The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

Bieber cancels one of two Portugal dates

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 09:29 PM PST

LISBON: Canadian teen heartthrob Justin Bieber has cancelled one of two scheduled concerts in Portugal next week, just after completing what he admitted had been a rough week in London, promoters said Saturday.

Within a few days, the 19-year-old pop sensation angered some of his fans for being late on stage, then suffered a health scare and was involved in a foul-mouthed confrontation with a photographer.

Music promoters "Everything is new" said on their website that Bieber cancelled his Tuesday Lisbon concert "due to unforeseen circumstances", but insisted the teen idol was still keen to perform on Monday.

A Portuguese newspaper had said that, while the first date was sold out, ticket sales had been suspended for the second night due to insufficient demand.

Penang’s rustic roots

Posted: 09 Mar 2013 04:40 PM PST

Penang's Popular Music Of The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, chronicles the island's birth as a music hub.

THERE'S credence to the belief that music thrives in an open society, like it did 70 years ago in the Peninsula's first industrial state. Even before the Pearl of the Orient's prodigal son, Jimmy Boyle, put down the first notes of Putera Puteri, Penang's music culture was already taking shape, part by part, by the various communities that made up the island's society.

Naturally, the influence of Japanese occupation and the return of the British after WWII impacted the burgeoning scene in Penang. In no other state would music flourish quite like it did through the ensuing decades, and that story is captured charmingly in Penang's Popular Music of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, an exhibition by the Penang State Museum and Art Gallery, in collaboration with The Capricorn Connection and Think City.

What is explicitly obvious from the ongoing event is the research involved, and Capricorn Connection co-founder Paul Augustin admits that it was a Herculean task, adding that the quest took his team as far as the Netherlands, Italy, Britain and Australia.

"It was difficult mainly because many families of Penang's legendary musicians were hesitant to share their material. But this is a story that needs to be told. The younger generation barely knows any of these people," said Augustin during a recent interview.

While legends Tan Sri P. Ramlee and Ahmad Nawab have etched themselves into Malaysian popular music folklore, the likes of Boyle, Ahmad Merican, Larry Rodrigues, Joe Rozells, Rudy Baum, the Rajamoney brothers, Ooi Ewe Jin, Zainal Alam, Jimmy Ooi, Robert Tan, David Ng, Teddy Beh, Ahmad Daud and, Albert and Nancy Yeoh, have yet to enjoy similar music royalty status, even though it's fully deserved.

The exhibition, at the museum's new wing at 57, Macalister Road, hosts 10 rooms, featuring Penang's music development through the 1940s and 1950s; radio, TV and cinema's role in disseminating the arts, dance and ethnic culture; and the 1960s boom, among other things. Music in the state then was a melting pot of styles and sounds. From jazzy tunes to sweet, innocent ballads and, surfy excursions to accordion-driven skiffle and Hawaiian melodies, Penang not only echoed its surroundings, but the world music movement.

Is it due to the sight and sound of the ocean, which perhaps caters to a more laid back lifestyle? There may be no scientific proof to this, but what else could explain the musical talent that streamed out of the island in the post World War decades?

Digging deep

Sourcing material and stories for the exhibition (which had its first run, albeit a smaller version, in 2010), on occasion, took on the primitive approach of simply sitting down with the people in the know for a chat.

"If they didn't know something we were looking for, then they'd direct us to the people who knew better," Augustin said about the information procurement process.

While Penang's music heritage is a tightly-woven tapestry of various indigenous cultures and foreign influences coalescing, it remains to be seen what inspiration musicians sought to begin playing music in the first place. What's clear to Augustin is, Penang's music development was an ever-evolving process.

Like for any thriving music culture, opportunities need to exist, and the exhibition glorifies venerable venues (many of which still exist today) like the E&O, Shanghai Hotel, Runnymede, Springtide Hotel, Penang Club, Sandycroft, Green Parrot and others.

The programme notes for the exhibition, lovingly and respectfully put together by Augustin's partner, James Lochhead, details the intricacies of these places, the music that was played and the people who performed there.

For instance, the Choong family, who purchased both the E&O and Runnymede in 1951, sold the latter to the British War Department the same year on condition that it could not be used as designed, a hotel, for 30 years. Then there's the Shanghai Hotel, which catered to German U-Boat crew. When the Germans requested a special drum roll from the musicians for a toast, and then smashed their glasses to the floor, it signified the loss of a U-boat.

The exhibition also touches on war-time propaganda, and how music in Penang continually blossomed, despite the tyranny of Japanese occupation. An exemplary tale of human endeavour is how Ahmad Merican defied the Japanese by finding loop holes to broadcast Western music.

Places and circumstances apart, the main draw of this window into Penang's past is still the musicians. A plethora of pictures, posters and music paraphernalia (jukeboxes and gramophones) are scattered across the exhibition space. For those who knew Boyle, they describe him as a talented and gracious musician who also taught at St Xavier Institution. His compositions, such as Ingat Ingat, Jauh Jauh, Api Dan Air, and Bunga Negara, have echoed in concert halls as far as Europe.

Legends to remember

Joe Rozells is recognised as the "king of Hawaiian guitar"; Rudy Baum, "Penang's father of country music"; and Larry Rodrigues as the preeminent jazz guitar hero in the country, who played for Boyle. Then there are the songbirds, like Colleen Read, Kathleen Rodrigues and Ruby Rozells, to name a few.

Augustin, as a young boy growing up in Penang, was privy to some of these acts. "During the research, I learned new names of artistes and singers, too. When I initially heard Jimmy Boyle, I was blown away. Likewise with David Ng and Teddy Beh," he intimated, immersed in nostalgia.

Ultimately, Augustin hopes that this exhibition is merely the tip of the iceberg for a more comprehensive archiving of Penang's unique and rich music history. "It would be great for us to have a permanent residency, and with something more concrete, we can choose and create different themes through time."

Local musicians aside, Penang was also graced by a world-renowned musician, who cut his teeth playing bass with Boyle before returning to Britain to join the blues boom there in the 1960s. Danny Thompson joined the Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and later went on to form the British folk rock band Pentangle. Throughout his stellar recording career, he has filled the bass player role for the likes of Donovan, Nick Drake, Davey Graham, Marianne Faithful and Peter Gabriel, to name a few.

For non-Penangites, travelling all the way to the island for an exhibition might seem like a chore, but Augustin believes that the island is an attraction unto itself.

"Music is an important part of culture. We hope people can appreciate the contributions and achievements of these musicians. And because they gave us so much joy with their song and dance, we should celebrate their legacy."

There might be better sales pitches, but this is a hard one to beat.

Penang's Popular Music of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s exhibition at the Penang State Museum and Art Gallery, 57, Macalister Road, Penang is open daily, 9am-5pm. Admission is free. The exhibition ends on April 30. For more info, call 04-226 1461.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 10 Mac 2013

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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