Jazz in the air

Nils Landgren

December, the coolest month on the calendar, comes with lots of fun outdoor events that take advantage of the pleasant temperatures and delightful northern winds. One of the best of these is the annual Bangkok Jazz Festival, which is in its fifth year. This time there is an unusually small lineup, plus a change in venue, from the longserving Sanam Sua Pa to the grounds of the First Battalion Regiment King's Own Bodyguard on VibhavadiRangsit Road.

For the past four years, jazz fans got to enjoy the music on a green lawn. But with the participants growing in number, the organiser Terminal Extra was prompted to relocate the festival venue to a bigger place, with supposedly better grounds. The fete was so crowded last year that you couldn't stretch your legs or lay down on the lawn like you used to be able to do.

The Royal Regiment's ground is capable of accommodating up to 50,000 people - which is substantially more than the old venue.

On tap is a string of local, regional and international jazz talents. Added to the playlist are elements of funk, rock, samba, Latin and pop. From Sweden comes trombonist Nils Landgren. Former producer and backup musician for the classic disco group Abba, Landgren returns to his jazzy roots and teams up with peer musicians collectively known as the Funk Unit. Emerging Swedish band MusicMusicMusic is to make their Thailand debut at the festival. Dubbed the "trio of happiness", the band is set to showcase their fun mix of jazz, electronica, rock and swing.

"To be invited to Bangkok Jazz Festival is a great honour for us," drummer Michael Edlund told Weekend in an email interview. "We have never performed in Thailand before. We are really thrilled about this. We are very curious to find out what the Thai jazz scene is like.

"We've heard from jazz musiciancolleagues that the scene for the festival is something very special. We will be playing mostly songs from 'What's A Good Boss Anyway?' and maybe one or two well known but unexpected songs."

MusicMusicMusic's debut, "What's A Good Boss Anyway?", met with acclaim from Scandinavian critics and is regarded as one of the best jazz albums from Sweden in 2005. The band is working on its second album, "Everybody Digs", due for release in Sweden in March.

This year, the organiser is trying to break way from the European jazz sphere that Thai jazz festivals have concentrated on during the past few years, and feature talents from other countries. For example, Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project and Blood Sweat & Tears from the US will be performing.

Vibraphonist and marimba player Dave Samuels from Chicago gained his greatest fame in the fusion group Spyro Gyra. Know for Latin style, he's been affiliated with the Caribbean Jazz Project since the early '90s.

Blood Sweat & Tears from New York are known for their hybrid blend of rock, R&B and jazz. With such hits as "Spinning Wheel" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy", BS&T have been praised one of the best groups the 1960s ever produced.

From the UK, meet Shakatak and Matt Bianco. The jazzfunk band from London, Shakatak, scored an underground hit with its debut single "Steppin'", cracking the British Top 50 in 1981 and have since enjoyed fame in England as well as Japan for the past two decades. The group performed at the first Bangkok Jazz Festival in 2003.

The duo Matt Bianco, founded in 1982, evolved into one England's top modern jazz bands. Blending acid jazz with pop and even Cuban rhythms, their works have been ranked among the best of mix breed jazz.

Japanese king of new age music, Kitaro, is also in the lineup, as is veteran Dutch pop singer Laura Fygi and several Asian musicians including guitarist Jack Lee.

In previous years the event featured jazz superstars like Al Jarreau, Dave Grusin, Earl Klugh, David Sanborn, Lisa Ono, Selena Jones and many others, which helped make Bangkok Jazz Festival a substantial, solid jazz fete. It's a festival that devoted jazz fans look forward to. Judging from the line up alone, this year's jazzy vibe is overshadowed by pop music and easy listening jazz.

So if you don't mind the steep ticket prices, a nighttime picnic with some music on the weekend does not sound too bad an idea.

It will also be easier to park at the event, as the new venue has room for more cars - here again, a great improvement over Sanam Sua Pa. And last year, festival goers who didn't drive to and from the event needed to take taxis and it was not fun to fight for a taxi ride back home at the end of the night. This year's venue is also better served by public transportation.

Getting there will be easy: Just take the Skytrain to Sanam Pao station and you're only a few hundred metres away from the venue. Latenight stragglers at the festival might still be fighting over taxis at the end of the night, though, since the Skytrain closes at midnight.