Indonesia

The Lounge: Jazz Hotspot in North Jakarta

By admin ⋅ February 4, 2010 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The Lounge at Le Grandeur Hotel in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta, offers live jazz music every day, including weekly shows by Ireng Maulana.?(JG Photo; courtesy of The Lounge)

The Lounge: Jazz Hotspot in North Jakarta

There’s no need to argue: When it comes to the nightlife experience, Jakarta offers many possibilities for those who want to go out, meet their friends, hang out and have a good time. As a South Jakarta resident, however, I tend to stay in or close to my neighborhood. My preferred bars and cafes are in Kuningan, Kebayoran Baru and Kemang, and Central Jakarta is usually as far afield as I go. I choose those places mostly out of convenience, and to save money, since I normally get around by taxi. That’s why, when my cousin invited me to check out a jazz lounge in Mangga Dua, my initial reaction was, “Mangga Dua? That’s so far away.”

But then I thought, why not try something new? So there we were on Friday night, in the back of a taxi making our way through Jakarta’s traffic jungle to Le Grandeur Hotel in the northern part of the city. The first thing that caught my eye in the bright and sparkling lobby was a poster of Ireng Maulana, one of Indonesia’s most famous jazz musicians. He was scheduled to play in The Lounge, which just happened to be our destination that night.

Located on the ground floor of the hotel, The Lounge offers live jazz music daily. Mondays through Saturday, a jazz band takes the stage, while things quiet down a bit on Sunday evenings, with just a lone jazz pianist in charge of entertaining guests.

“When we came up with the concept for The Lounge, we thought about establishing a venue for our guests who enjoy jazz music,” said Yudi Yahya, the food and beverage manager at Le Grandeur. “In North Jakarta, there wasn’t any place that offered only jazz music, and we are still the only one. That makes it unique.”

The Lounge’s reputation as a swinging jazz venue has been cemented by the long list of celebrated artists who have performed there: Tompi, Maliq & D’Essentials, Glenn Fredly and Ireng Maulana, who since November 2009 has performed every Friday night.

In addition to being the only jazz venue in the area, The Lounge has a unique interior design, which keeps both the eyes and ears occupied.

The circular bar, manned by bartenders dressed in black suits, sits in the middle of the room, while waitresses wearing peach-colored blouses deliver drinks and food. Guests can sit either at the bar, in comfortable red-cushioned chairs, or they can opt for a table, which are also circular and can seat up to six people.

But the most impressive feature of The Lounge is undoubtedly the elevated stage on top of the bar — the heart of the whole venue. It offers space for at least four musicians and their instruments, and thanks to its position, allows the artists to easily interact with the audience.

In a separate room, there are two pool tables for those who want to take a break from the music or simply are in the mood for a game. The TV screens on the walls air sports events.

In addition to the entertainment, The Lounge also looks after the stomachs of its guests.

“We don’t offer heavy meals, but focus more on light snacks,” Yudi said. “When we created the menu, I was thinking of and inspired by Spanish tapas.

The cocktails in The Lounge are named after popular songs. Drinks and food are both reasonably priced.

After enjoying Ireng Maulana’s first and second sets, and shooting a couple of games of pool, my cousin and I decided to head for home. The friendly staff at Le Grandeur called a taxi for us, and only 30 minutes later we were sitting on the terrace of my house. It turns out The Lounge is not that far away after all, and more than that, it is definitely worth another visit.