Pada kesempatan kali ini saya ingin meminta dukungan Agan-agan Kaskuser sekalian untuk melakukan voting kedua finalis master Jam Fest asal Indonesia yaitu Sandy Winarta dan Joey Alexander. Master Jam Festival adalah festival jazz berkala international yang bertujuan mencari musisi jazz terbaik yang mempunyai kemampuan inprovisasi tingkat tinggi dan dapat memukau publik.
Pada ronde ke-dua Master Jam Fest berhasil menyaring 271 kontestan dari 41 negara di seluruh Dunia. Kita patut berbangga pada putaran ke-dua jumlah musisi Indonesia yang lolos menduduki peringkat teratas diantara kontestan-kontestan dari negara Asia Tenggara lainnya.
Pada putaran ketiga kita hanya berhasil meloloskan dua peserta asal Indonesia yaitu Sandy Winarta dan Joey Alexander. Acara final akan diadakan di Odessa, Ukraina. Dua peserta asal indonesia ini adalah satu-satunya peserta dari Asia yang lolos. Hasil polling Internet akan menentukan pemenang pilihan masyarakat.

Sandy Winarta, 17th of May 1981, Denpasar Bali, Indonesia.
I started to play the piano when I was 6 years old. And this introduction of music in my early age had been proven to be very useful as I became interested in drums when I was in the high school, 17 years old. Through those early piano lessons, I developed good musical ears. I could know notes and chords, the degree and quality of it. It’s quite easy for me to hear a melody line once and then just play it. Also it is quite easy to hear chord’s progressions too. So I learned to play songs on the piano by listening.
And when I started playing drums, I used the very same method to learn to play beats and songs.
So when I finished high school, I went to study in Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, Australia. I studied there from 2000 and graduated in 2004 as a Bachelor of Music.
In early 2005, I went back to Indonesia and started my career as a professional musician. I’ve been involved in numerous recording sessions and live performances with many different artists and musicians in different musical genres. I worked as a drummer for many TV shows such as the Indonesian Idol and Asian show, etc for 3 years. I also performed abroad in several occasions. In 2006, I performed with Balawan trio in Quebec Music festival in Quebec, Canada. 2007, I performed in Beijing, China, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam with different artists and orchestras. Also performed in International Jazz Festival such as Java Jazz fest, Jakjazz fest from 2005 – 2010. In Java Jazz Festival 2007, I collaborated with some international musicians like Sadao Watanabe, Steve Thornton, Roger Burns, Andy Suzuki.
For the last two years, I have started to work on my own projects, along with some fellow musicians of mine. I’m involved actively in this big band called Pitoelas big band. We play standard big band and contemporary repertoires. We performed in various jazz festivals and events.
Also I have my own quartet, Sarimanouk that plays original compositions with a lot of hardbop influences. With Sarimanouk we play in different jazz festivals, like Java Jazz festival, Ambon jazz festival, Jazz at Salihara. And recently we just released our first album. I have my own trio also called Karma, we play traditional Indonesian music, mostly traditional Balinese music with jazz attitude and instruments.
And for the past 2 years since mid 2010, I’d been working with another trio with Indra Lesmana and Barry Likumahuwa. We released our album in 2011.We performed at JavaJazz festival 2011 and 2012 feat. Maurice Brown. We performed at Blue Note Tokyo in 2011.
I also performed with the legendary Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra conducted by Alan Broadbent at Mosaic Jazz festival in Singapore, March 2011.
And recently, on May 2012, I played with Everette Harp at Kuala Lumpur International Jazz festival and did 2 nights at Blue Note Tokyo.
I also performed with Oran Etkin (Grammy award winner) in Jakarta and Ambon Jazz festival.
I’m also performing with my own quartet, Sandy Winarta quartet.
I’m heavily influenced by the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Wynton Kelly, Grant Green, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Shelly Manne, Thelonius Monk, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Bill Stewart, Keith Jarret, Jack DeJohnette, Brian Blade, Jean Michel Pilc, Ari Hoenig, Aaron Goldberg, Kenny Werner, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garret, Gilad Hekselmann, Marcus Gilmore and many more.”

Joey Alexander is considered to be a Jazz Prodigy in Indonesia.
When he was 6 years old, his parents brought home a mini keyboard and to their astonishment Joey could play a melody line of ‘Well you needn’t’ (a Jazz piece written by Thelonious Monk).
“He started piano lessons at the age of 6. But his real enjoyment is sitting in for jam sessions.” – says his father.
In December, 2011 Joey was invited by UNESCO to play solo piano in front of Jazz Icon Herbie Hancock during his visit to Indonesia as United Nations Ambassador.
Now at the age of 9, Joey has performed and collaborated with top Jazz musicians in Indonesia among others Indra Lesmana (Pianist/Composer), Benny Likumahua (Legendary Jazz musician/ Trombonist), Idang Rasjidi (Jazz Pianist), Oele Patisellano (Legendary Guitarist), Indro Hardjodikoro (Bass player), Barry Likumahua (Bass player) and also with some visiting Jazz musicians from Europe.
He has performed in Java International Jazz Festival, Jakarta International Jazz Festival, Jazz Goes To Campus, World Youth Jazz Festival in KL, Indonesia Music House Lokananta- Indosiar TV and @america music
In 2013 Joey Alexander is again scheduled to perform in several international festivals besides Master-Jam Fest.

General Information
Master-Jam Fest is an International Festival-contest of jazz improvisation skills. Realization of this project will have a significant impact upon popularization of jazz music and promotion of the importance and role of jazz performers in the musical community.
Master-Jam Fest will also have a positive impact on development of the general musical culture. This can be achieved through Internet and TV shows for which the scenario presented below can become one of the most top rated among musical shows. Jazz jam sessions possess exclusive features — improvisational competitiveness, dynamism and expression. These features of jazz have a large potential and can attract a large part of Internet users and TV viewers, including youth.
Jury of the festival will play a significant role in this musical show because it will be composed of leading jazz experts and such jazz connoisseurs as popular men of art, politicians, businessmen and public figures.

Master-Jam-Festival is a unique event,
one of a kind in the world!

Project is protected under copyright law