Abdul Karim (right) and other guests being treated to a special boat lute performance during the reception at Coco Cabana.
MIRI (June 24): The Borneo Jazz Festival serves as a perfect platform to ‘rejuvenate, rediscover, rekindle and rebuild the jazz connection’, Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has said.
Entering its 17th edition this year and being staged at Coco Cabana here until tomorrow, the event is expected to welcome 3,000 guests throughout the weekend.
Speaking at a press conference during the ‘Borneo Jazz Sunset Welcome Reception’ at Coco Cabana today, Abdul Karim said the festival would be hosting new programmes and performances under the theme ‘Jazz in the Jungle’ under a hybrid format.
“It can be enjoyed both physically and virtually.
“One of the new programmes was the Borneo Jazz FAB LAB – a new artistes’ residency programme consisting of an intensive six-week interactive workshop in Miri for 30 musicians.
“It ran from May 9 until June 18, 2022,” he said.
FAB LAB was led by two international musicians: Chris Stalk who is a saxophonist, a composer and a music arranger from France, and Jules Vulzor who is a bassist, a producer and DJ from Switzerland.
Adding on, Abdul Karim said the Simfoni Orkestra Negeri Sarawak (SONS) under Sarawak Arts Council would also be showcasing its first performance at Borneo Jazz 2022.
Other activities at the festival include the Artisanal Craft Bazaar by Artsy Fartsy, which gathers some 40 artisans offering basketry, beads, food and drinks, as well as many other items at their respective booths.
Those who are into traditional musical instruments can explore the festival’s first-ever ‘Boat Lute Exhibition’, running from 11am to 7pm daily until tomorrow. Visitors get to learn about the processes and the sounds of this instrument, especially during the sharing-session conducted by the boat lute practitioners, commencing at 2pm.
Borneo Jazz 2022 also focuses on responsible tourism, highlighted through three projects.
One of them is the ‘Eco Drum Project’ – an eco-friendly initiative and community music outreach programme that involves creating unique drums and percussion instruments from recycled items.
Another one is the ‘Eco Art Project’ – a collaborative effort with Miri City Council and MYY Living Arts, which is an eco-art installation art programme that is the continuation of the Borneo Jazz Beat Plastic Campaign initiated in 2019.
Similar to the iconic Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Jazz also has the ‘ecoGreenPlanet’ programme, where RM10 from every RM25 sale of the Borneo Jazz virtual ticket would go towards a tree-planting activity set to be conducted after the festival.
The event was also attended by Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts I Datuk Sebastian Ting, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau who is also Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chairman, and STB chief executive officer Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor.