COME April 26 to 28, a brand new music festival awaits Papa Rock Datuk Ramli Sarip. Fresh from the success of his Konsert Doa Buat Kekasih at Istana Budaya last October, the Singapore-born rock legend is raring to go in KL Jamm.
In the three-day concert at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec), off Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, fans can sing along to his timeless songs, and those of his band Sweet Charity. And he will launch two treats for them — a box set of four compact discs (CDs) featuring 60 of his well-known singles from the last 25 years, and another, titled Blues Yang Hilang, featuring a similar number of unreleased songs which he recorded with an old friend during the same period.
Ramli at the recent launch of KL Jamm at Mitec explained that “the first is a fulfilment of a great idea which was suggested by an old friend, AirAsia’s Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, years ago. “And the second is my labour of love to Zulkifli Sultan, an old friend who passed away last year. He was a great guitarist who supported my career all these years.” said Ramli.
Ramli, one of the first Malaysians and regional artistes to launch his own CD box sets, said they would come with special T-shirts that commemorated 55 years of his singing career. “Next month, I’m getting together with my old friends from Sweet Charity, and we’ll be rocking Singapore in conjunction with the band’s 50th anniversary. We’ve not planned a Malaysian concert yet, but we hope to!”
STAR ATTRACTION
Another rock legend, Zamani Ibrahim of Slam, will also be a star attraction at KL Jamm. Even though he did not win Astro Ria’s veteran artistes’ singing challenge Gegar Vaganza 5 last year, the 47-year-old gained many new fans after it concluded.
“I’m honoured to be part of KL Jamm,” he said, “and it’s great to put our music legends, veterans and newcomers under one roof, celebrating Malaysian music in its many forms.”
Zamani has just recorded new single Aduh, which was written and composed by Faizal Tahir and Mike Chan. “It’s our very first collaboration, and we’re big fans of each other. It’s easy to work with Faizal, he knows exactly what he wants, and gives me a lot of freedom in how I want to perform the song.
“He was rooting for me during GV5 and collaborating with him is my way of saying thank you.”
Zamani will be singing his greatest hits including Gerimis Mengundang, as well as some of the cover versions he “tackled” during his days in GV5. “Who knows? I might give music lovers some Faizal songs, interpreted my way!” Aduh is set for a March release.
He also plans to have a reunion showcase with Slam in April, and this will also see the launch of a new single by the band.
THE GANG IS BACK
Multi-talented Datuk Afdlin Shauki is delighted to share the stage with his old friends Datuk Zainalabidin and Datuk Sheila Majid on the first night of KL Jamm.
He said: “It’s going to be a get-together of the stars of 1992’s iconic Ikhlas Tapi Jauh concert in Stadium Merdeka. Zainal, Sheila and I have been confirmed, and we will invite Amir Yusoff and Azman Warren to join us. We will be performing our own songs as well as some of the gems from that concert, and Ikhlas Tapi Jauh is definitely in the repertoire of our two-hour show called Re:Jamm.”
The other performing artistes at KL Jamm include OAG, Sheezay, Rabbit Mac and Amelina.
ANNUAL EVENT OF OLD AND NEW
Festival director Datuk Norman Abdul Halim said: “It’s going to be a yearly festival, where icons and legends as well as the newest artistes share the same platform. Music lovers can appreciate artistes from various decades, and better get to know the country’s most memorable stars.
“There will also be one or two international stars, to remind us that we should aim to put our music on the world stage.” These will be revealed next month.
The festival will always feature music legends and the latest artistes in rock, hip-hop, jazz and pop, he elaborated. “It is 10 concerts in one, with 10 stages on two floors, in the convention centre.”
Astro Radio chief executive officer Datuk Jake Abdullah said the stations had 15.3 million listeners, and KL Jamm is a great platform for them to reach out to music lovers.
Mitec chief executive officer Gunther Beissel said even though the venue was best known for exhibitions and trade fairs, it could easily play host to international music festivals.
“The building’s capacity and infrastructure gives it lots of potential for hosting international events, and these include music festivals, which are always a hit with Malaysians,” he said, adding that the concert halls have a seating capacity of 12,500.
Norman said a total of 50,000 tickets are available, priced between RM98 and RM888.
It is organised by Music Unlimited International, a subsidiary of KRU Music and sponsored by Astro Radio’s 11 channels namely Era, My, Hitz, Mix, Lite, Sinar, Raaga, Gegar, Melody, Zayan and Goxuan, with the support of Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
For more information, visit www.kljamm.com