Rozella performing at The Penang island Jazz Festival in December 2014.
KOTA KINABALU: The organizer of the annual Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival (KKJF) has been a huge advocate in promoting local Sabahan artists and musicians outside of the state.
KKJF which is jointly organized by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu and the Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (SPArKS) sponsored local singer-songwriter Rozella Mahjhrin to perform at the Penang Island Jazz Festival (PIJF) 2014’s Malaysia Creative Fringe Stage back in December.
This is KKJF’s annual initiative to give one deserving performer from KKJF an opportunity to gain experience and exposure on a bigger stage.
Rozella who made her debut at the KKJF this year, was one of three winners of the Jazz Stars who earned a spot on the centre stage. She performed at the PIJF 2014 alongside band members Bryan Limus (bassist) and Zekiel Keridau (percussionist).
The trio performed for three days at the festival which was held in Hard Rock Hotel Penang, Bayview Beach Resort and Park Royal Penang Resort. It was the first of its kind, as they experimented with a jazz and chill out electronic sound.
“Performing at the Penang Island Jazz Festival this year was definitely a highlight of 2014. It was such an amazing and humbling experience to be able to share a stage with so many other talented artists from all across Malaysia. It was definitely eye opening and I am very grateful to the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival for giving me this opportunity to share my music with more people,” Rozella said.
She added: “We have so much of talent in Sabah and hopefully initiatives like this will help create a spotlight for our local artists and drive them to continuously improve and push their music out there. It has definitely given me the confidence to keep writing more songs and pursue what I love.”
Rozella is a singer-songwriter whose first single ‘Genevieve’ reached number two on the HitzFM Sabah Borneo English Top 10 Charts in February 2014. Her song ‘Blackbird’ was the official anthem of Walk for Autism Sabah 2014 and her original composition ‘Shattered Dreams’ also received second placement in the Song of the Year 2013 international songwriting competition. She is scheduled to perform in Kuala Lumpur in January 2015.
Other artists from Sabah who were also sponsored by KKJF to perform at the previous PIJFs include Momain Blues, Jonathan Tse, Gee Mojina and Elixir.
KKJF aims to continue providing similar opportunities for more local artists in the years to come.
The ninth KKJF will be held on July 24 and 25, this year. For more information, visit https://www.kkjazzfest.com