KUCHING, Friday – The Malaysian famous DJ Roundhead has been added to the Borneo Jazz main program performing both nights on the 9 and 10 May 2014. The 9th edition of Borneo Jazz will dedicate a special DJ slot right after the mainstage show each night held at the Pavilion, Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri, Sarawak.

Crowned as the ‘Malaysia DJ Champion’ 3 years in a row when he entered the Malaysian DJ Championship competition from 1995-1997, DJ Roundhead has recorded a long history in the Malaysian music industry with accumulation of at least 20 years performing as a DJ. Among the best moment in his artistic career is representing Malaysia in the Rotterdam Love Parade in the Netherlands for a crowd of 10,000 strong on a 34 wheel trailer while proudly flying the Malaysian flag in front of his console. He also has served as a DJ residency in Melbourne, Australia for a year before returning to Malaysia and currently attached fulltime to TraxxFM in Kuala Lumpur. Roundhead was the producer, composer and the song writer for Malaysia’s very first techno group Asian Tech for Sony Music Malaysia in 1994.

He started career with humble beginnings but at the peak of his career, he never considered himself a celebrity. His passion is music so when he was in high school, he would work part-time jobs during the weekend just to blow it all away on CD's and records. That made him the "go-to-guy" when it came to house parties from high school all the way to college. Roundhead would bring his own player and set up his own mini console and rock the crowd at the party. He did it for free of course, but only after college he join a company during the 90's called Clubworld Entertainment that supplied DJ's to entertainment outlets around Malaysia, where then only he started his professional training.

Explaining on his early passions and influences, Roundhead stressed that he was heavily influenced by the styles and technique of DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Terminator-X, DJ Rob Base, Jam Master Jay when it came to hip-hop and Frankie Knuckles, Masters at Work, Armand Van Helden and CJ Mackintosh when it came to dance music.

For Roundhead, the major challenge for any real DJ is being able to perform under pressure. Studying the crowd that you are about to perform to can be real nerve wrecking because everyone has different taste in music. A real DJ can tell if a record or a song is going to be a hit or a dance floor filler. The most interesting bit in his humble opinion is studying the crowd earlier before any performance without undermining their expectations of entertainment. Eye contact plays an important role once he hit the stage.

Building a real relationship with the music played for his own approach is very important. According to Roundhead, knowledge is the key for everything. It's the main ingredient for a DJ like him to know what he is playing. “When you have knowledge of what music is all about, diversity becomes your ultimate weapon. Being able to perform just 1 particular genre might make you good in your craft, but being able to play any concept or genre and the showmanship that comes with it makes you immaculate” he added. Deciding what record to play next comes from the heart and soul, not to mention observation of the crowd and being confident.

DJ Roundhead is welcoming his fans and festivalgoers to Miri next weekend to celebrate the Borneo Jazz. “You have already gotten tickets to a world class event with world class performers supported by world class sound and lights. The DJ set will introduce to you the sound of the Future Past. Never experienced before in Malaysia. Classy, sexy, and prepare yourself to get lost in bass” he added. 

Sarawak Tourism Board, the organizer of Borneo Jazz has added value to the programme format this year by adding a Club Setwith DJ Roundhead after the nightly stage shows. Although the organiser encourage the public to come to the 2-nights festival, those who are only able to attend the clubset will be allowed in after midnight at a cover charge of only RM10.

Eight international bands has been confirmed for this year’s festival. Program detail as well as the pre-sale promotional tickets to Borneo Jazz are still available online at www.jazzborneo.com .

KUCHING, Monday – Outside of prize winning or free tickets to the festival, there is one reasonable option available to all music fans; volunteering. It’s not wrong to enjoy free music this way, but doing something you’d love, the money will seem less relevant.

For the next two weeks to come at the Borneo Jazz, Rose Au has embarked on the sixth year as a volunteer. She not only did this in Miri for the Borneo Jazz but Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching has also become her playground during Rainforest World Music Festival.

Really feel glad to be called back to help Borneo Jazz again this year and Rose will always make a return every year, for the love of this wonderful Jazz event that she has contributed in building from scratch in Miri.

Retired lawyer, but now teaching tour-guides, Rose Au Nyat Jun or Rose Au as she is usually known really enjoys doing things she loves. She found volunteering work as something that is very interesting to do in life.

“Volunteering is enriching, being given an opportunity to learn new skills, share and train first time volunteers. Not all paid jobs are necessarily fun jobs, volunteering is unique, rewarding to be part of Borneo Jazz - our State’s growing festivals”, says Rose.

Rose has been freelancing as a DJ with Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) for 20 years and used to present “Just Jazz” with RTM for many years. She’s been in the tourism-related industry for 13 years and it naturally follows that she loves to be involved in tourism. During Borneo Jazz, she will be assigned as the liaison officer to the performing bands normally of a foreign country. Very familiar with Sarawak’s tourism product is an added advantage to her task, as she can play well the part of an Ambassador for the state tourism.

“Music lovers should come over to Miri next month. Borneo Jazz offers a very charming ambience, beautiful garden setting, people are ever ready to help and there is good food. Not many places in the region have such mixes!, she added.

Borneo Jazz is organized by Sarawak Tourism Board. The volunteer program at the festival provides a learning platform for all the volunteers. Although ideal attributes will vary from role to role, all volunteers must be able to conduct themselves in line with the Festival’s core values, which is integrity and teamwork.

Running over the weekend 9-10 May at the Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri, Borneo Jazz promises two days of fine jazz music with great food and a craft bazaar at a very beautiful beach resort ambience. The festival will be featuring bands from countries never featured before and also bands having repertoires that are unique. The performing bands will cover a wide range of jazz influences with participating jazz bands from Georgia, Germany, Cuba, Martinique, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Malaysia as well as Sarawak’s own jazz artist who has established well in the music circuit in China.

Pre-sale promotional tickets are still available at only RM50 for adult single entry and RM95 for a 2-day pass. This offer is valid until 8th May and can be purchase online at www.jazzborneo.com . Child ticket promotional offer is only RM25 and RM45 for a 2-day pass. After the promotional period, door sale tickets will be RM70 for a day adult pass and RM130 for a 2-day pass. Children tickets at the gate will be RM30 for a day and RM50 for 2 days.

KUCHING, 24 March – Early bird tickets offer for the upcoming Borneo Jazz in Miri, Sarawak are now on sale at www.jazzborneo.com.

Early bird tickets priced at only RM30 for adult single entry and RM55 for a 2-day pass. Children under the age of 12 years will enjoy RM15 on each purchase of single entry ticket during this period and RM25 for a two-day pass. This offer is valid until 31 March 2014. After this offer, ticket price will increase to RM50 for adult for single entry and RM95 for a 2-day pass. Children tickets will be RM25 for one day and RM45 for 2 days. These will be available until the event day itself when ticket prices will be RM70 for adult for a day and RM130 for a 2-day pass. Children tickets at the gate will be RM30 for a day and RM50 for 2 days.

Running over the weekend 9-10 May at the Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri, Borneo Jazz promises two days of fine jazz music with great food and a craft bazaar at a very beautiful beach resort ambience.

Now in its ninth year, the festival will ensure wonderful Jazz music in an exotic setting. Apart from the stage, the program this year will showcase marching bands from school bands who have participated in international competitions. They will kick off the programme daily. After the stage shows, those of you who have not had enough of the jazz music, you will be able to have a jam session with your favourite bands. For those who still want to party, we will have a Club Set with a well known DJ at the venue.  

The lineup this year is without doubt an exciting one. The festival will be featuring bands from countries never featured before and also bands having repertoires that are unique. Borneo Jazz will be featuring a band from Georgia - Iriao, which is an ethno-jazz band and their repertoire has been recognized by UNESCO as being a masterpiece of oral immaterial heritage.

 

Brassballett from Germany – the first and only show worldwide where musicians will play their instruments and dance at the same time, a unique performance not to be missed. Vocal Sampling – salsa band, and all-male a-cappella musical group from Cuba. They are a very well-known band and a crowd pleaser. In the last 2 years, a capella acts have been a show topper at Borneo Jazz. Their album “Cambio de Tiempo” was nominated for 3 Latin Grammy Awards. Mario Canonge - a great virtuoso and showman playing creole jazz with West indies rhythms from Martinique/France, also a first Matinique band at the festival. YK Band from Indonesia who will feature Jazz from Samarinda with hints of Borneo flavours. Anthony Strong – hailed as “England’s new jazz superstar" from UK. He beat Gregory Porter, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr. to become No. 1 on the iTunes and No.2 on the www.amazon.com jazz charts in the USA.

 

From the local scene, Diana Liu the Sarawakian born artist who plays various jazz, bossa nova, gospel and funk/soul and will represent Malaysia/USA/Taiwan. Among members of her band will be our very own Lewis Pragasam who will be on drums. Another Malaysian band will be Junkofunc, a highly energetic rhythms with a touch of soul and lashings of func. The group plays a punchy brass, powerful vocals and pounding rhythm section. 

 

For more information on the festival program and for details of ticket outlets please log on to www.jazzborneo.com. 

SARAWAK, Malaysia – The 9th edition of Borneo Jazz is set to take place in Miri, Sarawak and volunteers are still needed to ensure a successful event.

The festival will be held on 9 – 10 May and will feature various kind of Jazz music from around the world. The festival will also feature arts and craft bazaar which will represent the unique cultures of the people in Borneo.

Every year, Borneo Jazz are powered by the volunteers that come from various background of individuals or groups to run the activities. Within the festival, volunteers will be assigned to various divisions such as technical and operational, logistic as well as marketing the festival. The volunteer program is designed to provide an overall understanding of the operational aspects of the festivals in order to ensure the success of the musical events organized by Sarawak Tourism Board.

Those interested to volunteer during Borneo Jazz 2014 may register from the Borneo Jazz website atwww.jazzborneo.com . The completed volunteer application form must be submitted to mona@sarawaktourism.com for processing. The successful applicants will later be notified via email or telephone.

The Borneo Jazz volunteer program provides a learning platform for all the volunteers. Although ideal attributes will vary from role to role, all volunteers must be able to conduct themselves in line with the Festival’s core values, which is integrity and teamwork.

The festival organizer will provide T-shirts to be worn while on duty. The volunteers will be assigned to perform duties on shift, which covers day or night festival program. The volunteers maybe needed to run the selected management areas a few days before the festival starts in order to ensure festival readiness.

STB has also opportunities to volunteer at other events in Kuching, the Borneo World Music Expo (BWME) to be held on the 16-18 June, the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) to be held on 20-22 June and the Asia Music Festival on 9-10 October in Miri. The application for all events is made through its respective websites at www.borneomusicexpo.com, www.rwmf.net and www.asiamusicfestival.net

MIRI, Sarawak – Borneo Jazz has announced its lineup for 2014. The impressive line-up this year includes acts who have really made it big in the world of jazz. This is in line with year of ‘double celebration’, the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY 2014) and Visit Sarawak Year 2014.

Among the bands that will be performing will be Iriao, an eight-piece ethno-jazz band from Georgia. Iriao’s repertoire is based on Georgian authentic folk instrumental and polyphonic music, which has been recognized by UNESCO as being a masterpiece of oral immaterial heritage. However the band aims not to modernize the unique polyphonic Georgian music but to saturate and adorn it with jazz elements. This is the first time that a Georgian band will be performing at the Borneo Jazz.

Another interesting line-up is Vocal Sampling, an all-male acappella musical group from Cuba who are expected to be a hit at this year’s Borneo Jazz festival. They are a very well-known band and a crowd pleaser. Their album “Cambio de Tiempo” was nominated for 3 Latin Grammy Awards. In the last 2 years, acapella acts have been a show- stopper at Borneo Jazz.

Other popular jazz bands listed for this years’ event will be Brassballett from Germany – the first and only show worldwide where musicians are dancers at the same time. They will perform a choreographed show whilst playing their instruments. Mario Canonge – a great virtuoso and showman playing creole jazz with West Indies rhythms from Martinique/France, will be the first Martinique band to perform at the festival. YK Band from Indonesia will feature Jjzz with hints of Borneo flavour. Anthony Strong – hailed as “England’s new jazz superstar” from UK. He beat Gregory Porter, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr. to become No 1 on the iTunes and No 2 on the Amazon.com jazz charts in the USA.

From the local scene we have Diana Liu, the Sarawakian born artist who plays pop, jazz, bossa nova, gospel and funk/soul. She and her band members will represent Malaysia/USA/Taiwan. Among members of her band will be Malaysia’s very own drum virtuoso, Lewis Pragasam.

Entry tickets will go on sale in the last week of January 2014.  More can be read at www.jazzborneo.com. Updates also available via STB’s Twitter account @SarawakTravel and Facebook at Sarawak Travel.  Or you can also view the ticket information via the Borneo Jazz 2014 page.

The annual jazz festival, now in its 9th year, will be held in Miri, Sarawak from the 9th to 10th May.

This annual event is organized by Sarawak Tourism Board, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia and Ministry of Tourism Sarawak; and endorsed by Tourism Malaysia.

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FOR 2014 FESTIVALS IN SARAWAK NOW OPEN

 

Registration is now open for the Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Jazz and Asia Music Festival 2014 volunteer programme. 

SARAWAK, Malaysia – The 17th annual Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), to be held in Kuching city as well as the 9th annual Borneo Jazz and 2nd annual Asia Music Festival, both to be held in Miri city, Sarawak is currently accepting applications for volunteers.

The 2014 RWMF will be held on June 20th - 22nd, while the Borneo Jazz 2014 and Asia Music Festival 2014 will be held on May 9th – 10th  and October 3rd – 4th respectively.

The Festivals are made possible year after year because of the hard work of over 200 volunteers yearly. Next year, all the three Festivals are looking for individuals or groups to help in the logistics, technical and operational aspects of the event management, event marketing and its operational plan. This volunteer program is designed to provide an overall understanding of the operational aspects of the festivals in order to ensure the success of the musical events organized by Sarawak Tourism Board.

Those interested to volunteer for these musical events in Malaysia may register respectively on RWMF website at www.rwmf.net, Borneo Jazz website www.jazzborneo and Asia Music Festival Website www.asiamusicfestival.net. This is only the application process where those interested in taking part are registered, while the successful applicants will later be notified via email or telephone.

The festival event management areas will require volunteer skills as liaison officer for performing artists, as well as schleppers for handling of the musical instruments among others. These volunteers are required to work during the workshop as well as concert and practice sessions. Volunteers for the event marketing management will participate in sales promotion, product development of festival tour packages, management information, media and public relations program as well as Media Centre operation. Event operation management areas will oversee the site readiness, vendor management, admission and gate operation, event secretariat, equipment and materials preparation and transportation.

The volunteer program has seen many repeated volunteers and it provides not only a learning platform but also a time to get together. Although ideal employee attributes will vary from role to role, all volunteers must be able to conduct themselves in line with the Festival’s core values, which is integrity and teamwork.

With more than 500 officials, media and performers making up the team at the Festivals, the volunteers are sure to meet new friends, sharing experience, learn the new skills, and most importantly gaining new experience in event management.

The festival organizer will provide T-shirts to be worn while on duty. The volunteers will be assigned to perform duties on shift, which covers day or night festival program. The volunteers maybe needed to run the selected management areas a few days before the festival starts in order to ensure festival readiness.

Closing date for Borneo Jazz and RWMF submission form is on 4th April 2014, while Asia Music Festival submission form will close on 4th September 2014.

Other information about the Festival such as the program, packages and many more will be updated on each websites from time-to-time. 




Note : Guidelines for the form is as follows

Borneo Jazz : Programs > Internship & Volunteers > Download the form at the bottom of the page.

Asia Music Festival : Programs > Volunteers > Download the form at the bottom of the page.

Day 1 was extremely fun and i was excited for day 2 of the Borneo Jazz Festival. It was an early start for day 2 as we attended the last press conference at the Lambir Hall. I also took the opportunity to take some pictures with Suchen, the official photographer.After that, Raihanah, Eileen and I took our new friend, Rayyan Harries on a personal city tour and to get some Mee Pok (was suppose to bring him for Mee Kolok but unfortunately they ran out of mee kolok. Poor Rayyan.

So after brunch, went to Bintang Megamall for a little shopping and around 230pm, we were back at the hotel for the official media city tour. The main reason i wanted to go for this city tour was to visit the two temples(Taoist and Buddhist temple located in Krokop). Mind you, I was born and raised in Miri and yet I've never been to any one of these temples. So We boarded the bus at 3pm together with local and international media guests. 

The 3rd stop was Miri Handicraft Center. This was my first time coming here too. Like any other people, we tend to ignore what's behind our backyard.. At this stop I was surprised when I saw Ryuta (journalist from Japan) picked up a Sape and start tuning it and eventually played it. At first I thought he picked it up out of curiosity and just to get the feel but when he started playing, he sounded like he's been playing that instrument as long as he had been consuming sake.

The fourth stop was The Grand Old Lady.. It was a perfect sunny day that day and we decided to loosen up a bit and have fun.The Sarawak Bloggers together with Air Asia Travel Blogger having some some in the sun. 

The last stop was the Luak Esplanade but we asked the bus driver to drop us off at the hotel as we promised Rayyan to get some Lalapan for dinner. Went for dinner and after that we prepared ourself for another awesome jazzy night.

First up on stage for Day 2 was the Asian Jazz All Stars Power Quartet. Asia's top jazzmen coming from Hong Kong, Philippines  Singapore and Thailand. A mixture of old school and new school jazz as the appetizers. 

The second band that was performing that night was Hazmat Modine from the United States Of America. Based in New York and has been touring internationally for the past six years at in over 30 countries worldwide.(excerpt from Borneo Jazz Booklet). Earlier in the show, Gavin Hope from The Nylons made a special appearance with this band which made the night more interesting. 

Third Band for that night was Mo' Blow From Germany with their "Gimme The Boots" release concert. A band which describe as one of the hottest club band(by Berliner Zeitung) with soul and funk element added into the music. No doubt their performance was brilliantly energetic which got the crowd up and dancing in the rain.(yes it was raining.. it started off with a slight drizzle but towards the end of the night, it was raining heavily) . And one more thing, from certain angles, the saxophonist looks like Adam Levine. Seriously!

 The last performance that night wasn by Jump4Joy from Sweden. Their performance kept the crowd dancing in the rain. A high energy performance i would say. I know it got me tapping my toes and swaying my body from left to right.

After the latt performance, the night didn't just end up like that, the crowd proceed to the Pavilion to the after party with DJ Uno  of PopShuvit on the decks for 2 hours together with Dj DoubleD freestylin MC on the mic. The beat was too hard to resist not to dance along to. So I put down my camera bag and started dancing with random people till 2am. I guess I partied too hard till i didnt realize my tongue stud went missing.(no, no kissing was involved. I guess I must have accidently swallowed it.)

Well, thats about it. I must say my first time attending Borneo Jazz Festival is truly amazing and definitely an eye opener. For someone who always thought that Jazz is a boring genre, boy I was proven wrong. Very wrong.. For those who thinks Jazz is boring, please do attend Borneo Jazz Festival and like me, you'll be surprised with what jazz have to offer. If I were ask to cover this event again next year, without hesitation, I would say Yes! For those who missed it this year, don't worry, Borneo Jazz will be back again next year.

And before I end this post, I would like to say Thank You to Sarawak Tourism Board and Sarawak Bloggers for giving me the chance to be part of the team. 

p/s: If you wish to see more pictures, click on the link below :D
~ Facebook ( Day 1)
~ Facebook ( Day 2)
~ Facebook ( Behind The Scene)
or you can check out them out here.

First of all, I wanna say,Borneo Jazz Festival 2013 was the BOMB! A gazillion thanks to Sarawak Tourism Board  for giving me the opportunity to cover the event under Sarawak Bloggers  and thanks to Abang Joe and  Ladybird Eileen for your guidance.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this was my first time attending the Borneo Jazz Festival and at the same time given the chance to cover the event, I was very excited and nervous at the same time. I seriously didn't know what to expect. But I'm glad I was selected as one of the blogger to cover this event as it changes my perception towards Jazz music. All this while, I just couldn't take in Jazz music. Those who thinks Jazz music is boring, you should go to this event. I kid you not, you will never think the same way again. The amount of "feel" the performers put in their music was indescribable. Here are some of the photos I took during the event. (just teasers, the full album will be uploaded soon in the "Photos" tab)

Attended the Press Conference at Meritz Hotel together with members of the Media(local and international) on Friday (10th May 2013). The second press conference for the Borneo Jazz. The first one was the day before at Parkcity Everly Hotel.

Members of the media given a tour of Meritz Hotel by the Executive Chairman, Dato' Lau  Siu Wai. Seen in the picture is Dato' Lau explaining the infrastructure of the M Ballroom (Equivalent to one football field) which can cater up to 1,400 person at any time making it the largest indoor banquet hall in Miri

After the press conference and a short Q&A session with Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Johari Bin Tun Haji Openg,Minister Of Housing, Minister of Tourism and YBhg Dato' Rashid Khan, Chief Executive Office, Sarawak Tourism Board, members of the media was invited to attend the cocktail reception at the Sky Garden Outdoor Dining which is located at Level 17 of the Hotel.

After the press conference and  media cocktail reception, we headed back to the hotel and prepare for the Day 1 of Borneo Jazz Festival 2013. I managed to spot Dato Rashid Khan at the ticketing counter as seen in the picture.

First up on the stage that night was West Jazz Band. Representing Malaysia! A local jazz band from Sarawak. One of my personal favourite that night. I just love how the present Jazz music with a Sarawakian twist to it. I never knew "liling" and "Semina Duduk Berimbai" by Anderson Ngalai can be Jazz-erzied (if there's such word). But nonetheless, I loved their performance. First band for that night to get an "encore" from the crowd.

The last band that performed for Day 1 was The Nylons from Canada. Another one of my personal favourite. This acapella group got the crowd dancing with their opening act "Spiderman! Spiderman!" in jazz and a pinch of reggae too. They also did a cover of "I'm Yours" By Jason Mraz which got the crowd singing together with them.. You can find a snippet of the vid from our fellow Blogger, Abang Joe, in his Youtube Channel here. They also did a cover of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", a famous soundtrack  from The Lion King. You can find the Youtube version of this song here but i guarantee you that if you were there to witness their performance that night, you had the time of you life.

The night didnt just end like that, after all the Jazz performance, the crowd went up to the Pavilion for an afterparty with DJ Uno  from PopShuvit spinning on the decks.

Thats all for my Day 1 Borneo Jazz Festival 2013 experience. Stay tuned for part 2 of the event. For now, gotta get back to editing the vids and pictures I took during that 2 days. Latersssss! :D

The long awaited Borneo Jazz Festival 2013 is just around the corner and I'm all excited! Its this weekend to be exact. Tonight I'm going to introduce to you more performers for Borneo Jazz Festival 2013! First up is Jump4Joy!

'Let’s literally jump for joy at Borneo Jazz 2013!. Yes there will be popular high-energy entertainment with a strong New Orleans flavour when Swedish band, Jump4Joy performs at the jazz festival this year.

There will be feel-good, energetic and toe-tapping sounds.Two of the musicians, UlfSandstrom and Bo Gustafsson, have both been nominated for their contributions to Swedish blues by the Scandinavian Blues Association with the Janne Rosenqvist Memorial Prize and in 2008,Bo received the Prize.

Ulf and Bo deliver a one hour round trip to New Orleans as a duo, mainly in a theatrical setting or at festivals like Borneo Jazz. Intimate and fun. They have performed over 3000 gigs, with standing ovations in Paris, Moscow, London, New Orleans, Berlin and Helsinki.

Jump4Joy is an extraordinary band and one that will keep you spellbound. Their concerts are always a sold out.

HAZMAT MODINE is a New York based band that has been touring internationally for the past six years in over 30 countries world wide. Malaysia is not new to them as they have been performing at Genting Highland Festival few years ago.

The band is a hard edged blues and jazz fusion driven by a pair of dueling harmonicas, backed by tuba, drums, guitars, and a horn section.  They recently completed their long-awaited follow-up to their first CD Bahamut. 

The CDtitled CICADA reached number one on the World Music Charts summer 2011 in Europe and was voted number 2 for all of 2011 out of over 800 nominees and 150 finalists.CICADA also received the Charles Cros Grand Prize  in France for Best Blues Record in 2011.  They are just one of the 8 award winning bands at Borneo Jazz next coming weekend.

Other than Malaysia, Hazmat Modine also visitedwell known festivals around the world such as the Berlin Jazz Festival, Pori and Tempari Festivals in Finland, Stockholm Jazz festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Sinnes Festival in Portugal, Womex in Spain, the Wings Festival in Moscow, the Sayan Ring Festival in Siberia, The Vienna Jazz Festival, Killkenny Arts Festival in Ireland, Trowbridge Festival in the UK, Chicago World Music Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Borneo Jazz 2013 is pleased to welcome another GRAMMY® Award winner, The Scott Martin Latin Soul Band from west coast of USA, in Miri, Sarawak next coming weekend. They will make their appearance at Borneo Jazz on the first night show, Friday (10 May), which scheduled at around 10pm.

Scott Martin is exploding on the scene as a leader of his own band, after more than fourteen years of playing with the GRAMMY® Award Winning Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. He was an influential part of the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band winning a Grammy with the band for 'Best Latin Jazz Performance'.

Hehas recorded with Ray Charles, Billy Preston, Sam Moore and many other soul greats.They also won 2 Billboard Music Awards, and embarked on countless World and Nationwide tours.

Scott’s numerous compositions have been featured on Poncho’s recordings, as well as on TV shows such as “Sex and the City”, “The Jimmy Kimmel Show”, “As The World Turns” and more.

The Scott Martin Latin Soul Band has performed at venues and festivals all over the world in the last couple of years. They performed two tours of Japan, a tour of Canada, they played at the Hawaii International Jazz Festival, Temecula International Jazz Festival, KSDS ‘Jazz Live’ from the Seville Theatre, Brea Jazz Festival, Oxnard Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, MOCA Jazz Series and many more concerts, events, and jazz clubs.

Scott Martin Latin Soul Band are just one of the 8 award-winning bands at Borneo Jazz. So don’t miss the excitement. 

Have you gotten your tickets? 

Entry tickets to Borneo Jazz priced at RM60 per day and RM100 for 2 days for adult and RM30 per day and RM50 for 2 days per child aged between 3 and 12 and can be purchased online at www.jazzborneo.com.

Tickets also now available at all Visitors’ Information Centres in Kuching, Sibu & Miri. Call them at +6 082-410944 (VIC Kuching), +6 084-340980 (VIC Sibu) and +6 085-434180 (VIC Miri).

This year will be my first time attending the Borneo Jazz Festival although it has been around for quite a while. I know it's shameful call myself a true Mirian and yet I've failed to attend one of the biggest musical event in the calendar which is organized behind my backyard every year. *Rainforest Music Festival sanggup drive 13 hours to Kuching, benda belakang rumah sik mok attend*

So this year, I'm honoured to be selected as one of the bloggers to cover the event under Sarawak Bloggers and Sarawak Tourism Board.The event will take place on the 10-11th May 2013 at ParkCity Everly Hotel and a day before that, (9th May) there will be a tree planting ceremony at Curtin University.
 


Here's some sneak peak of the bands/groups that is going to perform in this upcoming Borneo Jazz.

Flown in from Canada, The Nylons, a four-member capella group are one of the most heralded vocal groups in the world with seven gold and platinum records and sales more than 2 million to their credit.

The Nylons are renowned for their vibrant live shows, featuring dazzling harmonies, smooth arrangements, tight choreography, and fabulous showmanship. Their rapport with their audiences makes them perennial favourites for all age groups. 

The group has performed over 1000 concerts in dozens of tours worldwide including Japan, Korea, China, Australia, Europe, Brazil, the US, and Canada.

The Nylons have received numerous awards and accolades including their gold and platinum records, a Tokyo Music Festival award, and a Canadian Juno nomination for BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM 2011 for their 15th release SKIN TIGHT. This CD features an eclectic collection of jazz standards, original songs and well known classics.

 Germany is not exactly known as the home of soul and funk, but after you’ve heard Mo’Blow from Berlin you will change your mind.

The quartet, which the ‘Berliner Zeitung’ described as one of the hottest club bands, has the groove in their blood.They are refreshingly new, exciting and unconventional, with that certain something and an international calibre about them.

Mo’Blow is calling their show at Borneo Jazz in Sarawak the “Gimme The Boots” release concert.

Prefer to be known as an energetic spicy groovy funk group, they have a string of awards to their name, among them the Winner of Berliner Jazz & Blues Award 2008, Winner of Future Sounds Award 2011, Winner of “Jazz am see” Award for best concert of 2011 and Winner of Jazz Rock TV Miles Award for Cool and Groovy New Jazz.

The band is led by saxophonist Felix F. Falk, bass player Tobias Fleischer, drummer André Seidel and pianist Matti Klein. They have worked hard to earn their reputation as a first-class live act through tours of Germany, England, Belgium, Russia, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Denmark and France and have appeared at festivals like the Jazz Festival Kaliningrad (Russia), Jazz Festival Liburnia (Croatia) or Jazzopen Hamburg (Germany). 

– From Down Under, comes Lisa Young Quartet at this year’s Borneo Jazz. The award winning Lisa Young Quartet is well known to Jazz and World Music listeners as an ensemble of creative improvisers incorporating Indian and African elements in their work.

Renown as an exceptionally creative vocal stylist and improviser, Lisa specialises in ‘konnakol’ – South Indian vocal percussion. The result is unusual and extremely appealing compositions.

The quartet features the intuitive musicality of Ben Robertson (Double Bass), Steve Magnusson (Guitar) and Dave Beck (Drums). They bring to the Borneo Jazz their most recent work ‘The Eternal Pulse’, a song cycle which layers Indian elements, rhythmic textures and ensemble dialogue using varieties of meter and subdivision.

The new album The Eternal Pulse received a nomination in the ‘BELL AWARDS’ finals, for ‘Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album 2012, the same award which won her'Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album 2007 for her album ‘Grace’ in 2007.

So have u gotten your tickets? No? Dont worry..Tickets are now on sale Visitors Information Centres in Kuching, Sibu and Miri, Sarawak. 


 Tickets priced at RM60for single entry and RM100 for a two-day pass. Children under the age of 12 years will enjoy 50% discount on each purchase. Borneo Jazz tickets are also available online at www.ticketcharge.com.my .



What else would be there apart from Jazz Music?


Complementing the festival will be the fringe events comprising of food and village mart where more than 30 booths will feature exhibition and sale of handicraft made by the local craftsmen and artisan.

If you have any enquiries, contact STB Leisure & Property at leisure@sarawaktourism.com (email) or +6 082-239171 (office hours only, 8:00AM – 5:00PM).


Hope to see you there.