass), Saat Syah (suling) Jalu Pratidina (perkusi etnik) ini sempat menghasilkan sebuah album rekaman yang terdiri dari rekaman audio dalam CD dan audio visual dalam DVD. Ia juga menyempatkan diri menyelesaikan album solo ketiganya yang diberi judul, It’s Time. Sementara itu Trisum juga berubah formasi dengan keluarnya Wayan Balawan, dan saat ini sedang dijajaki format bermain dengan violis, Henri Lamiri. Format ini telah diuji coba dalam kesempatan Jakjazz 2007 dan Java Jazz Festival 2008 silam.  Kesibukan lainnya saat ini, ia juga memproduksi album dan bertindak sebagai aranjer untuk rekaman artis-artis penyanyi seperti Marcel, Ruth Sahanaya, Andien, Rio Febrian, Chrisye, Iwan Fals, Ebiet G.Ade, Harvey Malaiholo, Audy, Pinkan Mambo, Titiek Puspa, Yuni Sahara, Sania, Delon, Chandra, Dian PP, Terry, Reza, Rieka Roslan, Nina Tamam dan lainnya.

Tohpati's Website

Check Out Tohpati's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Sandhy Sondoro

2009-12-29T13:29:00.005+07:00

Sandhy Sondoro, was born on the island of Java, Indonesia. Came from a musical family, where the house provide the likes of American pop, folk, Jazz and blues tunes coming from his Mother’s or father’s guitar everyday. Those were the joy that shaped his talents. It is not traditional Indonesian music that influenced him but rather soul and blues. Sandhy Sondoro is an excellent singer, songwriter, and guitar player he also has many other proficient talents like drawing and cooking. In Indonesia Sandhy Sondoro started to play in a band at high school. They did mostly covers of Van Halen and Mr. Big or The Black Crows. At the age of 18 he went to visit his uncle in California and stayed there for a while. Over a year later he went to Germany to study architecture. He first had to improve his German proficiency to be admitted at the university. He graduated in interior design but his passion for singing and playing the guitar was stronger than the wish to work in an office. His first experience as a street musician was gained in Biberach on the Riss in Baden Wurttemberg in 1996. The international flair of Berlin attracted him and inspired him. In 1998 he moved back to Berlin and started his career as Sondoro singing and playing the guitar in bars, clubs and in the metro. His famous song Down on the streets was inspired by the experience gained in Berlins metro. He performs also in famous theatres like the House of World Cultures in Berlin, plays at music festivals like at the Bode museum isle festival. He has fans in Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart and many other places in Germany. Sandhy Sondoro’s music is influenced by American and British rock legends like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. The power of his voice reminds us of Curtis Mayfield und Marvin Gaye. Sandhy sings ballads, which express love and his longing for peace. When singing rock songs his voice can turn into a powerful volcano that sounds like Joe Cocker or Roger Chapman. Sandhy’s voice is so flexible that he is sometimes called the Ben Harper of Jakarta. The Berlin-based artist Sandhy Sondoro was one of the participants in Stefan Raabs song contest SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD and finally ranked 5th in December 2007. On April 25, 2008 he published his debut Album with the title “Why Dont We” his sophistication for love, peace, and harmony. The album was very well responded around central Europe although distributed through indie networking. After this success he oftenly appears on national TV in various music program, as the number of visitors of his MYSPACE page www.myspace.com/sandhysondoro increased every day. Sandhy Sondoro is also a first winner of pop singing competition in Europe "Sound Wave"

Sandhy Sondoro's Myspace

Check Out Sandhy Sondoro's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Gugun Blues Shelter

2009-12-28T15:10:00.002+07:00

Previously called the Bluesbug, Gugun Blues Shelter is an Indonesian blues power trio that is a breath of fresh air in the seemingly dying Asian blues scene these days. Influenced by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bettie Davies, and Led Zeppelin among others, the band forced many music fans to take notice of its powerful, flawless genre-crossing blend of blues that incorporate influences from rock, funk, and soul. Led by guitarist/vocalist Gugun, Gugun & Blues Shelter has released two albums under the Bluesbug m o n i k e r " G e t T h e Bug" (2004) and "Turn it On" (2007) that has been gaining praises from music critics and fans alike.”Turn It On” was voted as one of the best Indonesian album in 2007 by Roll-ing Stone Indonesia Magazine and Gugun was noted as one of the most promising local guitar player by the same magazine. In the same year, Indonesia's Trax Magazine also voted Gugun as the best guitar player in South East Asia. Gugun Blues Shelter is not only drew the attentions of local music lover only. The band also received attentions from European fans, thanks for years of playing for expatriate fans during its pub-playing days. As the result, Gugun Blues Shelter was participated in Belfast Big River Blues and Jazz Festival 2008 and played several dates in a four-weeks UK tour at cities like Burnley, Scarborough, and Crewe. Due to the good receptions, the tour was extended to other cities like Leeds, Oxford, York, Rotherham, and culminated in another festival,”Colne Great British R n' B Festival” at the Manchester outskirt. In Asia, recently Gugun Blues Shelter played several dates in Malaysia in 2008, participated in Singapore Art Festival at the same year, as well as in Indonesia's big festivals such as Java Jazz Festival and JakJazz Festival. Recently, Gugun & Blues Shelter embarked another European invasion by participated in Skegness Rock and Blues Festival and finished recording another new album, titled “Set My Soul On Fire”.

Gugun Blues Shelter's Myspace

Gugun Blues Shelter's Website

Check Out Gugun Blues Shelter's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... George Duke

2009-12-28T14:53:00.002+07:00

George Duke showed a great deal of promise early in his career as a jazz pianist and keyboardist, but has forsaken that form to be a pop producer. Inspired early on by Les McCann, he worked with a trio in San Francisco during the mid-'60s. In 1969, Duke accompanied Jean-Luc Ponty, recording with the violinist. After eight months with the Don Ellis Orchestra, he joined Frank Zappa for much of 1970. Duke spent 1971-1972 with Cannonball Adderley and then returned to Zappa for 1973-1975. In 1975, he worked with Sonny Rollins, co-led a group with Billy Cobham, and then formed a funk band (the Clarke-Duke Project) with Stanley Clarke. By the late '70s, he was completely outside of jazz, playing R&B and producing projects for pop artists. Although he has since expressed interest in returning to active playing, little of George Duke's post-1976 work is relevant to jazz, but he has kept himself busy with projects. Dukey Treats appeared in 2008 from Heads Up Records.

George Duke's Myspace

George Duke's Website

Check Out George Duke's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Dave Koz

2009-12-28T14:33:00.002+07:00

The latest contender for the instrumental pop saxophone throne, Dave Koz came out of nowhere after his self-titled 1990 release made it onto the Billboard contemporary jazz charts and stayed there several weeks. He has more fire and intensity in his work than Kenny G, and often sounds like a reworked David Sanborn. Koz also played on Arsenio Halls show, which increased his popularity among the urban contemporary, light jazz, and pop audiences. Koz plays instrumental pop covers, some upbeat tunes, and generally sticks to the fusion production formula: background vocalists, synthesizers, and drum machines, a minimum amount of solo space, and so on. His sessions are available on CD and have been regularly released since his first appearance on the scene. Highlights include 1993s peppy Lucky Man, 1999s collaboration-heavy Dance, 2001s holiday treat A Smooth Jazz Christmas, and 2007s film music-themed At the Movies.

Dave Koz's Myspace

Dave Koz's Website

Check Out Dave Koz's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Bubi Chen

2009-12-28T14:20:00.005+07:00

Bubi Chen is the "Art Tatum of the East"; hands down, he is one of Indonesia's greatest jazz virtuoso. A self-taught jazz musician, he was also the former student of Teddy Wilson. Residing in Surabaya, Bubi Chen was the founder of The Circle, a group comprising of musicians such as Maryono, F.X. Boy, Zainal, Tri Wijayanto and Koes Syamsudin. Alongside Jack Lesmana, Maryono, Kiboud Maulana, Benny Mustafa and Jopie Chen, Bubi Chen was also a member of Indonesian All Stars, a group which performed at Berlin Jazz Festival in 1967.

Check Out Bubi Chen's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Adonis Puentes

2009-12-28T13:11:00.004+07:00

Music reflects the present and Adonis Puentes is a Cuban Sonero for our times. Its a role he was destined to play. On March 29th, 1974, Adonis was born into an atmosphere charged with Cuban music. His family lived 45 miles southwest of Havana, Cuba in the town of Artemisa. Father, Valentin Puentes taught music and played guitar, and he wasted little time before passing on his gifts to Adonis and his fraternal twin brother, Alexis (aka Alex Cuba). Already at the age of 6, Adonis was playing with a Childrenʹs Guitar Ensemble formed by Valentin. By the time he was 14, he was singing and writing his own music. Though his musical talents were undeniable, his ability to shine as a performer emerged later still.

At 21, Adonis entered and became one of the finalists of ʹMi Salsaʹ, a Salsa/Son singing competition that was broadcast throughout Cuba on television. His performance caught the attention of the nation and his notoriety began to soar. Three years after an initial tour of Canada with his brother and father in 1995, Adonis came back to start a new life as a proud Cuban‐Canadian. Along with his brother Alexis (now an accomplished multi‐instrumentalist), The Puentes Brothers would record their first CD called Morumba Cubana. The disc caught the ears of the Canadian music industry that rewarded the brothers in 2001 with a Juno Award nomination (the Canadian Grammy), as well as a West Coast Music Award and a Canadian Independent Music Award.

After such a warm reception in his adopted home, Adonis was ready to take a giant step forward toward the realization of his personal musical vision. In 2005, he released his first solo album called ʹVidaʹ or ʹLifeʹ. Containing a diverse and dance‐friendly collection of original, contemporary takes on Cuban tradition, radio programmers nationally began spinning their favorites and Vida ended up on many Top 10 charts. The video single for ʹCommercianteʹ entered Much More Musicʹs Top 5. In his West Coast home, Adonis received the Island Music Award for Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year.

Canadaʹs National broadcasting service, the CBC, recorded Adonis LIVE for a national audience. And, his growing reputation as a gifted singer spread South as well as he continued to tour and perform on radio, television and in concert in the USA. The work has been done; the skills have been learned and now is the time for Adonis Puentes to add a fresh voice to the list of great Cuban soneros. As if to receive one final, ringing endorsement, Adonis recorded lead vocals with Legendary Percussionist Orestes Vilato whose album ʹItʹs About Timeʹ received a Latin Grammy Nomination in 2009. Even Juan de Marcos, one of the masterminds behind the Buena Vista Social Club project and leader of the groundbreaking Afro‐Cuban Allstars calls Adonis, ʹVerdadero Sonero,ʹ ʹA True Soneroʹ. To date, Adonis has shared stages with illustrious Latin music legends like Celia Cruz, Oscar De Leon, Juan De Marcos and The Afro Cuban All Stars, Paquito De Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Orlando Valle ʹMaraca,ʹ Cuban Timba All Stars, Giovanni Hidalgo, Pianist Hilario Duran, Jane Bunnett and Pancho Quinto, as well as Jazz greats Hubert Laws, and Kenny Burrell. Adonis thrives on the growth and acclaim for his original sonero sound. As he puts it, ʺI feel like a messenger of my roots and tradition, blessed that with me I have taken my music and heritage to many different places in the world; from Cuba, to Canada, USA, Mexico, Europe. My mission is to make you dance and enjoy my melodies and rhythms.ʺ His music bridges generations and cultures with a charisma and delivery that shines brighter than life in intimate or full‐blown arrangements, from solo performances with piano or guitar accompaniment to fronting orchestras.

Throughout history, these traits have been characteristic to the great soneros and this is the time for Adonis Puentes.

Adonis Puentes' Myspace

Adonis Puentes' Website

Check Out Adonis Puentes' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Robben Ford

2009-12-22T15:54:00.013+07:00

Growing up in the '60s, a teenaged Robben Ford spent countless hours listening to artists like Aretha and Otis, at the same time soaking in guitar blues from Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King. In his early 20s, Ford went on to join blues luminary Jimmy Witherspoon's band. But soon, Ford experienced a diversion from the genre. In 1974, the guitarist was discovered by saxophonist Tom Scott, whose progressive fusion group, L.A. Express, then teamed up with Joni Mitchell to support her Court and Spark tour and play on two of her albums (1974's Miles of Isles and 1975's The Hissing of Summer Lawn).

Today, possessing a resume that includes stints with an impressively broad range of other musical personalities—Miles Davis, George Harrison, Little Feat, and the Yellowjackets, among many others—Ford has demonstrated an uncanny adaptability similar to that of the MG’s and the Muscle Shoals group. The guitarist has effortlessly traversed genres without compromising his exquisite, blues-based playing and singing. So it’s only natural that on his latest album, Keep On Running (CCD-2187), Ford tips his hat to Muscle Shoals and the MG's, offering fresh takes on soul classics, in addition to serving up several glowing originals.

Robben Ford's Myspace

Robben Ford's Website

Check Out Robben Ford's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Melvin Davis

2009-12-22T15:06:00.005+07:00

Los Angeles native Melvin Lee Davis was discovered at the tender age of 16 by Buddy Miles, when a horn player from Buddy Miles' band heard Melvin playing in a local club. Buddy Miles flew Davis to New York to audition for his band and immediately hired him. After playing the New York club circuit, Melvin found himself working with Don Cornelius of Soul Train. He has toured and recorded with Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, Lee Ritenour, Bryan Ferry, David Benoit, Larry Carlton, Patti Austin, Gladys Knight, and many other top acts. Davis wrote the theme for the TV show "The Party Machine" and "Soul Train's A Coming" and has appeared on "Johnny Carson", "David Letterman", "Jay Leno", and "Arsenio Hall." Melvin has travelled the world and continues to be in high demand across many genres of music because of his incredible talent and positive demeanor on and off stage.

Melvin Davis' Myspace

Melvin Davis' Website

Check Out Melvin Davis' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Griffith Frank

2009-12-22T12:15:00.003+07:00

Griffith Frank is an artist with a unique voice that reconnects people to their feelings. Born in NYC raised in California, Griffith has studied and perfected the art of music. With a three octave vocal range, he can sing pop, rock, and semi classical material. Griffith has been nominated for, and won many prestigious vocal competitions and scholarships, including the LA Music Center Spotlight Awards and the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts. Aged at just 21, Griffith struck a record deal with major label Geffen. Ron Fair, Chairman of Geffen records, signed Griffith as a solo recording artist after hearing just one song! Griffith is currently in the studio working on his first solo material due for release in early 2010.

Griffith Frank's Myspace

Check Out Griffith Frank's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Ron Bruner Jr

2009-12-21T16:18:00.003+07:00

Ronald Bruner Jr.has been playing the drums since the age of 2. His earliest influence was his father, Ronald Bruner Sr., a world class drummer who has performed and recorded with Diana Ross, the Temptations and Gladys Knight. Ron Jr. began his professional career at the age of 15, at the Theolonius Monk Institute, which opened the door to perform with many great artists such as Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, and Ron Carter. A few years later he became a regular member of Kenny Garret's band. Over the years his style has diversified, including punk rock with the band Suicidal Tendencies. Now age 23, his other extensive credits already include Lee Ritenour, Roy Hargrove, Tribal Tech, Larry Carlton, Marcus Miller, Kirk Whalum, Robben Ford, Patrice Rushen, Clark Terry, Johnny Hodges, and Gerald Albright. Regardless of what the future holds for Ronald, you can expect a diverse display of drumming styles and an enthusiasm and excitement you cannot deny.

Ronald Bruner's Myspace

Check Out Ronald Bruner's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Rodney Holmes

2009-12-21T16:05:00.006+07:00

Rodney Holmes is one of today's most unique and mesmerizing drummers. His talents as a composer and producer are showcased on this highly anticipated solo debut. Rodney has worked and recorded with some of the most respected musicians in both rock, and jazz worlds. Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul are just a few examples. Rodney is currently leading his new band LITHIUM TREE. Rodney is also working with several different projects besides his own group. He is currently playing and writing for Jim Weider's Project Percolator. Rodney is also a member of "ETHEREAL DISTORTION". The Band formally known as "The Hermanators". TWELVE MONTHS OF OCTOBER is electronic based music with a different kind of vision. Rodney manages to pull together many different elements to create a uniquely exciting, yet thought provoking hybrid of dance and progressive music. Blending live performances with elements of breakbeat, techno and progressive rock. Even though this CD is difficult to categorize, the intensity of the playing, melodic compositions, and the almost cinematic images are undeniably powerful.

Rodney Holmes' Myspace

Rodney Holmes' Website

Check Out Rodney Holmes' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Jazzanova Live!

2009-12-21T14:23:00.007+07:00

Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group is one of the foremost proponents of the nu-jazz, chillout and jazz house styles of music associated with record labels such as Compost Records and Sonar Kollektiv. They have also experimented with Latin jazz, which can be heard on the song "Tres Bien". They also have a side-project, "Extended Spirit". They also gained recognition as innovative remixers for a vast number of acts such as Marschmellows, Ian Pooley, Incognito, 4Hero, M.J. Cole and Masters At Work to name but a few. Their latest release is the studio album Of All the Things, released on October 21st 2008.

Jazzanova's Myspace

Jazzanova's Website

Check Out Jazzanova's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Diane Warren

2009-12-21T13:51:00.007+07:00

Diane Warren is considered to be the most prolific and successful contemporary songwriter of our time. A quick glance at her list of Top 10 Hits reveals a range of musical genres and styles so diverse it's difficult to believe the songs could have come from the same person. Yet, they did; and they continue to endlessly pour forth from this songwriter, climbing to the top of the charts.

Since the beginning of her career, Warren has written for such notable artists as: Aerosmith, Elton John, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Roberta Flack, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Roy Orbison. Recently, a diverse group of artists including: The Pussycat Dolls, Carrie Underwood, Pet Shop Boys, Mario, Joss Stone, Daniel Bedingfield, Christina Aguilera, Sugababes, Kid Rock, Enrique Iglesias, JoJo, Jessica Simpson, Ricky Martin, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, and LeAnn Rimes have recorded her songs, adding to the long list of chart toppers. Artists around the world record Warren's songs, and she has had simultaneous hits in virtually every market. Diane's songs are also featured in nearly 100 motion pictures. Diane continues to diversify. She wrote her first television theme for ENTERPRISE, which was also the first theme song for the STAR TREK series. A new version of "Rhythm Of The Night" was showcased in Baz Luhrmann's MOULIN ROUGE. PEARL HARBOR featured the Top Ten hit "There You'll Be" performed by Faith Hill. To date, Diane's songs have been nominated for 4 Golden Globes, 6 Academy Awards, and 9 GRAMMYs. She won a GRAMMY for "Because You Loved Me," sung by Celine Dion for the film UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

Diane has been named ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year six times, Billboard's Songwriter of the Year four times, and also received a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Diane was also inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, once again taking her place among the greatest songwriters of all time. Diane is currently in the studio, working with stars such as Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. Diane is deeply committed to protecting animals. Through THE DIANE WARREN FOUNDATION, she generously contributes to wonderful organizations that save and protect animals in need.

Diane Warren's Myspace

Diane Warren's Website

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Darryl Jones

2009-12-21T12:17:00.006+07:00

Although he was already a well-respected session musician, it wasn't until bassist Darryl Jones replaced original member Bill Wyman in the Rolling Stones that he became widely known. Born on December 11, 1961, on the south side of Chicago, Jones picked up both the electric and upright bass, later playing in a local band alongside pianist Ken Chaney and guitarist Phil Upchurch, and on occasion, drummer Vince Wilburn, Jr. Wilburn turned out to be jazz legend Miles Davis' nephew, and the drummer recommended Jones to Miles. A try-out in New York was arranged a day after Davis called Jones, which promptly landed Jones the gig. Joining Davis' touring band only a week after his inaugural tryout, Jones would appear on such '80s-era Davis recordings as 1983's Decoy, plus a pair in 1985, You're Under Arrest and Human Nature.

Settling down in New York City permanently, Jones quickly built a name for himself in the local jazz scene, where he played and/or recorded alongside his fellow bandmates in Davis' band, guitarists Mike Stern and John Scofield, as well as the Gil Evans Big Band and Steps Ahead. Jones' next prestigious gig came on another recommendation, when saxophonist Branford Marsalis helped set up a try-out for the bassist with Sting's backing band -- playing on 1985's Dream of the Blue Turtles and 1986's Bring on the Night, as well as touring along the ex-Police frontman. Jones returned back to his hometown of Chicago in 1989, originally so he could focus primarily on his own songwriting. But his plan was short lived, as word was already out about his talents, and more tour/studio work came his way, this time for Herbie Hancock & the Headhunters, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, and Eric Clapton. Jones' accomplishments up until this point were quite exceptional, but the jewel in his crown came in 1994, when he landed the gig as bassist for the Rolling Stones, replacing longtime member Bill Wyman.

Jones has been in the group ever since, appearing on such studio recordings as 1994's Voodoo Lounge and 1997's Bridges to Babylon, as well as numerous tours (and resulting live albums, 1995's Stripped and 1998's No Security). Jones also continues to guest on other artist's recordings, including albums by Joan Armatrading, Buckshot LeFonque, Joe Cocker, and B.B. King, among others, while his bass playing can be heard on such archival Miles Davis releases (1998's Live in France, 2002's Complete Miles Davis at Montreux 1973-1991, etc.).

Darryl Jones' Myspace

Darryl Jones' Website

Check Out Darryl Jones' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Brian Simpson

2009-12-17T16:52:00.007+07:00

A longtime studio musician, musical director, and touring keyboardist to stars as diverse as Janet Jackson and Dave Koz, Brian Simpson’s breakthrough as a solo artist with his Rendezvous Entertainment debut It’s All Good was the genre’s major story of 2006. Focusing once again on compelling acoustic piano melodies, bright jazz improvisations and spirited funk grooves, Simpson keeps the extraordinary momentum hopping--and, true to the moniker he chose for the new album, soaring--with Above The Clouds. The title track of It’s All Good proved instantly and joyfully prophetic, as it hit #1 on the Radio & Records Smooth Jazz Airplay chart and remained in the Top 5 for four months; his follow-up single “Saturday Cool” went Top 15. The sessions for Above The Clouds brought out some of the best from his hefty Rolodex: guitarists Tony Maiden, Darrell Crooks and Ray Fuller; bassists Alex Al, Smitty Smith, Larry Kimpel and Melvin Davis; drummer Michael White and percussionist Lenny Castro.

A jazzman from an early age, he grew up in Gurnee, Illinois, a small town north of Chicago, picking up piano at the age of 10. “My father was a jazz aficionado so I grew up listening to lots of great music. My first and greatest influence on piano was Oscar Peterson, though initially I was much more drawn to the sound of jazz guitar, so Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, and Kenny Burrell were equally influential,” he explains. Brian went on to study at Northern Illinois University where he majored in piano and starred in the school’s big band, an ensemble that won numerous Downbeat awards and offered Brian the chance to perform all over the world. Upon graduating with a BA in music he moved to Los Angeles, quickly immersing himself in the local jazz scene. He soon found himself jamming after-hours with the likes of future stars Everette Harp, Boney James, and Norman Brown. Brian’s story takes an interesting twist shortly there after. He found himself taking a temporary leave of absence from the jazz scene, touring the world with pop divas Teena Marie, Sheena Easton, and Janet Jackson. His foray into the pop world didn’t end there; in January 1991 he co-wrote the #1 Pop hit “The First Time” by Surface, which conquered both the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.

Placing his success in pop aside, Brian Simpson has always been a working jazz musician. He has toured with some of the greats of recent jazz history, including George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, George Howard, Billy Cobham, and Gerald Albright. Along with Mr. Duke, Brian has had another major influence, both on and off the stage. Brian has been the musical director for jazz saxophonist Dave Koz for the past 10 years, and most recently, musical director for the Dave Koz and Friends Cuise as well as the Smooth Jazz Cruise hosted by Wayman Tisdale.

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Alexandra Sherling

2009-12-17T16:35:00.005+07:00

Alexandra (Shura) Sherling was born to be famous. Her talented parents, Olesya Sherling (mother, vocalist, composer, jazz musician & improviser) and Yuri Sherling (father, Honored Art Worker of Russia, Doctor of Arts, composer, theatre director, choreographer and writer) just could not give a birth to an ordinary child. From age of 4 Shura (so her parents call Alexandra) stunned everybody by her rare gift of singing. Little Shura made renowned jazz musicians respect her unique talent. She felt very at home on stage, had excellent English pronunciation and musicality. At such early age she was a very impressive performer.

Shura won her first Prize and the Gold medal at “World Talents” international contest in Los Angeles, (USA) when she was 6. Then there were a Special Award at the “Bravo-Bravissimo” competition in Kremona (Italy), participation in “Children- stars to Children of the World” TV Marathon in Amsterdam (Holland), live performance at Moscow Jazz Festival dedicated to Gershwin’s 100 anniversary.

Igor Nikolaev, a popular TV host and producer of “Morning Star” high rated TV show, spotted that petite girl with big blue eyes and a “bob” hair cut. Shura’s smash success on the show was a beginning of her professional life in music. While Alexandra is growing her commitment to Jazz has firmly stayed up. In 2003 she takes part in a jazz festival, in 2004 she graduates from Music School at the Music College of Pop & Jazz with a firm desire to pursue singing as a professional career. In 2008-2009 she has been working on a new solo jazz album with Valeri Grohovsky (Grokhovskiy), prominent pianist, Professor of University in Texas (USA).

Nowadays Alexandra Sherling feels very comfortable with other music styles. She sings, writes lyrics and composes music in R&B, Pop and Dance. However Jazz is still her favorite trend. No doubt Alexandra Sherling is one of the best young jazz singer in Russia with lots of credits and respect from music professionals worldwide. Her strong, with sensual sub tone voice is so beautiful and clear that listeners have goose bumps when they hear this strikingly penetrating sound. In one of the interviews to a magazine Alexandra once said “Frankly it is so much of me that I cannot fit into myself”. Looking at Alexandra you understand that it is so true, it is hard to believe that so much talent and potential can accumulate such a young human being except this human being is Alexandra Sherling.

Check Out Alexandra Sherling's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... JOHN LEGEND !!!!

2009-12-17T15:50:00.005+07:00

John Legend is a six-time Grammy winning recording artist, a critically-acclaimed concert performer, and a well-spoken social activist named to the 2009 Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.

The artist launched his career as a session player and vocalist, contributing to best-selling recordings by Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Kanye West and others before recording his own unbroken chain of Top 10 albums -- Get Lifted (2004), Once Again (2006), and Evolver (2008) --each of them reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts.

John's debut, Get Lifted (released on his 26th birthday in 2004) earned an astounding eight Grammy nominations -- he won Best New Artist, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("Ordinary People") and Best R&B album -- while selling more than three million copies worldwide. His follow-up collection, Once Again, earned an RIAA platinum certification and a Grammy award for "Heaven" (which won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance).

In 2008, with the release of Evolver, his third consecutive Top 10 album, John Legend embarked on an extensive world tour with his ten-piece band, his largest traveling production to-date.

In 2007, John Legend launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign.org), a grassroots movement whose mission is “to break the cycle of poverty by investing in solutions that have been proven to improve people’s lives and to give them the opportunity to help themselves through education."

John's political activism reached an historic crescendo surrounding his support for Barack Obama. John's involvement included appearances at benefit rallies and concerts, a high-profile premiere of a new song, "If You're Out There," at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and a performance for the newly sworn in POTUS on Inauguration Day. The artist has become a much sought-after guest on political talks shows ranging from "Real Time with Bill Maher" to "Anderson Cooper 360º."

"He is a genius," wrote Quincy Jones in his tribute to John for the Time 100, "and we've seen only the tip of the iceberg. For all that he has already achieved in his career, it is going to be fun watching where he goes from here."

John's upcoming plans include the release of The Wake Up Sessions, a collaboration with the Roots.

John Legend's Myspace

John Legend's Website

Check Out John Legend's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Karen Briggs

2009-12-10T15:26:00.003+07:00

Karen's live performances are "electrifying and explosive!" She was born in New York City and raised in Portsmouth, VA where she learned to play violin in a classroom setting at the age of 12. Her playing is strong and indicative of her exposure to Jazz, Gospel, Latin, Classical, African and mid-eastern music styles. All are combined with a unique melismatic, 'vocal-like' soul, thus giving her a rare and distinguishable signature of sound. She has been sought after to record or appear in a wide variety of musical situations ranging from Gospel (Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin & Yolanda Adams) to Symphony (The Virginia Symphony) to jazz ("Vertu" Stanley Clarke & Lenny White, Mike Phillips) to Hip Hop (Wu Tang Clan, Hidden Beach: Unwrapped Volumes I - IV). Another noteworthy fact is that Karen is the first violinist to win Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater! Described as "that lady in red", her fiery performances in the multi-platinum selling, "Yanni: Live at the Acropolis" PBS special has been seen and remembered by literally millions of people around the world. In between touring, sessions and live guest appearances, Karen is has completed a long awaited solo CD release, "Soulchestral Groove" (August 2009) which features her in her own light and is available exclusively at her live performances!

Karen Briggs' Myspace

Check Out Karen Briggs' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Novello B3 Soul feat. Eric Marienthal

2009-12-10T11:56:00.005+07:00

Keyboardist/composer/arranger, and producer, John Novello has played and worked with everybody from Chick Corea, Ritchie Cole, Hubert Laws, Andy Summers of the Police, Henry Mancini, Ramsey Lewis, to legendary rock bassist Billy Sheehan, Edgar Winter, Mark Isham, Donna Summer, Manhattan Transfer and A Taste of Honey. As a player he has a worldwide reputation in contemporary jazz and R & B/Soul on both acoustic and electronic instruments but most famously the Hammond B3 Organ. Eric Marienthal is a Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, smooth jazz, and pop genres.

After graduating from high school in Southern California in 1976, Eric went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass where he studied with the legendary saxophone professor, Joe Viola. By the time he left Berklee, Eric had achieved the highest proficiency rating given by the school. In 1995 Eric was awarded the Berklee Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music. He has since gone on to perform in over 65 different countries, recorded 11 solo CDs and has played on hundreds of records, films, television shows and commercial jingles.

Novello B3 Soul's Myspace

John Novello's Website

Check Out Novello B3 Soul's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Lao Tizer

2009-12-10T11:32:00.005+07:00

Keyboardist and recording artist Lao Tizer captivates audiences of all ages and musical tastes. Tizer has been proclaimed “an independent artist with all the right moves” and “a torchbearer for the new generation of contemporary jazz.” He is a “Best New Jazz Artist” nominee; a Yamaha-endorsed pianist and keyboardist; has appeared at many premier venues including Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, Pier 39 – Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco; and has graced the stage at events alongside artists including: Isaac Hayes, Boney James, Zappa Plays Zappa, Wayne Shorter, George Benson, The Commodores, The Rippingtons, Bruce Hornsby, Jethro Tull, and Spyro Gyra. Tizer’s recordings have sold over 85,000 copies, charted and received acclaim in the industry’s most respected publications and his music can be heard on radio and television airwaves worldwide. His talents continue to evolve and command attention.

At the age of five, Tizer became enchanted by the sounds of a piano, originally purchased for his sister. After several years of tinkering, Tizer’s parents finally gave in to their son’s pleading for lessons and, at the age of nine, he began his formal training. The long-awaited lessons flourished as Tizer quickly exhibited his flair for composition and improvisation. “My parents always encouraged me to pursue my own creativity,” said Tizer, “I learned early on how to improvise and be musically adventurous.” Lao began his career during his high school years in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado and self-produced and released his first three solo keyboard recordings by the age of seventeen. In 1997, Tizer relocated to Los Angeles to further pursue his musical passion. His talents quickly attracted the attention of renowned contemporary jazz guitarist, composer, producer and 2008 Emmy Winner Chieli Minucci (Special EFX). Collaboration on a demo project ensued and within only a few months, Tizer was wowing audiences in the “City of Angels.” In 1998, with advice from Minucci, Tizer formed the Lao Tizer Band (Jeff Kollman – guitar; Andre Manga – bass, Drew Megna – drums, Steve Nieves – sax, percussion and vocals).

In 2001, Frat House Records released Golden Soul, Tizer’s first full-production record featuring his group. Golden Soul allowed Tizer to reunite with musical mentor Minucci in recording the album and the result was spectacular. The single, “Her Poetry,” received accolades from all sectors of the industry and charted on both the Gavin Charts and Radio & Records’ reports and reached Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Album chart. The success of Golden Soul planted and nurtured the groundling effort of Tizer’s growing fan base and spurred the progression of his inspiring live concert experience. In 2006, the Lao Tizer Band returned to the studio to record Diversify, Tizer’s first release for Yse Records. Produced by long-time friend and guitarist Jeff Kollman, the musical themes of Diversify truly reflect its title. The album expounds upon Tizer’s broad artistic influences while staying firmly rooted in his benchmark style. The record features phenomenal piano performances from Tizer, supported by his handpicked group and features guest appearances by top-flight artists including: Chieli Minucci, Karen Briggs, D. Munyungo Jackson and Andy Suzuki. Both singles from the album charted on both Radio & Records Jazz Indicator and SmoothJazz.com charts. Diversify continues to appear on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Album chart thanks to this airplay and Lao’s busy concert schedule.

In 2008, Tizer again broadened his horizons and assembled an all-star concert tour: Lao Tizer Band featuring the aforementioned Chieli Minucci and international violin virtuoso Karen Briggs (Yanni, Soul 2 Soul, Stanley Clarke, etc). In the fall, Lao returned to the studio to embark on a journey back to his roots with a more piano-oriented project called Passages. 2008 also saw Lao make his Asian concert debut with shows in Seoul, South Korea. As we enter the new year, look for Lao to release his forthcoming album and continue his demanding tour schedule with his band, the all-star concert tour with Minucci and Briggs, and other configurations as he ventures further into the international marketplace.

Lao Tizer’s continuing growth as a composer is brightly refracted in the deep musical prism of his evolving artistry. Whether he is performing solo or in concert with his extraordinary band, the future promises spectacular accomplishments from this gifted young artist. A diverse path is promised for the novice listener and experience-seeking fan.

Lao Tizer's Myspace

Lao Tizer's Website

Check Out Lao Tizer's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Hubert Laws

2009-12-09T15:14:00.005+07:00

Internationally renowned flutist Hubert Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm-and-blues genres; moving effortlessly from one repertory to another. He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, with the orchestras of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Amsterdam, Japan, Detroit and with the Stanford String Quartet. He has given annual performances at Carnegie Hall, and has performed sold out performances in the Hollywood Bowl with fellow flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal and was a member of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras. In addition, he has appeared at the Montreux, Playboy, and Kool Jazz festivals; he performed with the Modern Jazz Quartet at the Hollywood Bowl in 1982 and with the Detroit Symphony in 1994. His recordings have won three Grammy nominations.

Mr. Laws has been involved in unique projects such as collaborations with Quincy Jones, Bob James, and Claude Bolling for Neil Simon's comedy California Suite, a collaboration with Earl Klugh and Pat Williams on the music for How to Beat the High Cost of Living: and film scores for The Wiz, Color Purple, A Hero Ain't Nothing but a Sandwich, and Spot Marks the X. There are 20 albums in Mr. Laws' discography for such record companies as: Atlantic, CBS, CTI, including: "My Time Will Come," and "Storm Then The Calm" for the Music Masters record label. He was selected the No. 1 flutist in Down Beat readers' polls ten years in a row and was the critic's choice seven consecutive years.

Born in Houston, Mr. Laws' musical education came from various sources. He grew up directly across from a honky-tonk called Miss Mary's Place, his grandfather played the harmonica, and his mother played gospel music on the piano. His Session work also remains a staple of Hubert Laws' schedule, and includes collaborations and recordings with such artists as Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Freddie Hubbard, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Sergio Mendes, Bob James, Carly Simon, Clark Terry, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

In addition, Mr. Laws maintains his own publishing companies, Hulaws Music and Golden Flute Music, and he founded Spirit Productions in 1976 to produce his own albums and those of prom

iclassical training got under way in high school. He later enrolled in the music department at Texas Southern University. During this period, he arranged to study privately with Clement Barone who Mr. Laws considers had a profound effect on his development. From there he traveled to Los Angeles with the Jazz Crusaders where he won a scholarship to the Juilliard School of music in New York City. Mr. Laws completed his studies and obtained his degree at the Juilliard School of music in New York City under tutelage of the renowned flutist Julius Baker.

Hubert Laws' Myspace

Hubert Laws' Website

Check Out Hubert Laws' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... David Murray Black Saint Quartet

2009-12-09T14:25:00.004+07:00

For many aficionados, David Murray is already something of a jazz dinosaur, if we consider the number of albums recorded, crowded theatres and awards that have crowned his career (Grammy Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Bird Award, Danish Jazz Par Prize, Guiness Jazz Festival, musician of the decade (1980) by the Village Voice….). And yet, with barely a quarter-century behind him, we still find verve and youthful inspiration expressed through his career that is so prolific in terms of both productions and musical orientations (from the World Saxophone Quartet of which he is a founder to his octet and including his big band and the Caribbean jazz of the GWO Ka Masters), all with the greatest musicians. David Murray is the worthy successor of the greatest names in jazz, and he is now contributing to the rise of young talents like Lafayette Gilchrist, a young pianist already hailed by critics. “Just Bop and shut up!" That was impossible for the young David, a contemporary of free jazz, the last adventure of the fin-de-siècle jazzman. Impossible for this son of Methodists, who found in Coltrane and Ayler the figure of the spiritual Negro, not to be politicized to his very core. Today David Murray is in his fifties, with a 130 albums to his name and participation in another hundred recordings as invited guest.

At the end of the 1990's people spoke in regard to David Murray of fusion, world music, even Pan-Africanism, after he undertook a backward journey through the Caribbean, the “little" Americas, via South Africa and Senegal." Before starting that journey, David Murray lived the history of jazz: born in Oakland, he grew up in Berkeley and studied with Catherine Murray (David's mother, an organist), Bobby Bradford, Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, Margaret Kohn and many others until he left for Ponoma College (Los Angeles), and then New York where he settled in 1975. In New York he was encouraged by Cecil Taylor, with whom he played, and Dewey Redman. There were more meetings, men and music: Sunny Murray, Tony Braxton, Oliver Lake, Don Cherry. As part of Ted Daniels' Energy band, he worked with Hamiett Bluiett, Lester Bowie and Frank Lowe. In 1976, after his first European tour, David Murray founded one of his legendary groups, the World Saxophone Quartet (with which he came out in 2006 with a much-noted “Political Blues") with Oliver Lake, Hamiett Bluiett and Julius Hemphill. He got into a period of intense creativity with one recording after another, in a variety of groups. From Jerry Garcia to Max Roach by way of Randy Weston and Elvin Jones, David Murray had one encounter after another until 1978, when he developed his quartet and later octet and devoted himself to his own groups. Nonetheless he didn\'t hesitate to get into other areas, working for different projects on strings (concert at the Public Theatre in New York in 1982), Ka drums of Guadeloupe (Creole, 1998, Gwotet in 2004 and a new album, "The Devil Tried to Kill Me," in preparation for 2009), or musicians and dancers from South Africa (M'Bizo, 1998).

Recently he threw himself into his Black Saint Quartet, with “Sacred Ground," an album released in June 2007 (Justin Time) featuring the magical voice of Cassandra Wilson, an album whose sumptuous compositions pay homage to one of his richest periods under the legendary Italian label Black Saint, and digital reissue of this entire catalogue on the major digital downloading sites. This work was also followed by the rediscovery of 26 rare pieces on the DIW label, now available for downloading exclusively on Emusic, as a good way for fans to measure the expanse of an already dizzying career. Always open to new territories, Murray is now working on writing a new musical opera with Amiri Baraka, after the homage to Pushkin he composed in 2005 with his friend Blaise Ndjehoya. An opera that won't be out until 2009 or 2010. What is it? “There's poetry, music and themes. Look, I wrote this composition this morning. It's going to be entitled “You Vote, You Die."

David Murray's Myspace

Check Out David Murray's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Chieli Minucci & Special EFX

2009-12-09T14:17:00.013+07:00

Renowned as the leader of Grammy-nominated contemporary group Special EFX, Chielli Minucci is an Italian-American contemporary jazz guitarist and composer. With Special EFX, Chielli Minucci has released 23 records. Furthermore, Minucci has also recorded and performed with the likes of Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Marc Anthony, Jessica Simpson, Anastasia, Marion Meadows, Jay Beckenstein, Nestor Torez and many more. Minucci also did compositional work for television shows such as "The Guiding Light", "Good Morning America", "Access Hollywood" and "Dora the Explorer".

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX's Myspace

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX's Website

Check Out Chieli Minucci & Special EFX's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Brian Lynch Latin Jazz Quartet

2009-12-09T13:49:00.008+07:00

"This is the end of the century, and a lot of music has gone down," Brian Lynch said several years ago. "I think that to be a straight-ahead jazz musician now means drawing on a wider variety of things than 30 or 40 years ago. Not to play a little bit of this or a little bit of that, but to blend everything together into something that sounds good. It doesn't sound like pastiche or shifting styles; it's people with a lot of knowledge."

Few musicians embody this 21st century credo as profoundly as the 48-year-old trumpet master. A respected insider within both the hardcore bebop and Latin communities, he's as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. He\'s worked in recent years with Buena Vista Social Club alumnus Barbarito Torres, dance remixer Joe Clausell, and the members of the influential Latin alternative group Yerba Buena. He arranges for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell, Prince, and Sheila E.

Born September 12, 1956 in Urbana, Illinois, Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he apprenticed on a high level with such local residents as pianist Buddy Montgomery and organist Melvin Rhyne, while earning a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Located in San Diego in 1980-81, he gained further valuable experience in the group of alto master Charles McPherson.

Towards the end of 1981, Lynch moved to New York, and soon linked up with the Horace Silver Quintet (1982-1985) and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra (1982-1988). Simultaneously, he played and recorded on the Latin scene with salsa bandleader Angel Canales (1982-83) and legendary cantante Hector LaVoe (1983-87). He began his association with Eddie Palmieri in 1987, and at the end of 1988 joined what turned out to be the final edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He began his association with Phil Woods in 1992, and also worked frequently with Benny Golson around this time.

In 1986, Lynch recorded his first album as a leader, Peer Pressure, for Criss-Cross. There followed Back Room Blues and At The Main Event [Criss-Cross], In Process [Ken], Keep Your Circle Small [Sharp Nine]), and a string of sideman dates with Art Blakey and Phil Woods. On each, Lynch documented his fiery, coherent tonal personality. Whether limning a ballad or tearing through a searing bop structure, he projects a rich tone that ranges from warm to brilliant, uncoiling serpentine lines that land in the most surprising places.

He also made a name for himself as a composer, through numerous songs that play with and stretch harmony while never losing melodic essence and rhythmic thrust. In tunesmithing he's much influenced by former employer Horace Silver. "I look to get that clean sound that Horace's compositions have." he comments.

"You can play complicated or simply on them, always with something that connects to the public." Art Blakey recognized Lynch's skills, and recorded originals like "Chippin' In," "Chandek's Den," "Byrdflight" and "Green Is Mean" on albums for Timeless, A&M, and In-n-Out.

A 1997 recording called Spheres of Influence [Sharp Nine], which earned a 4-1/2 star Downbeat review, was Lynch's first project to reflect the panoramic range of interests that influence his working life as a musician. During these years he documented cross-cultural investigations with Eddie Palmieri's seminal

Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet on Arete, Palmas and Vortex [Nonesuch and RMM]. As the \'90s progressed, he steadily refined his concept, eventually collaborating with Palmieri as an arranger, co-composer and musical director. In a rare gesture, Palmieri took advantage of Lynch's pen on the recent albums La Perfecta II and Ritmo Caliente [Concord Picante]. The synchronistic nature of their relationship will continue in 2005, when Palmieri collaborates with Lynch on his ambitious project for Artists Share.

Lynch has continued to advance the Spheres of Influence concept, gathering around him a repertory company of top-shelf Pan-American oriented musicians. These include drummers Dafnis Prieto, Horacio Hernandez, Robby Ameen, and Ernesto Simpson; percussionists Richie Flores, Pedro Martinez and Roberto Quintero; pianists Luis Perdomo, Edsel Gomez, and David Kikoski; bassists John Benitez, Ruben Rodriguez, and Hans Glawischnig; and saxophonists Miguel Zenon and Yosvany Terry.

Brian Lynch' Myspace

Brian Lynch' Website

Check Out Brian Lynch' Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Breakestra

2009-12-09T13:29:00.009+07:00

Breakestra is a ten-piece funk "orchestra" from Los Angeles, California, formed by Miles Tackett in 1996.

Miles Tackett, also known as "Musicman", plays bass, guitar, keyboards and drums. He also sings along with Mix Master Wolf. The style in which the band plays is much influenced by late 60's and early 70's soul and funk music, and as The Live Mix, Part 1 and The Live Mix, Part 2 show.

After releasing several EPs and two full-length albums of mostly covers and sample-filled breaks, Breakestra put out Hit the Floor in 2005 on Ubiquity Records, which included all-original recordings fusing elements of hip hop, funk, and soul.

Breakestra's Myspace

Breakestra's Website

Check Out Breakestra's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Lee Ritenour

2009-12-09T12:41:00.005+07:00

Ritenour was born January 11, 1952 in Los Angeles, California. He played his first session when he was 16 with the Mamas and the Papas. Nicknamed "Captain Fingers", he was a sought-after session guitarist by the mid-1970s and won Guitar Player Magazines Best Studio Guitarist twice in the 70's. He is noted for playing his red Gibson ES-335 and his Gibson L5 guitars. One of his most notable influences is the pioneering jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. In 1976, he released his first solo album, First Course. This was followed up by his fusion work Captain Fingers in 1976. Since First Course he has released over 30 albums — the 30th being Rit's House in 2002. One of his most notable works is his pop album (featuring vocalist Eric Tagg) 1981 Rit, which contained chart hits "Is It You," and "Mr. Briefcase." In the '90s, he was one of the founding members of group Fourplay. He was nominated for 17 Grammy Awards, won one, plus landing at the top of many guitar polls throughout the world.

Throughout his career, Ritenour has experimented with different styles of music. He has often incorporated elements of funk, pop, rock, blues and Brazilian music with jazz.In the early 1980s, Ritenour was given his own Ibanez signature model guitar, the LR-10. The LR-10 was produced from 1981 to 1987. It can be heard exclusively on his album Rit. Currently, Ritenour plays the Gibsons that he first played in the 1970s (the ES-335 and L5), and now also plays his signature Lee Ritenour Model archtop guitar made by Gibson.

Lee Ritenour's Myspace

Check Out Lee Ritenour's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Ivan Lins

2009-12-09T12:20:00.006+07:00

This musician has become an icon of the Brazil music world. Although he is a graduate of chemical engineering, Ivan Lins chose to explore his passion as a singing musician. He began recording in 1970; in 1980, he left his home for the US to pursue a musical career. His piano-playing and beautiful voice can be enjoyed through more than 30 studio albums. Ivan Lins was so special that the late Miles Davis planned to create an album together. Unfortunately, Miles Davis passed away before the plan was actualized. Today, Ivan Lins is one of Brazil's most recorded and best-known composers overseas, particularly in the USA and Japan. His career has spanned 35 years and 27 records, with over 350 songs recorded in Brazil and hundreds more around the world.

Ivan Lins's Myspace

Check Out Ivan Lins's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010... Hendrik Meurkens Samba Jazz Quartet

2009-12-08T16:11:00.005+07:00

From tranquil Bossa Nova treatments to burning New York Samba Jazz versions by the way of inspired Chorinhos and in-the-pocket Sambafunk, The Hendrik Meurkens Samba Jazz Quartet explores the wide terrain of Brazilian Jazz. The unique sound of the band is defined by Hendrik Meurkens\' trademark sound of Jazz harmonica and vibes plus the immensely swinging rhythm section of Misha Tsiganov, Gustavo Amarante and Adriano Santos. The group explores the Great Brazilian Songbook from a Jazz point of view and features compositions by Hendrik Meurkens, many of which are documented on his numerous CDs. The band has recorded 12 CDs, five of them for the prestigious Concord Label. Hendrik’s latest release, SAMBA TO GO!, is the culmination of his lifelong love of Brazilian music. Hendrik Meurkens, a virtuoso on both the chromatic harmonica and the vibraphone, is the most important jazz harmonica player since Toots Thielemans. German-born but now based in New York, Meurkens' recordings and performances garner worldwide acclaim because the transcendent beauty of his music has universal appeal. Hendrik Meurkens' profound involvement in both jazz and Brazilian music resulted in a very personal and instantly recognizable version of Samba jazz. This music, a cross-cultural amalgam guaranteed to touch the heart, features his harmonica and vibes along with piano, bass and drums, playing his stirring originals and arrangements.

Hendrik Meurkens's Myspace

Check out Hendrik Meurkens Samba Jazz Quartet's Youtube Video HERE

Due to perform at JJF 2010...Christian McBride

2009-12-08T15:01:00.004+07:00

Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes hard to believe considering this man is not yet 40.

Beginning in 1989, this Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City to further his classical studies at the Juilliard School, only to be snatched up by alto saxophonist, Bobby Watson. Since then, McBride's list of accomplishments have been nothing short of staggering. As a sideman in the jazz world alone, he's worked with the best of the very best - Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny. In the R&B world, he's not only played with, but also arranged for Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, and the one and only Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. In the pop/rock world, he's extensively collaborated with Sting, Carly Simon, Don Henley, and Bruce Hornsby. In the hip-hop/neo-soul world, he's collaborated with the Roots, D'Angelo, and Queen Latifah. In many other specialty projects, he's worked closely with opera legend Kathleen Battle, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, the Shanghai Quartet and the Sonus Quartet.

Away from the bass, Christian has become quite an astute and respected spokesperson for the music. In 1997, he spoke on former President Bill Clinton's town hall meeting "Racism in the Performing Arts". In 2000, he was named Artistic Director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In 2005, he was officially named the co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Also in 2005, he was named the second Creative Chair for Jazz of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

In 1998, McBride composed, "The Movement, Revisited", a four-movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement - Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The piece was commissioned by the Portland (ME) Arts Society and the National Endowment for the Arts. The piece was performed throughout the New England states in the fall of 1998 with McBride's quartet and a 30-piece gospel choir led by J.D. Steele.

Ten years later in 2008, "The Movement, Revisited" was expanded, re-written, re-vamped and performed again in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The updated version now featured the gospel choir, an 18-piece big-band and four actors/speakers. The Los Angeles Times claimed the "Movement" as, "a work that was admirable -- to paraphrase Dr. King -- for both the content of its music and the character of its message."

Since 2000, McBride has blazed a trail as a bandleader with the Christian McBride Band. McBride's fellow bandmates - saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer and drummer Terreon Gully - have sympathetically shared McBride's all-inclusive, forward-thinking outlook on music. Releasing two CD's - 2002's "Vertical Vision", and 2006's "Live at Tonic", writer Alan Leeds called McBride's band (affectionately known as the "CMB") "one of the most intoxicating, least predictable bands on the scene today." It is a group that has mesmerizingly walked an electro-acoustic fault line with amazing results.

2009 looks to be a big year for McBride. For starters, he will release two CD's for a new label, the Detroit-based Mack Avenue Records. First, he will return to his undiluted "straight-ahead" roots with the unveiling of his new quintet, "Christian McBride & Inside Straight" featuring alto/soprano saxophonist, Steve Wilson; vibraphonist, Warren Wolf; pianist, Eric Reed and drummer, Carl Allen.

There will also be a recording of duets with McBride and some of his best friends and mentors - George Duke, Angelique Kidjo, Dr. Billy Taylor, Hank Jones, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Regina Carter, Ron Blake, Roy Hargrove and Russell Malone among many others.

To top it off, McBride will hit the airwaves with a brand new radio show, "Conversations with Christian" on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.

Christian McBride's Myspace

Check Out Christian McBride's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Jane Monheit

2009-12-08T14:28:00.006+07:00

It is a lifelong musical journey from the dreamy innocence of "Never Never Land" to the world-weary delusion of "Something Cool." Yet, Jane Monheit, now firmly established as one of the post-millennial jazz world's foremost vocalists, has managed to make the trip in just eight years. In 2000, Monheit chose the sweet, escapist Peter Pan lullaby as the title tune for her debut album. Now, with The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me, her sophomore release for Concord (following 2006's sumptuous Surrender), she is plumbing the gin-soaked escapism of the heartrending tune made famous by June Christy in 1953.

But "Something Cool" is just one of several tracks on The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me, Monheit's widest-ranging and most accomplished album to date, that suggest the honey-voiced chanteuse is ushering in an artistic era of heightened sagacity and maturity. She also navigates the dark corners of Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman's poignant "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men," delivers a superlative interpretation of Paul Simon's bittersweet "I Do It for Your Love" and embraces such contemporary songwriters as Corrine Bailey Rae ("Like A Star") and Fiona Apple ("Slow Like Honey"). "I was," confesses Monheit, "obsessed with Fiona Apple's first record when I was in college, and that's the album that song is from. I thought it was interesting to do it and "Like A Star" because both are by female songwriters who are almost exactly my age, and they're songs I really love. I'm always doing songs from the Great American Songbook by long-dead composers, mostly male. Standards are still where my heart is, but it's great to go beyond that."

And, of course, The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me, produced by Matt Pierson, does include a rich assortment of jazz and pop classics, ranging from Cole Porter ("Get Out of Town") and Jimmy Dorsey ("I’m Glad There Is You") to Leonard Bernstein ("Lucky to Be Me"). Nor does Monheit ignore her deep adoration for Brazilian gems, adding Ivan Lins' "Acaso" ("No Tomorrow") and the effervescent samba "A Primeira Vez" to her recorded repertoire.

Jane Monheit's Myspace

Jane Monheit's Website

Check out Jane Monheit's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Eric Benet

2009-12-08T13:59:00.004+07:00

They say home is where the heart is, and Eric returned to his Milwaukee, Wisconsin roots to record his Friday/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records CD Love & Life. Collaborating with his longtime production partner Demonte Posey and writer/producer/cousin George Nash, Jr., Eric completely opened his heart and soul with this decidedly organic production, exercising complete creative control over for the first time in his career. Co-writing and producing eleven of the twelve tracks with his partners, "musically and creatively, it's just as I envisioned it. I wanted to make a record that was a good feeling R&B record, and some of the best R&B for me growing up had a dash of gospel, a couple dashes of jazz. You could feel the social consciousness and you could feel where the artist was in their life. Whatever challenges, victories, blessings that I'm presently experiencing and the fruit of all that, are the songs that I write." Having fun through the entire process, Eric's sustained motivation from experiencing love and living life can be heard skillfully weaved throughout every album track.

Eric Benet's Myspace

Eric Benet's Website

Check out Eric Benet's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Tony Monaco

2009-12-08T11:51:00.006+07:00

On Tonys sixteenth birthday, his prayers were answered--he received an encouraging phone call from the late Jimmy Smith, who soon became his guru. This was the first of a regular series of calls where Smith taught Tony the secrets of the Hammond B-3. Four years later, when he was twenty, Jimmy Smith invited Tony to come play with him at his club in California--a peak lifetime experience for Tony Monaco. In 2005, thanks to the success of Fiery Blues, Tony traveled extensively, including the US, Australia, New Caledonia, and Canada. Returning home in September after a 10 day tour of Australia, Tony recorded his newest CD East to West on his newly formed Chicken Coup Records with Adam Nussbaum on drums and Bruce Forman on Guitar. With the release of East to West, earlier in 2005, Tony has experienced another burst of interest, playing the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as gigs in Europe and US.

Tony Monaco's Myspace

Tony Monaco's Website

Check out Tony Monaco's Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Jazz Festival 2010.... Carl Allen

2009-12-08T11:30:00.007+07:00

With over 150 recordings to his credit, the gifted Milwaukee-born, New York-based drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur, and educator, Carl Allen's profound and propulsive percolations provided soulful and syncopated support for nearly three decades. Born on April 25, 1961, Allen grew up on gospel, R&B, and funk, but later turned to jazz after hearing an LP by the legendary saxophonist Benny Carter. He studied with drum instructor Roy Sneider and band director Robert Siemele. His first hometown gigs were with sax greats Sonny Stitt and James Moody. Allen studied at The University of Wisconsin at Green Bay from 1979 to 1981, and transferred to William Patterson College in New Jersey, where he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Studies and Performance. Allen joined trumpeter Freddie Hubbard a year before his graduation, served as his Musical Director for eight years, and recorded several recordings with the trumpeter including Double Take and Life Flight. Allen also played with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Benny Golson, Jennifer Holliday, J.J. Johnson, Rickie Lee Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Mike Stern, Nellie McKay, Terence Blanchard, Phil Woods, Benny Green, Cyrus Chestnut, Joe Henderson, Billy Childs and many others. Allen's phenomenal sideman discography also includes Jackie McLean (Dynasty), Donald Harrison (Indian Blues, Noveau Swing), Donald Byrd (A City Called Heaven), and Art Farmer (The Company I Keep). Piccadilly Square (Timeless) was Allen's first CD as leader, released in 1989, followed by The Dark Side of Dewey (Evidence), The Pursuer (Atlantic), Testimonial (Atlantic), and Get Ready, his 2007 Mack Avenue gospel/Motown accented debut release with co-leader, bassist Rodney Whitaker. Allen is also an accomplished businessman. He co-founded Big Apple Productions in 1988 with saxophonist Vincent Herring, produced several recordings for several Japanese labels with future stars Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton, and created The Art of Elvin, a tribute band dedicated to his two drum influences.

He currently leads his exceptional quintet and Carl Allen & New Spirit as well as being the co-leader of the Allen-Whitaker Project with bassist Rodney Whitaker. Allen also produced recordings for pianist Eric Reed, Dewey Redman, Pharoah Sanders, Freddie Hubbard and guitarist Lage Lund, the winner of the 2005 Thelonious Monk International Monk Competition and many others totaling nearly 70 credits as a producer. A talented educator, Allen has served on the jazz faculty at Julliard since 2001 as coordinator of Small Ensembles and drum instructor. Currently I am serving as the Interim Artistic Director of Jazz Studies. Allen maintains an exhaustive schedule of recording, touring and teaching. He remains active as a leader (most recently co-leading The Carl Allen - Rodney Whitaker Project, leading The Carl Allen & The Art of Elvin - a musical tribute to Art Blakey and Elvin Jones), New Spirit and as an in-demand sideman (recent recordings with Jackie Ryan, Wayne Escoffery, Alex Graham, Barbara King and many others).

Carl Allen's Myspace

Carl Allen's Website

Check out Carl Allen's Youtube Video HERE

JJF 2010 Presents...

2009-11-30T13:43:00.005+07:00

Arturo O'Farril
Breakestra
Brian Lynch Latin Jazz Quartet
Chieli Minucci & Special EFX
Christian McBride
David Murray Black Saint Quartet
Eric Benet
Hendrik Meurkens Samba Jazz Quartet
Hubert Laws
Jane Monheit
Karen Briggs
Lao Tizer
Novello B3 Soul feat. Eric Marienthal
Rufus & Sly Stone

There will be MORE to come...

BE A PART OF THE FESTIVAL!

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... Atlantic Starr

2009-10-22T14:19:00.010+07:00

Atlantic Starr was among the top urban contemporary acts of the '80s and fared well in the adult contemporary market as well, but their roots were '70s soul and funk. The East Coast outfit was formed in White Plains, NY, in 1976 by three brothers: lead singer/guitarist David Lewis, lead singer/keyboardist Wayne Lewis, and trombonist/percussionist Jonathan Lewis. After the Lewis Brothers hired lead singer Sharon Bryant, trumpeter William Sudderth, saxophonist Damon Rentie (who was replaced by Koran Daniels in 1981), bassist Clifford Archer, drummer Porter Carroll, Jr., and percussionist/flutist Joseph Phillips, Atlantic Starr's original nine-person lineup was in place.

Influenced by '70s funk/soul bands like Earth, Wind & Fire, the Commodores, New Birth, and L.T.D., Atlantic Starr started playing around the northeastern U.S. They had only been together for about two years when they signed with A&M and started working with Bobby Eli, a well-respected producer/songwriter from Philadelphia. Produced by Eli in 1978, Atlantic Starr's self-titled debut album wasn't a mega-platinum blockbuster but did reasonably well and contained the funk hit "Stand Up" (which made it to number 16 on Billboard's R&B singles chart). Eli went on to produce the band's second album, Straight to the Point; while that 1979 release did OK, A&M knew that Atlantic Starr could be bigger. So in 1981, the band changed producers and enlisted James Carmichael for their third album, Radiance. It was a wise move; Radiance and its hit single "When Love Calls" established Atlantic Starr as a supergroup in the R&B market. It was on Radiance that the charismatic Bryant (who was featured on "When Love Calls") really blossomed as a singer and her lead vocals played a major role in the band's success. Carmichael went on to produce 1982's "Brilliance" (which contained the number two R&B single "Circles") and 1983's Yours Forever; the latter includes "Touch a Four Leaf Clover," another major hit featuring Bryant.

Although Bryant was never Atlantic Starr's only lead singer -- Wayne and David Lewis also provided their share of lead vocals -- she was a major asset. So it came as quite a disappointment when she left Atlantic Starr in 1984 to pursue a solo career. But all was not lost. The talented Barbara Weathers was hired as a replacement and 1985's As the Band Turns -- Atlantic Starr's first post-Bryant album and sixth album overall -- found the outfit unveiling a smaller lineup that consisted of Weathers, the Lewis Brothers, and Phillips. Sudderth, Daniels, Archer, and Carroll were all gone, but despite those personnel changes, Atlantic Starr was still distinctive and recognizable. As the Band Turns, which contained the major hit "Secret Lovers," turned out to be Atlantic Starr's last album for A&M; in 1987, they moved to Warner Bros. and fared well with the album All in the Name of Love and the smash hit "Always." A syrupy adult contemporary ballad, "Always" reflected the Lewis Brothers' desire to have the type of crossover success that Whitney Houston and Lionel Ritchie had been enjoying in the '80s; they got their wish when "Always" soared to number one on both the pop and R&B charts.

After All in the Name of Love, Weathers left the band to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Porscha Martin, who was featured on 1988's We're Movin' Up. Martin was around for a few years before being replaced by Rachel Oliver (Atlantic Starr's fourth female vocalist) in the early '90s. Atlantic Starr's relationship with Warner Bros. ended after 1991's Love Crazy, and in 1994, the band recorded one album for Arista: Time. That album was a commercial disappointment and the single "I'll Remember You" only made it to the fifties on Billboard's R&B and pop singles charts. Time (which was David Lewis' last album with the band) found a fifth female singer, Aisha Tanner, replacing Oliver. And when 1999's Legacy was distributed by the small, independent Street Solid label, Atlantic Starr unveiled yet another lineup -- one that consisted of two Lewis Brothers (Wayne and Jonathan) as well as Oliver (who had returned and replaced Tanner) and a new male singer named DeWayne Woods. Although Legacy received very little attention, Atlantic Starr hung in there and was still performing for die-hard fans when the 21st century arrived.

Atlantic Starr will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 31 October

Check out their Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... DMC

2009-10-21T15:00:00.009+07:00

Darryl McDaniels or "DMC" as most of the world knows him, first made his start in the music business as one third of the groundbreaking rap group Run-DMC and quickly became the most popular in terms of fans and influence. He has been in the public eye for the past 20 years, since forming the now legendary, defunct group, RUN-D.M.C with Joseph (Rev. Run) Simmons and the late, great Jason (Jam Master Jay) Mizell. Also one of the founding members of this multi-platinum music group, selling over 30 million singles and albums worldwide, it would be hard to overstate his influence on popular culture. He helped transform Rap and Hip Hop into the most popular music in the world, while building a fan base that rivals the biggest acts in Rock 'n' Roll.

As the first and greatest of Hip Hop's superstars, Run-DMC succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams - their own included - by embodying for the world endlessly creative subculture of young black New York. They were the first rappers to earn a gold album, the first to earn a platinum album, the first to go multi-platinum, the first to have their videos played on MTV, the first to appear on American Bandstand and Saturday Night Live, and the first rap band to grace the cover of Rolling Stone and Spin.

DMC has recently added another list of firsts to his life - his first book entitled "King of Rock: Respect, Responsibility and My Life with Run-DMC" (St. Martins). The book, written by DMC with Bruce Haring with the forward by rapper/actor Will Smith, offers a flavored tale of his rise within the music business while stressing the importance of respect and responsibility in today's society. It has received rave reviews nationwide. Entertainment weekly called it "strangely compelling, bravely honest... plenty of entertaining anecdotes about life back in the day to keep you turning the pages. Like Will Smith, McDaniels is a born charmer." Publisher's Weekly says the book is "hard hitting yet sensitive... he (McDaniiels) argues astutely that 'very few of the rappers will admit they're creating a fictional character,' and thereby create problems for themselves."

In addition to the new book, DMC released his own musical project entitled Checks, Thugs, Rock-N-Roll.

DMC will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 31 October

His Myspace

His Website

Check out his Youtube Video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... T-Five

2009-10-19T10:37:00.008+07:00

T-Five is one of Indonesian RnB group that was formed in 1999. T-Five are Andi Rustandi a.k.a. And One (Piano/Keyboard), Aswin Anshari a.k.a. Ice Win (Synthesizer/Keyboard), Tabriz Muhajier E.M.S a.k.a. Tabriz (Guitar), Paul Arnold a.k.a. P.A. (Vocal/Soprano), Gordon Abraham a.k.a. Gordy (Vocal/Tenor), Christian Marcus Nino a.k.a. N9NE-O (Vocal/Baritone – Rapp).

On the 20^th July of 2008 T-Five reached his 9^th anniversary and with the new formation T-Five doesn’t stop making hits, but continue to give contribution to Indonesian music industries.

On their newest album “The Legacy” there are several hit singles. One of them is called “MENDUA”; this song is based on a true event from one of T-Five members. The song is about: triangle love phenomena and packed neatly with an R&B flavor. “MENDUA” is a continuation from T-Five’s single “TAK AKAN HILANG” which has been released also by Twister Five Entertainment on the early of July 2008. T-Five’s 4^th album The Legacy already distributed on your favorite music stores around Indonesia region from February 2009. T-Five’s R&B/Hip Hop genre indicates that T-Five still exist on that, and this fact is already known from the year 2001; the year when T-Five release their first album.

This 4^th album is a remedi to cure the yearning of T-Five’rs around the globe, as we all know almost 2 years (from 2006 to 2008) T-Five haven’t been productive. T-Five’s live performace concept aslo hasn’t changed, still filled with awesome performance, still filled with beautiful harmonized vocal, and all of that is dedicated to their loyal fans around the globe (T-Five’rs).

T-Five will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

Their Myspace

Check out their Youtube video HERE

The "SOULNATION 2" CD is Coming Your Way

2009-10-15T18:51:00.004+07:00

Wait, the fun does not stop there. We have a special promo offer which combines the double delight of owning this awesome CD and attending an equally awesome event, Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009. The offer is as follows:

- a 10 percent discount to Daily Pass price

- a special price of Rp 55,000 for the "Soulnation 2" CD

om.

This offer will be available soon through the Java Soulnation Festival's website www.javasoulnation.com

Note: the "Soulnation 2" CD you purchase will be able for collection at the Universal Music Indonesia's booth during the Festival.

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... DJ Spooky

2009-10-15T17:01:00.005+07:00

While prolific and highly regarded as a writer and conceptual artist, Paul D. Miller is probably most well known under the moniker of his "constructed persona as "DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid". Miller has remixed and recorded with a panoply of artists ranging from Metallica to Steve Reich to Killah Priest, and has performed in a uniquely wide variety of situations throughout the world. His latest CD - a compilation of classic reggage tracks - is In Fine Style, DJ Spooky Presents 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records!!!! Other recent releases are Drums of Death, with Dave Lombardo of Slayer and Chuck D. of Public Enemy; the groundbreaking Optometry (Thirsty Ear Records); and Millers award-winning book Rhythm Science (MIT Press). He is currently touring the world with his multimedia/film/performance piece DJ Spookys Rebirth of A Nation.

DJ Spooky will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 and 31 October

His Myspace

His Website

Check out his Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... DJ Larry

2009-10-14T16:34:00.003+07:00

Having graduated from High School, he attended Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA) to pursue a degree in Music Production and Engineering. Graduated with a cum laude honor in 2001, Larry then busied himself composing songs. A single, titled “Just Another Night”, which he produced with DJ Takara in 2001, has formed a milestone in his early music career as a composer.

A few months before returning to Indonesia, Lawrence was approached by Edward Andez, his fellow Indonesian classmate in. Both Larry and Andezzz realized that their potential collaboration could go beyond a mere single and result in unlimited possibilities. So, following Lawrence’ return from the US in March 2003, the two rejoined and formed SOVA which managed to launch Tempo Tantrum, their first album, in December 2003.

Tempo Tantrum serves as a fresh break-through for Indonesian music fans by introducing its unique kind of music. Some people call it Nujazz, or Lounge, or Electro Jazz. Despite its maiden debut, SOVA was chosen as MTV’s Exclusive Artist of the Month in March 2004 and was commercially acclaimed as the most selling CD among Independent Artists.

As truly passionate and productive musicians, Larry and Andezzz managed to launch SOVA’s second album: Selayang Jingga in November 2005. Another thing is that this second album is available in vinyl (12” LP) which are also sold in vinyl stores all over London and even positioned number one in a local radio in Brazil.

After the SOVA era Larry and Andezzz went on separate ways to broaden their career. Larry put his performing days to rest and get more into producing and engineering. He managed to work as a producer for ALEXA (local rock band) and Indra Bekti, also was responsible for the sound recording in Maliq & d’essentials’ 2^nd album. He also took part in creating music for TV/Radio commercials. As for his other achievement in composing, Larry won the 1^st prize of BNI Song competition in March 2008.

His love for the art has pushed him to create a collective called Manga Warrior, along with his partner Sushiplatter. Manga Warrior held parties, which includes painters, artists, DJs and musicians; they were considerably very successful and have attracted the youth to appreciate art in many ways. As for a bigger result the collective was staged at Java Jazz Festival in 2007 under the name of Warriors Of Manga.

In 2009 Larry joined a legendary Indonesian crossover jazz group Humania, as one the producers. Today Larry busied himself writing singles, composing jingles for TV commercials, producing tracks for major artists and DJing as a hobby.

DJ Larry will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 31 October

His Myspace

Check out his Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... Bondan Prakoso & Fade2Black

2009-10-14T16:12:00.005+07:00

This is a music project collaboration between a musician, named Bondan Prakoso and a Rap hiphop group, Fade2Black; the members are Titz, Santoz, Lezzano.

In the early 2002, Bondan Prakoso who is also well known by public as a great talented bass player, who was also a former bass player in a Funk Stream band called Funky Kopral, and Tito a.k.a Titz who are known as a rapper and has group called Fade2Black, are often share their thoughts and idea to each others about music. They both came from different backgrounds of music, Bondan Prakoso more likely in Funk and Rock music and Titz in Rap/Hiphop. These 2 campus mates from Faculty of Culture and Humaniora, deepin' in Dutch literature, are colleges friends on University of Indonesia, Depok.

By the late 2003, because of the needs and his desire in acknowledging music is getting more mature, deeper and freedom in creating this art, Bondan Prakoso decided to go further as he decided to retired from their former band, Funky Kopral.

2004 was the year where Bondan came up with an idea to merge a different kind of music and combine them in a new package form of music, as in that mid year, he has asked Titz to join in a music project. Titz thought that it will be more strong with his group joining in.

The situation is getting more varieties and more colorfull as Bondan approved to involve this Hiphop group from Bogor, Fade2Black, in this project. Instead of only 1 rapper, this music project is combining 3 rappers, Titz, Santoz and Lezzano.

Fade2BlackBy the late 2004, they were starting to go further with this project and created various kind of music whit the touch of Rap, Rock, Funk as the elements. Bondan Prakoso is in charge for the music instruments, looping, and arranging, while fade2Black get more close to the lyrics.

The process took only 4 months to complete and in August 2005, their 1st album with the title "RESPECT" released under the SONY BMG Music Indonesia. Since then, the album which contains not only 1 type of music, but many types of music with rap as the basic vocal, by TITZ, SANTOZ LEZZANO, while in other songs also joined BONDAN on vocal in singing.

With this piece of arts, they managed to received contribution and awards, such as:

- MTv Indonesia Exclusive artist in November, 2005

- MTv Advance Warning award in November, 2005

- Indonesian Music Award 2006, as the best Rap album production.

Now in 2007, they are ready to break the Indonesian Music Industry with their more hard, impulsive, innovative forms of music.

Bondan Prakoso & Fade2Black will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 31 October

Their Myspace

Check out their Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... Ndeesaster (Live PA)

2009-10-14T15:51:00.006+07:00

Ndee (short for Ndeesaster) adds a touch of everything else she listens to in her music, making her songs un-ordinary yet strong with her characteristics, thoughtful, lively, intelligent yet never once pretentious.

As a natural born lyricist, she is used to have so many thoughts and opinions inside her head. Her love of observing life, people, and surroundings sharpened her logic and she pours what she thinks and what she feels in her lyrics, combining them with the beats she appreciates and her unique flow clearly secures anything she produces to be one of a kind and exceptional.

Ndeesaster has performed in many stages in town, from cafes to halls, from outdoor field to fancy clubs. For these past year, she has been a part of the team of D'Makaveli, one of the biggest hip-hop event organizer in the city, as their Live Performing Artist. She has also performed out of town to introduce her music to public, and impress them with her signature performances with her rap partner for 6 years, Lloyd Popp. She has worked with several talented producers and artists from Indonesia and abroad such as Herdi Oflo, Mistah, Radikal, Wiz, Jin Hackman, and many more.

She currently performs in many events in Jakarta and working on a compilation project with The Platinum Music called Hip-hop United, scheduled to be released in 2009, along with the finest Indonesian Hip – hop and R&B artists like Ojink, Nuff Sum, Request, Mistah, Minus One, Sally C, Raben, Mali, and more others . For the future, Ndeesaster plans to release her own album hence she's still seeking record deals and representatives at the moment while keeping her eyes open for every opportunity of working with innovative producers and do collaborations with other artists, whether in Indonesia or abroad.

Ndeesaster will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

Her Myspace

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... JFlow

2009-10-14T13:58:00.005+07:00

JFLOW a.k.a Joshua Matulessy is a one man musical act. A recording artist under J Records whose 1st full solo album titled “Facing Your Giants” was released in 2008, distributed by demajors Indonesia. Having the unique blend of cross genres of music making him a musician of his own style. His album speaks for itself, the sounds and arrangements are fresh and nowhere else to be found. Started his solo career in 2005, he began making a name for himself by getting his songs played in radios. Released an underground mini album in 2007 and been getting good response eversince. Java Jazz 2008 was his 1st biggest stage, followed by Soulnation Fest and Java Jazz 2009. Today JFLOW is known as a musician with something fresh to offer, a real Indonesian music breakthrough..

JFlow will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

His Myspace

Check out his Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... RAN

2009-10-14T10:53:00.005+07:00

Formed in November 18^th 2006, RAN is acronym from the 3 members; Rayi (vocal/rap), Asta (guitar) and Nino (vocal). They were studied in the same high school. Rayi and Asta, who were in the same level made a band with their schoolmates named F.R.D. which had won in some band festivals, and once played in Malaysia as well. When they graduated, they decided to disperse the band. So at that time, Rayi and Asta just made songs in Asta’s room using home recording tools.

They met Nino who was their junior in high school soon after that. He hung out in Asta’s place and joined making songs with the two others. Then when they joined Insof (Indonesian Song Festival) in Jakarta, they got the 2^nd places. So they decided to make a group, since they felt that they have the congruence in making songs. They named the group RAN.

A producer from KEP Media and Universal Music Indonesia soon is offering them to make an album after that. So they recorded their first album titled “RAN For Your Life”, and released it in May 2007. Public likes their music because it’s a fun and fresh one. The pop creative RAN is offering to music lovers consists of many genres, such as R&B, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, dance, etc. Their first single “Pandangan Pertama” got 1^st place in some TV & radio charts. And apparently, so many people loves these 3 boys so RAN happened to get 130,000 and more fans in their Friendster account, and also 102,000 and more in their Facebook page.

RAN do a very attractive show performance. Supported by some talented additional music players, they always make a very dynamic arrangements. Local medias also giving good praises for RAN’s music, can be seen in many good album reviews they wrote.

RAN’s performance in Java Jazz 2008 was being watched by more than 3,000 people, and they got it filmed and released in DVD version; “RAN Live at Java Jazz Festival”. RAN was also chosen as a brand ambassador for Wall’s Conello. They got “Rookie of the Year” in Rolling Stone Editor’s Choice Award 2009, and also “Best Group/Duo” in Kids Choice Awards 2009 which was held by Nickelodeon.

RAN has just released their 2^nd album titled “Friday” in August 2009, which gets many good feedback from public and the medias too. They were also invited to perform in Carnaval SoundNation 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.

RAN will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

Their Myspace

Check out their Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... Soulvibe

2009-10-13T16:22:00.003+07:00

After years of performing and burning up stages after another, soulvibe has earned a reputation as Jakarta's Hot up and coming Neo-Soul and R&B act, since their conception back in '03. Made up of two front men Abenk & Bayu on Vocals, Bassist Handy, Caesar on Drums, Frans on Keys and Rio on Synth, "Sounds of Universal Love" never fails to elevate the vibe in every show with their vibrant presence.

In the beginning, old friends Bayu and Handi came up with the group's concept. "We just started out by playing and having a good time on stage, sharing our common love for soulful music.. and from there things just fall into place!" Bayu states. After many trials and experience performing in various events, namely high school gigs, prom & campus nights, jazz fests & corporate events, the band is now solid with six members, and quite a handful of loyal followers. Handy adds, "After three years rehearsing, writing and performing with soulvibe, we've had our ups and downs, many faces have come and gone, and today I can say we've grown closer together as a family with these six key members".

Aside from performing, soulvibe has also been productive in writing their original tunes, incorporating everything they've been influenced by, both on stage and in the studio. Back in '05, they've even had their demo version of their original tune "No More" played on one of Jakarta's leading radio stations, in which they've climbed up the chart, all the way to the top!

Soulvibe's pre-single "Terang Jiwa" was aired on radios in mid September '07, in the heart of Ramadan. This song is the band's perception of faith, and though it may not be your average spiritual song, the band got their message across in their own

Soulvibe will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

Their Myspace

Check out their Youtube video HERE

Due to Perform at Java Soulnation Festival 09 .... Boogiemen

2009-10-13T16:14:00.004+07:00

Derived from a bond of friendship and the similarities of music reference, on August 27^th 2006 Dana a.k.a. Kyriz (Rap/Beatbox), Theo a.k.a. Tuff Gong (Vocal, Synth Bass, Guitar), dan Iyay a.k.a. Thriller (Bagpipe/Backing Vocal), agreed on forming a Hip Hop based concept which they finally call Boogiemen. Their career started with performances and/or gigs on campus events as well as various popular hangouts in Bandung.

Boogiemen’s unique concept of music was able to attract the attention of the Indonesian crowd and listeners as well as many Indonesian music industry insiders. Thus in a relatively short period of time, Boogiemen was able to expand its music horizon to events such as: Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, Soulnation Festival, Sunburst Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Urban Jazz Crossover, Maliq & D’Essentials’ sophmore album (Free Your Mind), Soulvibe’s premiere album (Soulvibe) and so on.

Early 2008, Boogiemen took a chance on making an even deeper move into the Indonesian music industry. Under the label Organic Records and Widi Puradiredja as a producer, the album NU SON TO SHINE with it’s 1^st single entitled “Last Call” was released in mid-2009 and is ready to please music listeners all over Indonesia.

Hip Hop, RnB, Soul, Jazz, Funk, Pop, Rock, and many other music influences became the energy which unites Boogiemen’s music to the Organic Sound. And so, although deriving from Hip Hop as the core and biggest influence, to simply call Boogiemen’s music a Hip Hop album would not do justice to represent the crossover music synergy found in it.

So guys, listen to the album. It’s time for NU SON TO SHINE!

Boogiemen will perform at Axis Jakarta International Java Soulnation Festival 2009 on 30 October

Their Myspace