KUCHING: This year’s edition of the Borneo Jazz Festival (BJF) will bring several world-renowned artistes from all over the world.
The line-up includes instrumentalist performers Alberto Marciso Trio, Chanda Rule, Fox Capture Plan, and Kirk Lightsey.
Alberto Marciso Trio, born in 1966 in Turin, Italy is one of the most renowned organists in Europe.
His passion for the organ first came about when he attended a workshop by the late Jack McDuff in 1994, an American jazz organist who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s.
In 2014, he played at The Blue Note in Tokyo and recorded “Jazz-Blues Brothers”, which was later released by Verve Records in October.
Kirk Lightsey is a Michigan-born pianist of immense accomplishment and versatility who constantly explores new voicing and textures.
He had also worked with scores of major jazz stars such as Pharaoh Sanders, Chet Baker, Damita Jo, and Marilena Paradisi, among others.
Since the mid-90s, Lightsey has lived in France, where he continues to tour and record. He also played for Motown hit recording sessions, trained with classical pianist Boris Maximovich, and toured with American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon for five years.
He had released several albums, including 1990’s Nat King Cole tribute “From Kirk to Nat”, and 1994’s “Goodbye Mr Evans”.
In 2015 he joined bassist Tibor Elekes and drummer Famoudou Don Moye for the trio album, Le Corbu. Two years later he collaborated with vocalist Marilena Paradasi on “Some Place Called Where”.
Fox Capture Plan is a group formed in 2011 with Ryo Kishimoto on piano, Hidehiro Kawai on double bass, and Tsukasa Inoue on drums. The group described themselves as a contemporary Japanese Jazz Rock band.
In 2012, they released their first mini-album titled “Flexible” under Playwright Label and won the Jazz Japan Award 2015 for album of the year.
They have also played at various festivals and venues, such as Tokyo Jazz Festival, Fuji Rock Festival, Blue Note Tokyo and Summer Sonic. In September 2018, Fox Capture Plan released their seventh album titled “Capturism”.
Apart from performing, they also record music for television dramas and animations.
Born in between the off beats, and bump and grind of the Disco-Funk Era in Chicago, Chanda Rule has been weaving stories through song, humming melodies, bending words since her childhood and is the Queen of Contemporary Gospel.
“Listening to Roots and Voicing Branches”, a multimedia theatre piece she penned and performed with artist Somi was presented in New York’s Apollo Salon Featured New Works Series and Lincoln Centre.
Gracefully mesmerising audiences nationally and internationally, the extraordinary singer began her career in music theatre in various productions, from New Jersey’s Hudson Shakespeare Company and regional tours, to “Hair, The Musical” in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Milan, Italy.
Chanda’s genre-defying voice has been featured in a variety of musical projects: from her latest album “”Sapphire Dreams”” recorded in 2018 with the legendary pianist Kirk Lightsey, to “Feeling Good: A Tribute to Nina Simone” where she was featured with sax powerhouse Donny McCaslin, She has also performed as an opening act for India. Arie, Amel Larrieux, Angela Bofill, Regina Belle & The Whispers, and on live television for ORF’s Dancing Stars.
The Borneo Jazz Festival, one of Malaysia’s longest-running jazz festivals, is wholly owned by Sarawak Tourism Board and organised by No Black Tie.
For further information on the festival including line-up of performances, activities and highlights log on to https://borneojazzfestival.com or https://www.facebook.com/borneojazz.official/.
