One afternoon in a cafe, Sonia Wibisono heard the indistinct crooning of a female singer. Sipping a cup of tea, Sonia, a celebrity doctor, was mesmerized and found it was a cure for the boredom she felt waiting for a client. After inquiring, she was told that the singer was Norah Jones, a jazz singer who has gained popularity around the world.

After that, Sonia, who as a university student loved disco music, became interested in jazz as she found it pleasant to the ear and enjoyable. “People say this music is difficult to enjoy, but some songs are sentimental and easy to listen to,” said Sonia, who loves the wind instrument music played by Dave Koz. She was already familiar with the music of romantic tenor saxophonist Kenny G and the late Embong Rahardjo.

Indeed, it is not jazz of the early periods that Sonia, the presenter of O Clinic, a program on O Channel, likes listening to but jazzy pop. Among the jazz singers she likes are Ermy Kulit, Iga Mawarni, Ruth Sahanaya, Harvey Malaiholo and Glenn Fedly. Although they are all well-known in the pop music world, they are all rooted in jazz.

As for instrumental music, she prefers the easy listening type such as GRP albums, ranging from Lee Ritenour, Dave Valentine, David Benoit, etc. “I’m married, so perhaps my choice of music is the slow type. I believe this kind of music can give you peace of mind and is suitable for relaxation,” said Sonia, a mother of two.

Although she is fond of slow music, Sonia, formerly a finalist of “Abang and None Jakarta”, does not mind other jazz genres as long there is harmony. Al Jarreau, she said, is one of her favorite singers. When this African-American singer came to Jakarta, she excitedly attended his concert. She likes not only energetic songs like Spain and Take Five but also Jarreau’s slow and melodious songs. “His voice is excellent. He is all heart and soul when he sings. Who could resist that?” said Sonia, who also does the “Kuku Bima” commercial.

She is not that into the musicians performing at this year’s Java Jazz, but hopes she can see the performance of Sergio Mendez, who reminds her of one of Indonesia’s leading jazz musicians, Elfa Seciora. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post, February 26, 2007

Some people say they can’t live without music, but Nungki Soetrisno goes one step farther and says he can’t live without jazz! It may sound extreme, but just take a look at what Nungki, born in Yogyakarta on Sept. 18, 1963, does every day of his life.

When he gets up in the morning, he listens to one or two jazz pieces. On his way to the office, he again listens to a few jazz numbers in his car. In his comfortable office, Nungki, managing partner of Neo Indonesia advertising company, also listens to this “black music”. When he is in a good mood, he enjoys mainstream jazz, ranging from Bebop to Swing. He prefers pieces played by Big Bands, such as the Count Basie Orchestra, Charli Parker and Duke Ellington. When he is stressed out because he can’t think of a spiel that he can offer to a client, for example, he prefers to listen to Fusion Jazz.

“After listening to one or two songs, my head clears and I get fresh ideas,” said Nungki, a graduate of the School of Economics, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), with over 15 years’ experience in the advertising world.

Before he goes to bed, at about 10 p.m., he still finds time to enjoy some jazz, either on CD or DVD. “My wife knows not to disturb me if I’m listening to jazz,” he chuckled.

Nungki has hardly missed a single jazz concert in Jakarta. He has attended, for example, JakJazz, Java Jazz, concerts by George Benson, Al Jarreau, Tania Maria, Diana Schuur, Lee Ritenour and David Benoit. And he plans to catch the performances of jazz musicians at this year’s Java Jazz, for instance those of Chaka Kahn and Sergio Mendez. “Neither of them must be missed,” he said.

Nungki’s love of jazz began when he attended senior high school in Yogyakarta. Back then a friend from Jakarta gave him a cassette of jazz songs. “I found the songs nice to listen to,” he said, reminiscing, adding that Autumn Leaves, one of the songs on the cassette, appealed to him the most. After that he always kept an eye out for jazz cassettes, which could easily be found in Yogyakarta. Ever since then he has got pleasure out of listening to jazz of various genres and generations.

When he was a student at UGM, he joined a marching band and played the trumpet. Playing the trumpet deepened his love for music, particularly jazz. Knowing how difficult it is to play the trumpet, he greatly admires Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and a number of jazz musicians who play the trumpet or other wind instruments. “Jazz is highly inspiring. It helps me in my work. I set up an office with two friends of mine. We are free to create anything that is compatible with our own capabilities and areas and we all complement each other. It is like jazz, where there is a lot of improvisation, but all the musicians complement one another,” said Nungki, who has over 100 cassettes/CDs/VCDs/DVDs, with 90 percent of this collection being jazz. (Burhan Abe)

The Jakarta Post, February 26, 2007