A swinging jazz band, Mood Indigo is expected to capture the spirit and energy of festival goers who are out for an amazing time.

Fronted by the smooth and innovative vocal style of Will Grealish, Mood Indigo also plays a wide repertoire of jazz beats including blues.

With an album (“God Bless the Child” to their name, Mood Indigo is all out to woo festival goers to swing, swoon, jump and glide to their beat.

Links:
Mood Indigo Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Be ready to salsa to the upbeat jazz tempo of Rumba Calzada. This Vancouver-based band will be playing, mostly original, jazz music with beats of Latin, Salsa and Afro-Cuban.

Currently led by Raphael Geronimo from the Philippines, this seven-piece band was formed in 1991 by Raphael's father Boying.

A favourite with Vancouver's Latin jazz and Salsa enthusiasts, Rumba Calzada had been nominated for various music awards in Canada and had just released their fourth album in June last year.

Links:
Rumba Calzada Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

The upcoming Miri International Jazz Festival (MIJF) 2008 will see the appearance of Sarawak's very own Borneo Jazz Quartet taking centre stage among the other international bands that had been invited to perform at the festival.



This four-piece band will use this opportunity to gain more exposures to break into the international market, a move towards gaining better chances to perform at other jazz festivals in the region.

An up and coming band to look out for, Borneo Jazz Quartet is also preparing to release their debut album.

Led by 19-year old Azim Ali who plays the drum, Borneo Jazz Quartet's other members include guitarists Mark Langub and Kazlan Ali and bassist Ali Hairani.

A multi instrumentalist Azim who began his musical career at 15 also wrote and arranged most of Borneo Jazz Quartet music and the band will perform some of their original compositions at the festival this coming May 9 and 10.

Organised by Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), the festival will be stage at the Pavilion at Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri.

Borneo Jazz Quartet also plays other jazzy tunes infused with funky and Latin beat and together with eight other bands, they will present a rousing performance at the festival.

The other groups are Habana Sax from Cuba, Rumba Calzada (Canada), Mood Indigo (UK), Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies (Australia), Oma Sound (Japan), Charmaine Clamor (Philippines), Amar Sundy (Algeria) and the 16-piece jazz street band T'Inventielke from Holland. The street band will be performing around the festival ground.

Links:
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Editor: And I thought I'd never get a chance to see them again after the Genting International Jazz Festival 2008

Preparation for the forthcoming Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 is well under way and the mood is all set for the much awaited festival that offers wide genre of jazz beat.

All the nine bands that had confirmed their participation in the festival will be playing jazz genre ranging from classic jazz to fusion beat blended with Latino, Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, oriental and blues tempo.

The swinging blues will be heard from the Australian band Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies. This four-piece band will be performing Chicago style blues with an uplifting groove, swinging shuffles and soulful beat.

'Diamond' Dave Billing who lends his name to the band, will also demonstrates his many styles on the harmonica, from the expressive acoustic approach to the driving amplified style. A master with the harmonica, Dave will also use the chromatic harmonica to develop one of the most distinctive styles heard in Australia.

Together with Dave Brewer on guitar, Yugon 'Chob' Chobanoff on drum and bassist Bob Thomson, Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies is expected to present a red hot swinging blues beat at the festival.

With two CD releases to their credit, Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies prove not only that the roots of the blues are strong and far reaching but that the future of blues is also bright.

Apart from Diamond Dave and The Doodaddies, the other bands that will heat up the MIJF stage include Habana Sax from Cuba, Rumba Calzada (Canada), Mood Indigo (UK), Oma Sound (Japan), Borneo Jazz Quartet (Sarawak), Charmaine Clamor (Philippines),Amar Sundy (Algeria) and T'Inventielke (Holland).

Links:
Diamond Dave And The Doodaddies Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Their presence at the Miri International Jazz Festival (MIJF) 2008 will add more colours to the already exciting festival.

T'Inventielke from Holland will perform around the festival ground and they will spice up the festival with their jazz street music.

This 16-piece band was formed 25 years ago in Heeze, Netherlands, by a group of friends who shared a passion for music.

Something to watch out for at the May 9 and 10 MIJF, T'Inventielke's performances also includes well choreographed dance movement to suit the beat of their music. They normally play original, modern and alternative jazz music laced with Caribbean and Dixieland tempo.

Driven by their enthusiasm, T'Inventielke has promised to deliver a great show at the upcoming MIJF together with Habana Sax from Cuba, Charmaine Clamor (Philippines), Rumba Calzada (Canada), Mood Indigo (UK), Diamond Dave and the Doodaddies (Australia), Borneo Jazz Quartet (Sarawak), Amar Sundy (Algeria) and Oma Sound (Japan)

Links:
T'inventielke Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Jazz music enthusiasts will have the chance to hear the greatness of the unique Japanese jazz at the upcoming Miri International Jazz Festival (MIJF) 2008.


This unique beat will be presented by Oma Sound, one of the nine bands that will take centre stage at the May 9 and 10 MIJF.

The leading man behind this six-piece band is Isao Suzuki (pic), an accomplish bassist who had been performing since 1956.

Very passionate in promoting Japanese jazz music, Suzuki is also actively involved in teaching the younger Japanese musicians especially who share his passion for jazz music. His objective is to introduce the young talent to the international music scene.

At the moment Suzuki is very much into progressive jazz. Admitting the difficulty in performing progressive jazz, Suzuki continues to sharpen his skill despite his age. The man is now 74 years old.

Born in Tokyo in 1933, Suzuki started his musical career playing the bass in a band with African-American soldiers.

Later he went solo and performed with well known artistes like Sadao Watanabe as well as touring foreign musicians performing in Japan. Among them were Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger and Mal Waldron when they were on the national tours to Japan.

When Jazz Messenger returned to the US, Suzuki joined the band and these provided him the opportunity to perform in America and Europe.

Suzuki had also released several records and his “A Day of the Sun” had also received the Japan Jazz Award.

At the MIJF 2008, he will share the stage with Habana Sax from Cuba, Rumba Calzada (Canada), Mood Indigo (UK), Diamond Dave & the Doodaddies (Australia), Amar Sundy (Algeria), Borneo Jazz Quartet (Sarawak), Charmaine Clamor (Philippines) and jazz street band D'Iventielke (Holland).

Links:
OMA Sound Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Blue man in birth. Blues man by choice. That is how Amar Sundy described himself and his passion for blues music.

An accomplish guitarist, Amar's music is a mixture of Chicago blues laced with the folk beat of his Tuaregs root that originated from the Sahara Desert.

Amar will be among the nine groups performing at the May 9 and 10 Miri International Jazz Festival 2008. The festival will be stage at the Pavilion of Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri.

Borned in Hoggar in the Sahara Desert region, Amar grew up in France and his interest in music began when he returned to Algeria in search of his roots when he was 18 years old. There he met an Algerian guitarist who taught Amar the skill to play acoustic guitar. Impressed with what he learned, Amar stayed in Algeria for for four years.

On his return to Paris, Amar began playing at the subway, making small earning from his gigs. From the subway, Amar then played with other musicians at clubs and his big break came when he performed at a jamming session at Eldorado. Taking a note from someone's suggestion, Amar formed his own band and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Amar had played alongside big names in blues music and they included BB King, Jimmy Johnson, Otis Rush, James Cotton and Albert Collins.

After several years of performing with the big names in blues music, Amar decided to record his first album in 1990. Calling it “Hoggar-Chicago-Paris”, this debut album encompassed Amar's Algerian root and his passion for Chicago blues. His second album entitled “Homme Bleu” was released in 1998 while his third album called “Live and Blues” came in 2000. Four years later, he released his fourth album called “Najma”. A track from Najma called Ouallache has been including in a compilation “Blues Around the World” album that was released in 2006 and distributed in 60 countries worldwide. Blues Around the World has also popularized Amar's Chicago blues and Tuareg rhythms fusion.

Links:
Amar Sundy Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Habana Sax was voted as the crowd favourite at last year's Miri International Jazz Festival (MIJF). This year the Cuban group is making a come-back to the festival with the promised of similar magic that they created to entice the crowd.

After their acquaintance with MIJF followers last year, Habana Sax is returning with greater enthusiasm to entertain the crowd with their vibrant Latino jazz beat. The same tempo that got the crowd in frenzy dance movement.

While their music is heavily influence by their Cuban root, the five members of Habana Sax have taken the Latin jazz beat to another level by cleverly blending their tunes with Brazilian rhythms and Afro-Caribbean tempo. The end result is an explosion of funky beat that will definitely encourage the audience to dance along.

Led by Jorge Almeida, the band was formed in the late 1980s. Started out as a classical saxophone quartet, they gradually added a percussionist in order to incorporate Cuban rhythms to their beat.

All members of Habana Sax are graduates of the prestigious Superior Institute of Art and Culture of Cuba and they are all multi- instrumentalists, a trait which enable them to change instruments while performing on stage.

Habana Sax and the other eight groups are all expected to give their best performances at the coming MIJF which will be held on May 9 and 10 at the Pavilion at Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri.

Links:
Habana Sax Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

She has been compared with the best jazz performers like Sarah Vaughan, Anita Bakar and Cassandra Wilson. That is how impressive Charmaine Clamor vocal power is.


Clamor will be among the eight performers who will be performing at the Miri International Jazz Festival this coming May 9 and 10 in Miri.

US-based Clamor is also the first Filipina jazz singer to find success on American radio with her debut album entitled “Searching for the Soul” released in 2005.

Coming from a musically talented family, Clamor began singing at the tender age of three. Back then, her “stage” was the bus which she took from her hometown of Subic-Zambales to Manila regularly. Her experience entertaining the bus passengers has made her into becoming an accomplished singer.

She has also made full use of her talent to try new thing like “mixing” American jazz with blues, soul and traditional Filipino folk music. The end result is a new music genre which she has fondly called jazzipino. She experimental with jazzipino in her second album called “Flippin Out” which was released last year.

Talent aside, Clamor also holds a master degree in physical therapy and is a licensed physical theraphist.

With two albums and her warm, luscious and sultry alto voice, Clamor is set to woo the crowd in Miri.

Links:
Chairmaine Clamor Website
Miri International Jazz Festival 2008 (official website)
Main article on AllDatJazz.Com

Formed in early 2001, the a cappella group Key Elements is made up of 6 members. Although Key Elements is known for its repertoire of jazz standards, the group is equally comfortable doing other genres, from pop to do-wop to even songs in Mandarin and other languages.

Since coming in second at the fourth Sing Sing Choral Ensemble Competition in Taipei, Taiwan, in August 2004, Key Elements has performed at a number of major events. They have sung in Singapore’s most prestigious arts venue, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, three times (at the foyer in June 2005 for the centre’s ‘Flipside’ event; in the theatre in July 2005 for its ‘Lunchbox’ series; and at its outdoor amphitheatre in September 2006).

Key Elements has also had the honour of entertaining Singapore’s President S R Nathan (at a dinner in the National University of Singapore in May 2006) and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (at a dinner in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in April 2006). However, the group’s proudest moment came when it held its own ticketed event, ‘Jazz at the Movies’, at the Victoria Concert Hall on 5 Nov 2005.

More recently, Key Elements opened for The Real Group when the Swedish a cappella group held a concert at Esplanade in January 2007. Key Elements just held a sold-out two-night concert at Young Musicians’ Society Auditorium on 6 & 7 Oct 2007. In between, the members found time to record two CDs: a single called Better than Anything, and a full-length album entitled Jazz for the Record, which was released on 6 Oct 2007 in conjunction with the concert at YMS Auditorium.