Okura’s virtuoso violin playing gracefully fuses lexicons from different styles of music into her own unique lyrical signature sound that incorporates influences such as disciplined structure, savvy refinement, and polished precision from Viennese era classical, vivid impressionism, dramatic expressionism, and moving emotional projection from Romantic era classical, 20th century tonality, harmonization, meters, rhythms, and swing, as well as other elements from contemporary jazz and popular music spanning from Joe Venuti to Gershwin to Coltrane and beyond.

The intricate arrangements are mesmerizing; The unorthodox and unprecedented changes are breathtaking; The seamless fluidity within the diverse arrangements is beguiling; Okura’s firm grasp on and absorption of genres, styles, and characteristics of epochs from the musical continuum into her exquisite musical form is nothing short of amazing! The vision is radical but the flawless execution and inspired delivery make it seem natural. If you have broad musical experience and are not content to be confined to a single genre or style of music, you are going to fall flat on your back when you hear this.

Meg Okura defies convention by breaking through all boundaries with her revolutionary vision that is redefining our understanding of and perspective on modern music. Okura’s music is so innovative that it is surreal to experience it. The music is refined, sophisticated, emotional, progressive and hip all at the same time. Check out Meg Okura.

This is real world fusion!!! This is the future of instrumental music.

More at http://cdbaby.com/cd/megokura

Workshop Details

Fats Waller, Nat King Cole, Blossom Dearie, Shirley Horn, Harry Connick Jr, Diana Krall, Peter Cincotti.

What do these jazz singers have in common? They are all excellent jazz pianists, who most of the time accompany themselves on piano while singing.

Didi Mudigdo (www.didi.com.au), jazz singer/pianist at Nine Muses Club for December - February will present a free workshop discussing the art and craft of the jazz singer/pianist.

The musical material covered in this workshop will be of interest to not only jazz singer/pianists, but also to jazz pianists who accompany singers, and singers who play with jazz pianists.

As a self-managed artist who has performed in Australia, Japan and China over the last 10 years, he will also discuss self-promotion and self- marketing.

This material will appeal to any jazz artist wanting to improve their self-promotion and self-marketing.

Open audience participation will be expected as springboards for workshop discussion, so before arriving, singers please warm-up your voices, pianists please warm-up your fingers, and please bring in your promotional material, photos, biography etc. for discussion.

Topics include:

FOR PIANISTS:
Dealing with singers holding down the groove/basss taying out of the singer’s way transposing skills awareness of vocal repertoire.

FOR SINGERS:
Dealing with jazz musicians approaches to learning theory learning repertoire selecting repertoire selecting keys creative approaches to well-known standards developing your own sound FOR BOTH: building repertoire awareness of jazz vocal styles intros and endings colla voce/rubato intros publicity/promotion getting gigs dealing with overseas agents

Didi Mudigdo
jazz vocals & piano
www.didi.com.au www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=7770182540

The festival will take place at 3 different venues including the Amphitheater at Dubai Media City, The Dusk Terrace at Radisson SAS Hotel DMC, and Marina Square at Dubai Festival City.

The line-up will include more than 250 international artists and performers, jamming sessions, and many new activities.

Soon will will be announcing the full line-up, however tickets for some of the nights are already on sale online. More info available via http://www.dubaijazzfest.com/

More info will be posted as soon we get some details.
For reference please click http://www.pijazzfest.com/

To be held on May 9 and 10, 2008, next year’s edition will see inclusion of new things to infuse change for the festival. The performers’ line up will also see more varieties in jazz genre, to spice up the already exciting festival.

Promised to be another signature attraction for Miri’s tourism calendar, MIJF 2008 will be liven up by renowned jazz performers from Australia, Philippines, Korea, Cuba, Japan, Holland, USA, France, UK and Canada. Nearer to home, we will see performances from bands from Sarawak and Sabah, taking centre stage among the foreign performers. Their genre of jazz include blues and fusion jazz with a tinge of Latin, Caribbean and oriental music.

Habana Sax, one of the performers from this year’s line up will also make a come-back at next year’s festival, after the crowd voted the band as their favourite.

Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri will still play host for the venue of the festival, which had attracted more than 4,000 guests over the two nights last year. Last year’s crowd turn out had increased by almost two folds as compared to more than 2,000 guests in 2006.

Looking at the steady increase in the crowd turn out, MIJF is set to become an icon for Miri and in line with STB’s aim at boosting the city’s tourism industry.

Parkcity’s management has also indicted its plan to expand the Pavilion where the main stage is located, to provide more room for the increasing number of audicences.

Looking at the steady increase in the crowd turn out, MIJF is set to become an icon for Miri and in line with STB’s aim at boosting the city’s tourism industry via events and festival.

Ticket the festival is priced at RM60 per person per night and RM30 per child between three and 12 years old, is available online at www.TicketCharge.com.my from December 12, 2007.

Apart from enjoying the good music, guests can also savour the wide variety of food and beverages at the stalls set up in and around the venue.

For further enquiries, kindly contact the Visitors’ Information Centre at Lot 452, Jalan Melayu in Miri (tel: 60 85 434181, fax: 60 85 434179) or log on at www. Mirijazzfestival.com. Email contact: info@mirijazzfestival.com.

Miri is located in Northern Sarawak and has, in 2005, gained its Resort City Status. Often known as the Northern Gateway to Sarawak, the city is a popular base for visitors to explore the nearby National Parks including the Niah, Loagan Bunut and Lambir Hills while Mulu is only a 45- minute flight away.

The former three successes of the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival, which received the full support of the Jakarta Provincial Government, State Ministry of Tourism and Culture and embassies, have encouraged the international world to eradicate any form of doubt and turn its attention to this country. World-class performances and forms of entertainment took over Jakarta, providing incessant and various choices for the audience to enjoy. The Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival directly supports the capital city’s tourism and culture program, “Enjoy Jakarta” and “Visit Indonesia Year 2008”.

On 7, 8 and 9 March 2008, PT Java Festival Production, with the support of the Provincial Government of Jakarta and the State Ministry Office of Tourism, Art and Culture, and also the sponsors, has declared that it will once more hold the “Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008.” The event, in its fourth year, will once more present world-class music performances in multiple stages spread all over the Jakarta Convention Centre area.

Collaborations of Indonesian & International Musicians

“A medium for collaborations” best describes the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival’s signature characteristic. For the upcoming event, various musicians’ special collaborations are being formulated. Uniting Indonesian musicians and foreign musicians on one stage is a compulsory presentation at Java Jazz Festival. Maestros of various instruments from Indonesia will be paired with musicians from other countries. A music project in the name of peace, drumming and strumming acts, and orchestra-formatted concerts are scheduled to headline the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008’s upcoming programs.
In addition to being spoiled with diverse music performances on 16 stages spread all over the Jakarta Convention Center’s area, visitors of the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008 are also treated to exhibitions of music, lifestyle and fashion products, to take place in Hall B. The upcoming programs designed for next March’s Java Jazz will surely bestow special surprises for the nation’s music devotees

Taste the Spirit of Jazz

Java Jazz invites us to taste the spirit and movements of musicians and jazz lovers from around the globe.  Jazz, initially a musical expression of minorities, has spread all over the world.  Although the genre is perceived as intricate, jazz musicians have never stopped exploring, combining, concocting and merging jazz with other genres of music. As a result, jazz has managed to seduce those who do not favor jazz.  Jazz has been interpreted marvelously by musicians from all over the world through their own unique means.  That is the spirit and strength emphasizing that music knows no boundaries of age and distance.  Embrace its spirit without hesitation, acknowledge its strength.

Over the years, the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival has presented an abundance of music ambassadors from different countries. Embassies from countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Korea, Canada and France have shown their support for the festival by sponsoring musicians from their respected countries.  In addition, the festival is not only crowded by Indonesians, but also by foreigners residing in Indonesia and also tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, the US, the Netherlands, Japan and Australia.  The Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival has become an event in which citizens of the world mingle in harmony.  For the 2008 festival, musicians from Brazil, Japan, Libya, France, Tunisia, Australia, the Netherlands and the US are scheduled invigorate the stages.

Special from Java Jazz

In 2008, Java Jazz on the Move’s epicenter will once more be located in Jakarta.  A series of music exhibitions, to commence early February and scheduled to close early March 2008, aims to heat up the ambience, preparing the audience to hold their breath for the big event.  Universities, malls, cafes and cultural spots will play hosts to Java Jazz lovers and enthusiasts, giving them a taste of the upcoming Java Jazz Festival 2008’s atmosphere.
A number of awards will be given to those who have contributed substantially to the development of music in Indonesia and the world at the Gala Opening, held at Cendrawasih Hall, on 6 March 2008.  This night will be reserved to appreciate contributions made by musicians, sponsors and those who have loyally supported Java Festival Production and its endeavors to actualize the festival while showing support for the Jakarta Provincial Government’s program, Enjoy Jakarta and Visit Indonesia Year 2008.
True Jazz Lover

The actualization of JJF 2008 is possible due to the support of sponsors and partners, who have supported the annual event.

This year, the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz enters the preparation stage for its fourth time.  For the fourth time, we put forward out best spirit, trust and hard work.  This time, we chose “Taste the Spirit of Jazz” as our theme as jazz merges various cultures, expression and is the most flexible language in communicating the spirit we would like to share with the world and all who support us.  For us, the beauty of jazz should not be neglected.  At the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008, jazz is not just music, said Dewi Gontha Sulisto – Director of Java Festival Indonesia, PT

Brand Manager of Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Veronica Risariyana stated, “Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival 2008 is about jazz in Indonesia and the world.  We are proud to once more participate in the international-class jazz festival.  We are also proud to show Dji Sam Soe Super Premium’s consistency in supporting jazz’s development both in Indonesia and the world!  Themed ‘Taste the Spirit of Jazz’, we hope that the Dji Sam Soe Super Premium Jakarta International java Jazz Festival 2008 can entice both Indonesian and foreign jazz lovers to embrace the spirit of jazz which has taken the world by a storm.  In addition, the theme ‘Taste the Spirit of Jazz’ invites jazz lovers too feel Dji Sam Soe Super Premium’s spirit in introducing jazz as a quality genre of music in Indonesia.”
This year, Telkomsel supports this international-scale jazz event.  Telkomsel acts as the official mobile partner that provides live performances from Java Jazz’s artists through its 3G Telkomsel video streaming service by typing in 888 directly from users’ cell-phones.  In addition, Telkomsel takes part in inviting a renowned jazz musician who will perform in one of the special shows.   Telkomsel also offers a 40 percent discount in ticket purchase for Telkomsel Priority clients and 600 free tickets for members of HALOclub, simPATIzone and Gen’Asik.  Furthermore, all Telkomsel subscribers are entitled to participate in the Telkomsel Java Jazz quiz and win various prizes.  “By taking part as a sponsor in the international-scale event, Telkomsel aims to prove its support in boosting the development of Indonesia’s music industry and tourism programs, especially ‘Enjoy Jakarta’,” stated Niken Wulandari, GM Promotion and Partnership Telkomsel.

This year’s AAJF is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Asian Improv Records, the only international recording label dedicated to presenting Asian American creative music. Founded by San Francisco musicians Francis Wong and Jon Jang, Asian Improv Records is a Grammy-nominated recording label with a catalog of over 70 titles that represent the diversity of Asian American musical expression. Asian Improv Records now bases its operations out of Chicago.

This year’s Asian American Jazz Festival lineup will feature artists who have recorded on Asian Improv Records, their collaborators and artists who have made contributions to the Asian American music scene of Chicago and the nation.

The AAJF is also expanding its geographic reach and we are pleased to be working with a new collaborator, The Hyde Park Art Center, not to mention our familiar friends at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Velvet Lounge.

Schedule:

Opening Day!
OLD AND NEW - Roots with a twist
Saturday, October 6, 2007
2pm
The Claudia Cassidy Theater at The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington
Free Admission

• JASC Tsukasa Taiko
• The Funkadesi Trio featuring Navraaz Basati - vocals, Rahul Sharma - bass guitar, sitar, tabla, acoustic guitar, Rich Conti – vibes and percussion

The 4-Time Winner of The Chicago Music Awards, Funkadesi has been hailed by Time Magazine, and even caught the attention of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, who notes: “Funkadesi really knows how to get a crowd going. I can’t say enough how energizing this band is. There’s a lot of funk in that desi!”

This smaller ensemble of Funkadesi members will highlight Punjabi folk music fused with reggae, funk, and jazz themes.

This year’s AAJF is proud to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Asian Improv Records, the only international recording label dedicated to presenting Asian American creative music. Founded by San Francisco musicians Francis Wong and Jon Jang, Asian Improv Records is a Grammy-nominated recording label with a catalog of over 70 titles that represent the diversity of Asian American musical expression. Asian Improv Records now bases its operations out of Chicago.

This year’s Asian American Jazz Festival lineup will feature artists who have recorded on Asian Improv Records, their collaborators and artists who have made contributions to the Asian American music scene of Chicago and the nation.

The AAJF is also expanding its geographic reach and we are pleased to be working with a new collaborator, The Hyde Park Art Center, not to mention our familiar friends at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Velvet Lounge.

Schedule:

Opening Day!
OLD AND NEW - Roots with a twist
Saturday, October 6, 2007
2pm
The Claudia Cassidy Theater at The Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington
Free Admission

• JASC Tsukasa Taiko
• The Funkadesi Trio featuring Navraaz Basati - vocals, Rahul Sharma - bass guitar, sitar, tabla, acoustic guitar, Rich Conti – vibes and percussion

The 4-Time Winner of The Chicago Music Awards, Funkadesi has been hailed by Time Magazine, and even caught the attention of U.S. Senator Barack Obama, who notes: “Funkadesi really knows how to get a crowd going. I can’t say enough how energizing this band is. There’s a lot of funk in that desi!”

This smaller ensemble of Funkadesi members will highlight Punjabi folk music fused with reggae, funk, and jazz themes.