Movies & Music

Indra Lesmana, Barry Likumahuwa & Sandy Winarta impress Tokyo's jazz loversIndonesia's jazz lovers have never doubted Indra Lesmana's rare abilities, always in evidence at his virtuoso performances. His awesome talent and hands-on experience have assured him his rightful place as an icon of Indonesia's modern jazz. At the age of ten, Indra Lesmana began to chart his musical career, influenced in no small measure by his late father, Jack Lesmana. His father, then Indonesia's multi-instrumental jazz legend, discovered his musical talents through original yet creative improvisations, ever present in his numerous performances.

Indra moved to Sydney, Australia in 1978 with his family where he commenced his studies at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. Looking back at his life in Australia, Indra commented, "It was a wonderful experience indeed. I used to have a great piano teacher, Paul McNamara and I still keep in touch with him. As a professional musician, the most important thing to keep up with is how to stay motivated and be inspired by others. I have tried to maintain this attitude throughout my career as jazz musician." He added," I remember I had to drive a van myself while on tour performing at various universities."LLW's album, Love Life Wisdom

Indra had the opportunity to meet some world famous jazz musicians including Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Mark Murphy, David Baker, and Terumasa Hino, and he did not waste any time in sharing his experience with them. With his late father, Indra released an album entitled "Children of Fantasy" in 1981, and again, in August 1982, with his latin-jazz-fusion band, comprising his late father, Steve Brien, Dale Barlow, Tony Thijssen and Harry Rivers, held a memorable performance at Jakarta's Mandarin Hotel as well as at several cities across Indonesia.

In 1985, Indra seized the opportunity and signed with Zebra Records/MCA Records in Los Angeles and released his two debut albums in the U.S. titled "No Standing" and "For Earth and Heaven". His singles "No Standing" (from the same-named album) and "Stephanie" (from "For Earth and Heaven") were successful hits and topped the list of the Billboard Charts for Jazz in the U.S., and climbing to number one on the radio charts.

Meeting Indra again recently after an earlier interview with him back in 1982, it's great to see that this Jakarta born musician is still as warm as ever, humble and forever charismatic. Yet he's also more mature, with a strong sense of both character and idealism, which has served him well during his continued success in the music industry.

Inside - Blue Note TokyoAt 45, Indra Lesmana has produced more than 50 albums thus far, and wrote over a hundred single hits since he released his first record at age 12. Throughout his musical explorations, Indra perceives limitations, genres and boundaries to be a challenge, another way to expand his discoveries in creativity. He devotes his life to music, and through independent community activities, is able to motivate and inspire young Indonesian musicians.

In 2010, Indra formed a group called LLW with two young and talented jazz musicians, bassist Barry Likumahuwa and drummer Sandy Winarta (LLW stands for the initials in each of their last names). In May 2010 they released an album called "Love, Life, Wisdom" in the form of mp3 distributed by iTunes, Reverbnation and Amazon as well as a CD. He said, "initially, I wanted to create a small group with fresh music but the quality must be on par with groups or albums abroad. Surprisingly, LLW received good raves in America's iTunes as we were listed as the no. 1 Jazz Artist in Reverbnation for Indonesia and no. 41 worldwide soon after, reaching the top 18 Jazz Best Sellers on iTunes in just a week. Then, in June 2011 LLW – Love Life Wisdom made it at no. 15 on the LA Times Magazine's World Playlist."

Indra also shared the story of how LLW got the chance to perform at the prestigious Blue Note Tokyo club. "Before the album was released, LLW had launched its single through iTunes and spread it all around the world, especially to the jazz clubs in the U.S., Europe and others," adds Indra, and "within two months, Blue Note Tokyo got it and they sent an offer for LLW to perform there." He commented, "In fact our group is already known in Japan and with the assistance of Peter Gontha, from Java Jazz Production, he made sponsorship from Garuda Indonesia and BNI 46 possible."Album's cover

LLW accompanied with the rapper Kyriz Boogiemen and jazz singer Dira Sugandi, they performed at the famous Blue Note Tokyo on December 28, 2011 with full house audiences at both the 7 pm and 9.30 pm shows respectively. Indra adds, "About 90% of the spectators were Japanese with only a few Indonesians. We performed all the pieces from our album along with my other compositions such as Moon Over Asia, and Reborn, to name a few. For each show, we spent around 80 minutes and it was simply an amazing experience personally for me."

"It's indeed a spectacular exposure when you play in front of an unknown audience. Then when you feel their excitement and get their applause, you feel energized and are enthusiastic to excel. You'll get the vibe when you watch our dvd later," Indra explains.

Indra Lesmana at the interview"Back Into Sumthin was the first piece I composed for our album. Then Stretch In Pause, it is a tribute to all Indonesian jazz all stars. So each one of our pieces has a story to share with the listeners."

Indra closed his interview by saying, "Indonesia definitely has a lot of young and talented jazz musicians. When I was younger, I did not have the luxury of Youtube or access to other on-line information back then. But nowadays the younger generation of jazz musicians has the advantage this vast information brings, but they also still need to create their own identity." Indra has certainly raised the bar for his fellow jazz musicians as well. He remains, however, the one who carries his father's legacy, Jack Lesmana who led Indonesia's jazz movement three decades earlier. It is no accident that the torch now rests safely in Indra's competent hands.