Concert
Monica Akihary’s roots go back to the Molucca Islands, one of Indonesia’s archipelagos, also known as the Spice Islands. Spicy indeed could be a characteristic attributed to the singer who belongs to the Moluccan minority in Holland. She sings in the tongue common to the Haruku Island, a language that is spoken by only a few thousand people remaining. Rather than preserving the island’s tradition she strives to develop new conventions. Together with her partner Niels Brouwer, a guitarist, she has been studying the music of Southern India, a fact that has obviously influenced the sound on the latest album Uwa. The Indian tabla-virtuoso Sandip Bhattacharya, a student of Shankar, and the cellist Ernst Reijseger round off the quartet.
The English trombonist Dennis Rollins – born in Birmingham in 1964, the first year of the Berlin Jazz Festival – inaugurates this year’s English focus. The son of Jamaican immigrants combines the spirit of reggae with the energy of jazz. He takes credit for writing black jazz history with the Jazz Warriors in England during the eighties. The press has often compared him to the Americans Fred Wesley and Julian Priester and it is not surprising that he has put his instrument in the service of pop-groups like The Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai and Blur, as well as the likes of Courtney Pine and US3. With his powerful, groove-dominated sound he is a mediator between swing and funk. At times his vocal contributions resemble Johnny Guitar Watson. When Rollins enters the stage with his band Badbone & Co he puts on a show reminiscent of most memorable moments in funk jazz.
Monica Akihary – vocals
Niels Brouwer – guitar
Sandip Bhattacharya – tabla, percussion
Ernst Reijseger – cello
Dennis Rollins – trombone, electronics, voice
Jay Phelps – trumpet
Johnny Heyes – guitar
John Escreet – piano, keys
Zoltan Dekany – bass
Samuel Agard – drums