I had a fabulous evening in the Amsterdam jazz and improvisation temple the Bimhuis www.bimhuis.nl with my favourite Boi Akih group. They launched their new CD: Circles in a square society, and it is a must-have one.
I had a fabulous farewell retirement party on 18 January 2012 by IRC in The Hague . A party centre turned into an Amsterdam Jazz cafe, with a DJ with jazz on vinyl, a couple of nice speeches, and an All that Jazz publication from colleagues with their music choices for me. I had my mother (turning 88) and sister (turning 70) dancing! My daughter Mirjam and brother in law where also there.
I have listened all afternoon to Cor’s “Dick de Jong Tribute Eclectic Top Twenty” that was in the publication. He also emailed me his selection from Youtube with fantastic films. He is the one and only able to link all this music clips with his highlights from my career, even with links to my sabbatical leave blog from 2004 and 2005.
The playlist has great variety from all over the world, with some classic performances and events. I you are interested you can access it from You Tube.
Enjoy, comments are welcome!
Here is a nice profile of Monica that Sara Veal published in today’s Jakarta Post: Singing the past to life.
This was all based on the interview she had before the concert in Jakarta.
Jazz-loving Jakartans were treated to a truly magical evening at Erasmus Huis, Kuningan, on Thursday as Boi Akih filled the amphitheatre with vibrant melodies and rhytms. This is how Sara Veal started her story in the entertainment section of the Jakarta Post on 5 September.
Sara also quoted me and mentioned my blog. Unfortunately they used the wrong URL, so my comment with the right URL is now online. We are still trying to have copies of the paper version that must have had a few pictures.
The Boi Akih band did a last concert for an enthusiastic full house in the auditorium of the Technology Institute (ITB) in Bandung. Tcoild here I sold the last 20 CDs, we could have sold at least 15 others.
Before the concert they did a three-hour workshop with 10 students each. This time I filmed the start of the concert and each of the workshops with my flip video camera. If you want to see how this works, see this film on YouTube.
Niels and his students
Band members gave a three-hour workshop to some 20 students in the community centre where the concert was. They started with an introduction session, (how long do you study with the group, how long individually?) Niels replied: It does not matter how long you study, but if you study difficult things. Only if you do that you can develop your self.
Unfortunately the uploading of pictures does not work right now from the Savoy Homann hotel in Bandung. What struck me was the eagerness of the students that I observed in all the rooms.
Here is another picture from Boi Akih’s concert in one of the newspapers.
Monica heard later that every artist from Ambon witnessed the concert and were very pleased with the band’s performance for the pride of the Moluccans. Even the pastor in his Sunday sermon made reference to the enthusiasm and drive of Boi Akih’s inspiring performance as example for other Moluccans.
Monica Akihary and her group Boi Akih have demonstrated with this concert that Moluccan folk songs can be translated into jazz. The Suara Maluku nespaper opened its Monday edition with a big picture and story on the front page. The picture shows the great concentration of the band on stage. The paper had a three-column review of the concert on page 11, with quite a few quotes from various Moluccan experts in music and culture.
A short story in pictures from the first concert in the Erasmus Huis, Jakarta.
Hours of sound checks are needed per instrument and for the band as a whole.
The Jakarta Post photographer in action; with Monica without her shoes, as she performs on stage.