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AN INDONESIAN PLAYS
JAZZ IN HOLLAND
Nov 06 '02
Author's Product Rating
Pros
Highly skilled playing,
singing, composing and
arranging
Cons
None
The
Bottom Line
A truly international take of
jazz; this lady is something
special.
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Full
Review |
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For a long time, jazz was viewed as an
"American Art Form". While it is true that jazz
had its conception in the United States, the music
was already a product of a vast melting pot of
influences. Africa, Europe, the Caribbean Islands
and the slave experiences all contributed to the
birth of the blues which in turn formed the basis
of jazz.
For most of the first part of the
20th Century, jazz was concentrated in the U.S.
but even as early as WWI, jazz was heard and
imitated in Europe. Classical composers were
influenced by the music and musicians from other
parts of the world started recording jazz. Django
Reinhardt was one of the first and perhaps the
finest. He was a gypsy who had suffered the loss
of two fingers in a fire. He was also a guitarist.
I mention all this because Luluk Purwanto
is one of the latest in this worldwide movement of
jazz artists. She is, frankly, quite astounding in
her playing and singing. She plays the jazz violin
which is fairly rare in its own right although
their have been several great jazz violinists such
as Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Joe Venuti,
Jean Luc Ponty and Regina Carter. Only Smith and
Carter were from the U.S. originally.
What
makes Luluk unique is that she sings in unison
with her violin. Again, she is not the first to
sing with her instrument. Slam Stewart sang with
his bass starting in the 30's. George Benson did
the same with his guitar starting in the 60's and
Tania Marie sings in unison with her piano. While
Stuff Smith sang along with playing, his singing
was not in the vocalese style utilized by Luluk.
All of the songs on this CD were composed
and arranged by Luluk Purwanto and Rene van
Helsdingen (the pianist on the album). Also
featured are Marcello Pellitteri on
drums/percussion and Essiet Okon Essiet on
bass. Luluk is from Indonesia originally but the
CD was recorded in Amsterdam. Talk about
international!
But enough about this
worldwide tour of jazz. Here's my take on the
music:
1. SIT & GO 5:33
Helsdingen and Luluk play the opening in a
soft style that is mysterious. Cymbals and bass
join in and after about one minute the tempo
changes and Ms. L starts singing with her violin.
At first, her voice is so in tune with the
instrument that I didn't even notice she was
singing. She plays much of the song in the
lower register with a beautiful tone. But it's her
combination of playing and singing that provide
the real kick here. Van Helsdingen is also an
excellent musician and it's obvious the two have
played together frequently. I would call
this
song a quiet swinger with romantic inclinations.
2. MAU LAGI (DO YOU WANT MORE?) 8:11
A complex intro which features only the
violin quickly changes tempo with Luluk singing at
an amazingly rapid pace with her violin.
Helsdingen joins in the unison chase for several
chords while the Essiet's bass and Marcello's
drums keep pace behind them. You gotta hear this
to believe it. The music is not really avant-garde
but it is definitely state of the art. Van
Helsdingen is one fine pianist but Luluk is
astonishing in her ability to mimic her
instrument. I love Benson and Stewart before him
but Luluk surpasses what they did.
3.
PULANG YUK (LET'S GO HOME) 8:28
This song
begins with a much more peaceful rhythm section
solo and Luluk glides in at the one minute mark in
a low register that once again is matched my her
amazing voice. The song has a much more
blues-oriented approach and is once again
fascinating because of Luluk's dual role as
violinist and wordless singer. This is another
artist that I would love to see perform in person.
By the way, this CD includes a CD-ROM
bonus track for the second cut.
4. LIR
LLIR 6:31
This song is one of two
traditional Indonesian songs on the CD arranged by
Luluk and Van H. Ms. L actually sings the first
part of the song without her violin but the piano
is following her note for note. At the one minute
mark, she's again singing with her violin but
this time she sings in unison to plucked
notes. The percussion here is particularly
noteworthy for its Far East sounds from gongs to
bells, whistles and birdcalls. A simple childlike
song at first, it ends up with complex rhythmic
patterns.
5. TUNGGU (WAITING) 6:58
Straight violin and piano for about a
minute, and then Ms. L is back singing with her
violin. She doesn't sing as much on this cut and
both her playing and that of Mr. H is a fusion of
jazz and classical music performed at a very
unusual time signature. She again plucks her
strings deep into the song along with the bass and
piano. As another change of pace, she sings
without the violin for several chords. Her voice
is very pleasing with or
without the violin.
6. BORN FREE--John Barry/Don Black 4:23
The only song not written by Luluk and her
pianist, they did do the arrangement of this
famous movie theme. The basic theme is there at
the first but Van Helsdingen flies all around the
melody in his extended solo. Luluk's dual role is
intensified as her voice and the violin become one
in a decidedly jazzy version of the song. She does
move back into the realm of the theme but once
again, the song is played to a very strange time
signature and
becomes more complex as it
progresses.
7. AUTO-MOVE (FROG NAVIGATION
SYSTEMS) 3:48
Very interesting title, eh?
Lulus plays violin here in front of the rhythm
section and uses her voice in a totally different
way. First you hear her voice from the left, then
the right, then with her violin. Chants here,
brief words there, the song is a study in the
school of strange arranging. Although it is
strange, the song is very appealing as is the
whole CD.
8. CUBLAK-CUBLAK
SUWENG/SLUKU-SLUKU BATHOK 3:05
Another
Indonesian children's song arranged by Ms. L and
Mr. H, this is certainly experimental-sounding in
the extreme. A variety of sounds are heard and
Luluk fronts the
sounds with an overdubbed
chant. It would be hard to call this song "jazz"
but it is very interesting.
Looking for
something different in the jazz world? Check this
CD out. Ms. L is an excellent player, singer,
composer and arranger. FIVE STARS.
Recommended
Yes
Great
Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
mike.holmes
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 in Music
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Member: Mike Holmes
Location: Odessa, Texas
Reviews
written: 352
Trusted by: 189
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The falter ego of Jed P.
Fuddplucker who has been dormant for too long.
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