One evening after work, I step into the warm, dimly lit confines of Groove Junction in Desa Sri Hartamas. I am here to meet and interview Junji Delfino, a jazz vocalist well-respected both in her native Philippines and her adoptive home base, Malaysia. We decided to meet here tonight to watch her son Paolo perform with The Short Attention Span Band, the indierock outfit for which he’s the frontman.

The moment we greet each other, I am immediately put at ease with her warmth, her candid and unaffected manner. We settle at the bar for our chat and watch the band play original compositions by Paolo as well as some pretty decent covers of an eclectic mix of songs, from Nat King Cole to Coldplay.

This attractive mother of five tells me that all her children are involved in music in some way or other. “No choice,” she quips, “they were born into it!”

That they were indeed, as Junji and her Malaysian husband, David Gomes are the toprated husband and wife act to grace KL’s jazz scene since the late Tony Soliano and his nowretired wife, Julie Sudiro.

Born into a musical family herself, Junji has been in the business for nearly three decades, and is a well-known performer, not just in the live jazz field but in theatre as well—she has been a full-time member of the Instant Cafe Theatre since 1995.

Her husband, David—currently in Bangkok for a gig—is a highly regarded musician, composer and producer, firmly established in the KL jazz scene. He founded and led the only two Malaysian jazz outfits to perform at the world’s biggest jazz festival, The North Sea Jazz Festival in 1990 and 1991, sharing the stage with jazz bigwigs such as Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis.

Now and then, between sets, Junji pauses in our conversation to affectionately jibe Paolo, who is her eldest, from across the room. While talking about the new generation of musicians, she mentions another young musician, the up-and-coming jazz saxophonist Julian Chan, an accountancy graduate who is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Jazz Performance, in New York.

A member of several jazz outfits, Julian has also played and recorded with British saxophonist Greg Lyons, songstress Noryn Aziz, local English rock band Disagree and actor-turned-singer Sean Ghazi. Through email correspondence with him and my chat with Junji, I attempted to gain an insight into, and overview of, the jazz scene in Kuala Lumpur.

HoW It ALL BegAn
The seeds of the Malaysian jazz scene were sown and nurtured by talented figures such as the late greats: Alfonso Soliano—who founded and presented jazz through the Orkestra RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia); and brilliant jazz pianist Jimmy Boyle, a prolific songwriter and composer who wrote the evergreen “Putera Puteri” and “Jauh Jauh”, back when Malaysia was still Malaya.

There’s also Alfonso’s brother, the aforementioned Tony Soliano and Julie Sudiro, and the late jazz vocalist, Zain Azman. Their contributions paved the way for generations of musicians that came after them.

Many big international jazz musicians and bands such as American saxophonist Charlie Mariano and the Duke Ellington Orchestra also performed in Malaysia at one point, and their visits probably helped in kickstarting the jazz scene here. “But don’t forget that Malaysia is a very young country,” says Julian in his email. “Musically speaking, we still have a long way to go before we can have a full-fledged jazz scene.”

WHere We Are noW
The budding jazz scene is still quite closeknit— everyone pretty much knows everyone— and it’s growing steadily, albeit slowly. “I believe that (now) there are more musicians who are playing jazz than before, more who are serious about being better musicians as well as jazz practitioners,” says Julian.

So who are the big guns in the local scene? Talk about jazz in Malaysia, and a few names always come up: pianist and Berklee graduate Michael Veerapen, who’s credited with building the scene to its vibrant state today; percussionist Lewis Pragasam; Jose Thomas, dubbed the grand-daddy of Malaysian jazz; bassist David “Ah Wah” Yee; and of course David Gomes.

The rest would read like the gig listings on Malaysia’s premier jazz site, alldatjazz.com: Farid Ali aka Mr Gambus, John Thomas, Eric Li, Willy Rebano, vocalists like Maria Angela and Junji Delfino, some of the Soliano family clan, and others.

Then there’s also the new generation of musicians like Julian Chan, Mia Palencia and Roger Wang, Tay Cher Siang, Eddie Wen and Vincent Ong (of GruvAvenue).

About two decades ago, there were only one or two dedicated jazz clubs in the Klang Valley—places where one could watch, listen and appreciate jazz for what it is, and not as background music. But today, there are a good handful of joints in KL where one can catch good (for the most part) live gigs: places like No Black Tie, Bangkok Jazz, Groove Junction and Alexis Bistro and Wine Bar keep the jazz flame burning, as do a few other places like The Attic, which has live jazz sessions thrice a week.

The now-defunct Top Room @ Top Hat, which was set up by David Gomes and Junji Delfino in 2006 was a hot pure-jazz venue “where musicians, both local and transient, could rest their hats for a quick jazz fix”. Sadly, it only operated for 21 months before it folded, due to the lack of a local audience that supports and appreciates ‘real’ jazz.

There’s a feeling that there must be a greater awareness—among audiences and musicians alike—of what jazz really is. The misperception that other genres—such as R&B—are jazz, is prevalent. And some artistes and event organisers—knowingly or not— mislabel themselves and their events as jazz.

“People know enough to jump onto the jazz bandwagon because there’s a certain prestige and respectability attached to it,” says Junji. “Although I’m sure it wasn’t intended to be presented that way, jazz is seen to be music for the intelligent man.

“It’s not so much a case of having a high IQ but in the way a person thinks. Are they open to new ideas or are they rigid in their thinking? Jazz, to me, is the thinking person’s music, especially those who think with both heart and mind.”

She tells me that change, improvisation, is constant in jazz. Jazz musicians get a kick out of constantly tweaking things, discovering different ways of saying the same thing. “We like to see if we can say it more beautifully than the last time. Creatures of habit don’t much like it,” she adds with a grin.

Are We LIstenIng to ourseLves?
She becomes earnest once more when she talks about local audiences. “There is still a lack of real jazz followers who will go out to catch a no-frills, authentic jazz performance. These days, if a gig doesn’t bear the name of a foreign ‘celebrity’ then people won’t go out and see it. Malaysian audiences should support local musicians, as we have many talents who can stand head-to-head, musically, with these foreigners.”

Julian has a more optimistic view. “I believe there is a slow, steady growth of listeners who are a bit more mature in the appreciation of music and arts in general. Although to say whether they’re genuine jazz aficionados—who really know the history of jazz and its musicians—is debatable. But at least there are more people who have begun to try to appreciate the music,” he observes.

Junji adds, on a more positive note, that there is a younger crowd attending jazz gigs, which is a really good thing for the industry.

“Then there are also the jazz festivals: some are one-off, but some continue year after year,” says Julian. “They play a big part in the growth of the jazz scene in Malaysia. But a special mention must be made, although some festivals advertise ‘JAZZ’, the music that is presented sometimes does not reflect that. But thankfully, most do. And they’re slowly increasing in number: I see that as a good sign!”

He also gives kudos to the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (Petronas Philharmonic Hall), which has brought in prominent names in jazz (and its subgenres) such as Branford Marsalis, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Fourplay, and most recently, Harry Connick, Jr and his Big Band.

The consensus is that there is great potential for the jazz scene in Malaysia to develop, and perhaps garner international attention. “All it needs is the right attitude and approach from all sides—musicians, venue owners, audience and sponsors; it’s like any other business venture, to use an analogy. But it is an artistic business, and trick is to know how to balance the art and the business. Everyone needs to work hard, be humble, persevere, and be very patient. It will take time, but I believe it can happen,” says Julian.

It would seem that the future of jazz does look more hopeful than ever for Malaysia, and for artistes like Junji and Julian. As long as we, as the audience, continue to educate ourselves, and support our excellent local musicians, KL may one day have a jazz scene that will make the world sit up and take notice.