Sweltering at Silverlake

Local and international artists served up plenty of cool sounds to counter the heat at last Saturday’s Silverlake Jazz Fest 2012 though the 2,000-odd jazz fans at Silverlake Vineyard in Pattaya would still have preferred the chill of an air-conditioned venue.

The festival’s slogan “every heart will melt as one and share to the world” took on a different meaning in the afternoon sun as a brave few gathered to listen to sets by Sax Society, Silpakorn Jazz Big Band, Mellow Motif and Mahidol Jazz Orchestra featuring Gam the Star.

It was almost 8pm by the time the first international artist, the Russian Connection Band featuring Yuliana Rogacheva and Marat Yuldybaev, came out on stage to loud applause.

Next up was Nita Aartsen, who teamed up with talented flamenco guitarist Yeppy Romero for “La Festa” and percussionist Jalu in “A Night in Tunisia”, and also performed songs from her two albums “All Nite Out” and “Dancing Soul”.

“The first album blends classical with Latin jazz, while the second is more what I call interval music, a mix of Egypt and Indonesia,” said Nita after her show. It was the first time the Indonesian pianist and arranger had performed in Pattaya, though she has played in Thailand before. She impressed the crowd with her exciting and lively show and the flamenco guitarist give her music a Spanish depth. Jalu’s tuba accents reminded me of Nepalese music.

Danish singer Malene Mortensen, a stalwart at the Hua Hin festival, also delighted, performing “Eternal Flame”, “Just The Way You Are” and “Still in Love with You” in her warm, mellow voice.

Screams were loud when Thai pop band ETC appeared on stage, and louder still when songwriter and singer Apiwat “Nueng” Pongwat took a bow. They played their own hits before paying tribute to His Majesty the King with a royal repertoire and wrapped with a Christmas song.

The Soul Must Go On featuring Koh Mr Saxman and Duck from the Infinity performed Koh’s “My Heart” then introduced Kaori Kobayashi. 

After performing “Nothing Gonna Change My Love For You”, the Japanese saxophonist told the crowd she’d fallen in love with the number while still at high school and that it remained a firm favourite. She’s scheduled to return to the recording studio in February to start laying down tracks for her eighth album, “Street”. 

Koh Mr Saxman, who now has seven albums under his belt and has played everything from standard to fusion jazz, says he’s still experimenting with a different jazz style of saxophone.

“I want to present a variety of music both to the handful of jazz lovers and the music fans at large. I want people to realise that jazz isn’t hard to appreciate,” said the professional saxophonist, who recently returned from playing a concert of the King’s repertoires at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.

Pichet “King” Buakham, a contestant of “The Voice”, was next on stage with Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” from the movie “Armageddon” in 1998, followed by Nat Sakdathorn from Academy Fantasia and Maneepatsorn “Myra” Molloy, the Thai-American winner of “Thailand’s Got Talent” 2011.

It was 1am by the time headliner Spyro Gyra made it to stage but at least the temperature had dropped and the American jazz fusion band were in fine form, playing hits that stretched back along their 3540year journey.

“We got a great start. We had the records that sold very well. And we just try to put on the best shows, make the best music,” said bandleader and saxophonist Jay Beckenstein, when asked how the band has survived in the music industry, especially going up against so much competition from more modern influences. “The way we do our music keeps our old fans, but younger people are listening too. It's good. We love it. 

He was also asked how Thai audiences compared to the crowds at other Asian jazz fests.

“The Thai people are very friendly and open. We get a good reception here. People in other cultures might like what we are doing but they are much quieter about responding.”