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 [email protected] 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.