Eye2Eye Jazz Mix
Albert Yap bass
Johan "JP" Abdullah piano
"Boy" Abdul Rahman drums
Eddie Kismilardy saxophone
Jordan Rivers guitar and vocals
Style: free jazz and jazz fusion
Country: Malaysia
One of the hardest things to do in life is to understand and indulge on an art borrowed from the ancestors of jazz and their predecessors. Jazz is an intricate art, yet full of instinctive and spontaneous beauty, the finesse that most musicians strive to achieve.
Eye2Eye Jazz Mix, formed in 1998, by three Kuala Lumpur musicians, aspires to embark on a journey of artistic experience. A road that knows no boundaries which leads to spontaneous musical interpretation, enchanting harmonies, complex rhythms and a sound developed decades ago from the shores of America, which the world recognized as Jazz music.
To cultivate an understanding of this Afro-American art needs serious and focused theoretical and practical study. The rank of student and professional musicians alike have accepted it as a lifetime commitment to excel in jazz, an undeniable fact which jazz musicians agree unanimously. This has become the ultimate challenge posed by an ever-evolving art form that influenced many modern music arrangement and composition.
Eye2Eye Jazz Mix had to endure a working trend so common in the Far East, a trend that club owners and the local audience expect musicians to perform all kinds of music. Thus, there was a dilemma between “playing everything” and being selective for gigs. Albeit all that had happened, they remained positive to the thought that the local entertainment scene will evolve to cater for jazz musicians.
Later, the trio became a quintet. Many musicians do experience the freedom of musical expression that the group offers. The motto was simply to play your heart out. The essence of respect keeps the band together. They have different cultural and ethnic origins of Malay, Chinese, Indian and English! No wonder there is a mix in their jazz.
Albert Yap, born in 1964, plays the bass, spokesperson and leader of the quintet. He studied classical guitar at the age of 11. It presented the ability to play the music of Fernando Sor and Francesco Tarrega. He joined his first band in his early teens, which turned out to be a wedding band that had gigs every weekend. The sounds of jazz fusion overcame him in the early 80’s. While studying for an economics degree in the U.S., he was attracted to different musical genre of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. He took up the bass as his principal instrument after listening to Stanley Clark and Jaco Pastorious and studied from books and professional musicians. His music influence is wide, from classical, rock to jazz. Besides performing with Eye2Eye Jazz Mix, Albert is also actively involved as a session musician in Kuala Lumpur.
Eddie Kismilardy, born in 1957, began his career with the Royal Malaysian Air Force. He studied the saxophone during his service and performed with the Royal Air Force Orchestra. After completing his service, he joined a popular band in Kuala Lumpur. They called themselves “Brothers in Soul” and enjoyed considerable success. Eddie’s career in music took him to exotic destinations like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and Italy. There were also jazz festivals that Eddie attended as a musician. Among them are Asean Jazz Festival 1992 and Bangkok International Jazz Festival 1996. His main influences on the saxophone are Michael Brecker and David Sanborn. Eddie is the principal alto saxophonist with the National Broadcasting Centre (RTM) Orchestra.
Raja Abdul Rahman , born in 1958, better known as ”Boy” to his colleagues, has been playing the drums since his teenage days. His early influence was Average White Band and Earth Wind & Fire. His band then was playing mainly dance covers at parties and local clubs. During the late 70’s until the mid 80’s, “Boy” achieved huge success with his band “Carefree”. They had three albums to their credit. “Boy” left “Carefree” to join dynamic Singaporean pop diva, Anita Sarawak, and became a prominent part of the rhythm section. They had performed in major Asian cities like Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Today, “Boy” recalls fondly of his humble beginnings that showed him the importance of being a true professional and is a role model to many budding musicians in Malaysia. Aside from commitments with Eye2Eye Jazz Mix, “Boy” is also a resident drummer with the National Broadcast Centre (RTM).
Johan “JP” Abdullah, born in 1957, studied classical music at a very young age. Piano was his first love. By the age of 10, he had won more than 50 awards at music festivals and competitions in England. By the time he was 12, Johan had performed with the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra in London. He also performed “Chopin” at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Among the 5,000 audience was Lord Louis Mountbatten. “JP”, later on graduated from the Royal Academy of Music (London) in classical piano performance. After graduation, “JP” traveled to teach and perform in the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur always felt like home that “JP” chose to reside permanently. Among his achievements are:
- Won “Best Producer” Award at the Akedemi Industri Muzik Malaysia awards
- Arranger & Producer - “Muzik Tan Sri P.Ramlee” album by Bolshoi Orchestra
- Arranger & Performer – Bangkok International Jazz Festival
Jordan Rivers, born in 1959, as a boy, followed his father to perform at Hindu temples with other temple musicians who were his father’s age. He took up the guitar during his teens. 70’s Rock music was the trend of that time. Jordan was a fast learner. He practiced until he would memorize all the lyrics and guitar riffs & solos. Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore were his main influence then. Many years later, Jordan would listen to many modern day jazz guitar maestros like George Benson, Pat Metheny and Frank Gambale. Having the patience to transcribe their tunes has also taught Jordan the various techniques employed. When he is not on a gig, Jordan spends time either with his students or with producing songs for his album productions. He has a Gospel album to his credit, which features Randy Bernsen on some tunes.