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Malaysia Travel Guide

Freedom To Be Blue: DELGRES In Borneo Jazz

Freedom To Be Blue: DELGRES In Borneo Jazz

April 17, 2017

KUCHING, Saturday – The three-man band Delgres from Guadeloupe and France will be performing their Blues at Borneo Jazz on May 12 to 13 at ParkCity Everly, Miri.

A child of Caribbean heritage born and raised in France, Pascal Danae discovered his love of Blues in his ancestral home of Guadeloupe, and in the painful but meaningful history behind the conception of the Blues genre.

Originating in Louisiana, United States during a turbulent time of post-slavery racism, the creation of Blues was a response from the descendants of African slaves and Afro-Caribbean exiles to their daily hardships, as well as their protest against discrimination.

The namesake of the band ‘Delgres’ is Louis Delgres, a Guadeloupian hero who fought against the re-establishment of slavery in 1802.

By mixing Guadeloupian beats and tunes with old Louisiana Blues, a connection has been made over oceans, creating a singular Blues experience of two lands sharing a common denominator, which is using music to lament injustice while rejoicing and advocating freedom.

Through his music, Pascal Danae seeks to fight oppression in the way that founders of Blues did, channelling the voices of his ancestors through a melancholic Dobro guitar accompanied by sousaphone and percussions, painting a picture in a time when hopelessness and hope came together.

Pascal performs the Dobro guitar, while Raphaël Gouthiere plays the New Orleans sousaphone and Baptiste Brondy mans the drums.

This year marks the 12th edition of the festival and will feature international acts like Delgres from Guadeloupe/France, Laila Biali from Canada and Osaka Monaurail from Japan, along with local legends such as Fluoroscent Collective featuring local violinist Nisa Addina and Michael Simon’s Asian Connection, featuring legendary pianist Michael Veerapen.

The Festival will be expanding its musical outreach programme, where aspiring musicians can learn the basics of Jazz Keyboard from professional musicians, by introducing additional classes for percussions.

The Festival includes night performances with sitting and dancing areas and a wide lawn for night picnics surrounded by arts, crafts and food stalls.
Additional information on the festival and festival tickets, visit www.jazzborneo.com.

Borneo Jazz is organised by Sarawak Tourism, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and is jointly supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Sarawak and partnering with Malaysia Airlines as the presenting sponsor.

BJ2017 Delgres

BJ2017 © Remy Solomon

BJ2017 ©Pierre Danae

Photo by ©Pierre Danae

BJ2017 delgres

Issued by:
Communications Unit
SARAWAK TOURISM
T: +6 082-423600  F: +6 082-416700
E: [email protected]

About Sarawak Tourism

Introduction
Sarawak Tourism Board was incorporated under the Sarawak Tourism Board (Incorporation) Ordinance, dated 12 November 1994.

Objectives

  • To achieve its objectives of increasing tourist arrivals into the state.
  • To create awareness among the trade, media and public of the diversity of Sarawak in terms of tourism products, both on a regional and international basis.
  • To position Sarawak as a prime destination for culture, nature and adventure tourism in the above areas.
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MICHAEL VEERAPEN: ARTISTE, MENTOR, STUDENT

MICHAEL VEERAPEN: ARTISTE, MENTOR, STUDENT

April 7, 2017

KUCHING, Friday – Michael Veerapen, an acclaimed Malaysian Jazz musician, will be performing with the Michael Simon’s Asian Connection at the Borneo Jazz Festival on May 12 to 13, at ParkCity Everly in Miri.

Veerapen is well-known in the Malaysian Jazz scene since his time in funk-fusion band Asia Beat with Lewis Pragasam and has established his place as a Jazz pianist, producer, record studio head and mentor, now with a new title to his name: Student.

Despite his 60 years of age and incredible achievements in the Malaysian Jazz arena, Veerapen intends to pursue his master’s degree in Music at Universiti Sains Malaysia with a research paper focusing on local Jazz composers such as Alfonso Soliano, Tan Sri P. Ramlee and Jimmy Boyle.

Veerapen will also be leading one of the Borneo Jazz Festival’s Outreach Programmes, where the Festival performers provide tutorials and talks with young aspiring musicians. His slot entitled “I Want To Break Free! The art of improvising at the keyboards” takes place on Saturday, May 13 at 9.30 am to 11.00 am.

“On the one hand, there is a group that lacks basic knowledge such as reading notes. On the other is a group with a lot of knowledge but little understanding of what’s happening on the ground,” Veerapan said during an interview with The Star Newspaper earlier this year.

Veerapen’s message of lifelong learning is inspirational in its own right, made more so by his goal in bridging the gap between passionate self-taught musicians and musical scholars, starting with himself.

Bands from Japan, South Africa, Italy, USA, Netherlands, Canada, Taiwan and countries from around the world will be performing at the Festival.

The Festival will be expanding its musical outreach programme, where aspiring musicians can learn the basics of Jazz Keyboard from professional musicians, by introducing additional classes for percussions.

The Festival includes night performances with sitting and dancing areas and a wide lawn for night picnics surrounded by arts, crafts and food stalls.

Pre-sale festival tickets are available now and more information can be found at www.jazzborneo.com.

Borneo Jazz is organised by Sarawak Tourism, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and is jointly supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Sarawak and partnering with Malaysia Airlines as the presenting sponsor.       

MICHAEL SIMON - PubPhoto - Michael Veerapen

Issued by:

Communications Unit
SARAWAK TOURISM
T: +6 082-423600  F: +6 082-416700
E: [email protected]

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Japan’s Osaka Monaurail In Borneo Jazz

Japan’s Osaka Monaurail In Borneo Jazz

April 6, 2017

KUCHING, Monday – Japanese Jazz veterans, Osaka Monaurail will be performing their ‘superheavy funk’ Jazz at Borneo Jazz in May 13 to 14 at ParkCity Everly, Miri.

From their humble beginnings in Osaka University in 1992, Osaka Monaurail has gone from a large band of over 20 musicians, to a 10 person Jazz machine, collaborating with soul/funk legend Marva Whitney, one of James Brown’s original Funky Divas, and producing two albums, three European tours and two Japanese tours before she passed away in 2012. They also collaborated with world- famous trombonist Fred Wesley in 2012.

After 20 years, the funkiest orchestra that Japan has to offer is still top of their game, with their sharp suits, dazzling display of brass twirls, and still bringing their “superheavy funk” to their audience.

Front man, Nakata, runs his Shout! Productions label and continues to play a major role in soul/funk in Japan. His company has been responsible for: reissuing a string of Soul/Funk albums and movies such as “Superfly” (1972), “Coffy” (1973), subtitling “Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song” (1971), “Badasssss” (2004) and “Soul Power” (2009); most recently releasing “Edification of Weldon Irvine” (1976) on DVD.

The group was named after the 1975 funk classic, “It’s The J.B.’s Monaurail” (misspelling intentional), and has kept the heavy James Brown-esque influence in their music over the years.

Signed to RD Records in 1999, OM released its first album entitled “What it is – What it was” in 2000, followed by nine albums: three more albums on RD Records; four albums on P-Vine Records (signed 2006-2009); and the latest “State Of The World” on King Records (2011–present). In Europe, the last three albums are available on Unique Records (Dusseldorf, Germany).

Osaka Monaurail is led by Ryo Nakata (vocals and keyboards), includes Kentaro Yamagata and Teihei Awaji (trumpets), Shimon Mukai (tenor saxophone); Dan Hayami Yuichi Ikeda (guitars), Dai Nakamura (bass), Soki Kimura (drums).

This year marks the 12th edition of the festival and will feature international acts like Delgres from Guadeloupe/France, Laila Biali from Canada and Osaka Monaurail from Japan, along with local legends such as Fluoroscent Collective featuring local violinist Nisa Addina and Michael Simon’s Asian Connection, featuring legendary pianist Michael Veerapen.

The Festival will be expanding its musical outreach programme, where aspiring musicians can learn the basics of Jazz Keyboard from professional musicians, by introducing additional classes for percussions.

The Festival includes night performances with sitting and dancing areas and a wide lawn for night picnics surrounded by arts, crafts and food stalls.

Additional information on the festival and festival tickets, visit www.jazzborneo.com.

Borneo Jazz is organised by Sarawak Tourism, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and is jointly supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Sarawak and partnering with Malaysia Airlines as the official sponsor.

OSAKA MONAURAIL - BJ2017

Issued by:

Communications Unit
SARAWAK TOURISM
T: +6 082-423600  F: +6 082-416700
E: [email protected]

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