PROGARCHIEVE

By Kev Rowland
Never let it be said that I don't do my research, so here are a few facts regarding IKYWMC's
home country, Indonesia. While many people, especially those from the Northern Hemisphere,
may be working under the assumption that it is just a small group of islands somewhere north of
Australia, it is, in terms of population, the fourth largest country on earth (behind China, India,
and the US) with a current estimated population of 250 million, which is somewhat different to
the UK's 65 million and NZ's 4.5!! It is an archipelago that comprises over 17,000 islands, which
go to form a land mass equating to 1,919,440 square kilometres (735,355 square miles) which
means that it is the 19th largest country in terms of land. As well as being one of the largest
countries in the world they are also mad on music, which is why Leo spends so much time down
there unearthing real gems, and yet again he has made a rock solid find with the debut from this
instrumental quartet.

These guys have been influenced by progressive rock, psychedelic rock, improvisational jazz and
other forms and have brought it all together in an incredible fusion album showing elements of
Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis and Hatfield & The North
among others (just to name a few). Incredibly, this album was recorded in just 18 hours, with
most of the material being either first or second takes. Although there are large elements of 'free
jazz' in what they are doing, there is also a great deal of structure and the melodies and
intricacies are sublime. They are also very conscious of the arrangements and need for space, and
it is not unusual for there are to be long passages where only one or two are actually playing and
the others let them get on with it. It is going to be very easy for the rhythm section of bassist
Enriko Gultom and drummer Alfiah Akbar to be overlooked, as although they display incredible
skills and intuitive playing they are there for the supporting roles behind the two writers and
soloists, guitarist Reza Ryan and keyboard player Adi Wijiya. They combine, separate, let each
other take the full spotlight, with a delicacy of touchy and fluidity of playing that is quite
inspired. Adi's playing, especially when he is using piano, is full of emotion and lightness of
touch while Reza is for me channelling the skills and dexterity of a young John McLaughlin.
Although the closing song "A Dancing Girl From Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love"
may not have the spelling quite right, I am sure that it is a tribute to the man himself, and is one
of two where they feature some wonderful guest sax from Nicholas Combe who sounds right at
home.

The album is a delight from start to finish, and I have to concur with the statement from Sid
Smith that is included in the digipak "The time you spend getting to know this music will be time
well spent indeed". If this is their debut, what on earth are they going to come up with next?
Fusion really doesn't get any better than this.

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[Link]

By Roger Trenwith

Another trip to Indonesia and another band is discovered on one of Leonardo Pavkovic's
many forays into the vast music scene of that mysterious archipelago. This time round, the
band in question is the beguilingly named I Know You Well Miss Clara.

Hailing from the city of Yogyakarta, on the southern shore of Java Island, about 550km
east-southeast of Jakarta, this young band are far more than the obvious talent of Reza
Ryan; the dexterous rhythm section comprising bass player Enriko Gultom and drummer
Alfiah Akbar supporting Reza and the equally prodigious talents of keyboard player Adi
Wijaya making a sum total that somehow manages to exceed the not inconsiderable
individual parts.

This exciting combo make a modern day noise to equal the visceral excitement of
the Mahavishnu Orchestra in its prime. Yes, they are that good. It is unusual for me to get
so hot under the collar about modern jazz fusion, as a lot of it leaves me cold, technical
proficiency often taking precedence over feeling. Not with this group, far from it; I Know
You Well Miss Clara have soul by the bucketload, and never let their undoubtedly stellar
individual chops overpower the group dynamic.

Kicking off proceedings is the jointly Wijaya/Ryan composed Open The Door, See The
Ground, a song used to highlight the talents of all four individuals and the ensemble as
whole. Abstract piano, subtle rhythmic changes and surges of angular guitar, all interact
with a panache that belies the fact that this band have only been playing together for three
years. A smile is induced by the subtle borrowing of a Mahavishnu melody towards the end
of the song. Listening to this marvellous piece of fusion music the listener knows that this is
going to be one little gem of an album.

Fusing the feel of a young John Etheridge, with snatches of Phil Miller and a large helping
of his musical hero John McLaughlin, Reza uses the greater part of Conversation to
showcase the former influence. Playing in tandem with some low-key piano and brushed
drums, Reza and friends create an oasis of laid back and languid calm that speaks without
the need for raised voices. Incidentally, a related piece called Coversation No.1 was
originally titled I Know You Well Miss Clara after a girlfriend of Reza's, until Enriko
suggested it would make a good group name.

Apart from the first track, the only other song where Reza is assisted in the composition
department is Pop Sick Love Carousel. Adi Wijaya and Enriko Gultom lend a hand on this
one, and being a student of the classic prog era, Reza inserts a guitar phrase at the beginning
that seems to come from early Jade Warrior. I wonder if Reza is aware of the rather
obscure early prog combo that was one of the first Western bands to use Eastern influence
in its music? It would be good to think so, the influence coming full circle as it were.
This song is a lull before the wonderfully assertive venture into the territory previously
occupied by the Mahavishnu Orchestra at their most poetic that is Reverie #2. Structured
more as a suite than a song, an introductory passage of highly melodic and wistful guitar is
followed by a spotlight falling on Adi's Chick Corea-like electric piano, backed by some
dancing percussion and playful bass from the ever inventive rhythm section.

Then Reza lets fly with blistering flurries of notes right out of the space that McLaughlin
used to inhabit; but this is not mere mimicry, no, this is played with an individual style and
emotional impact that highlights the skill and empathy of the man holding the plectrum.
What is it about Indonesia and stunning guitarists? Must be something in the water, but
whatever it is, Moonjune Records keep it coming.

The six note underlying theme is then played and mirrored by the piano and some bubbling
wah-bass, the spooky ambience reminding us of the title of the piece. Bass drum and cymbal
crashes charge the atmosphere as the song lurches up the scale to its resolution, returning to
the becalmed guitar theme. This song is up there with anything on the fabulous Burden Of
Proof album from Soft Machine Legacy earlier in the year, which is saying something. As
far as I'm concerned Soft Machine Legacy are the current benchmark of jazz-fusion, and this
band bear comparison, especially on the final two tracks where they are joined by guest
saxophonist Nicholas Combe. Wearing its influences on its sleeve, the final track, A
Dancing Girl From Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love, combines the SML
atmosphere with Reza's love of all things McLaughlin to produce a joyously triumphal
tribute in the spirit of Mahavishnu's Dance Of The Maya.

From the darker hues of Open The Door... via the wonderfully inventive Reverie #2 to the
lyrical playing of Conversation and the heart-tugging emotional impact of Love Letter From
Canada, all bases are covered, and a new chapter in jazz fusion is written. This music will
take you to higher places, and, if you only buy one truly progressive jazz fusion album this
year, don't; buy two, get this to go with Burden Of Proof and you will not be disappointed!

Conclusion: 8.5 out of 10

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ALL ABOUT JAZZ

By Glenn Astarita
It's another nascent progressive jazz-rock band from Indonesia—with the idiosyncratic
moniker—brought to us by the New York-based record label, Moonjune Records. The group
sound and makeup tenders yet another slant from this region that to varying degrees, impart
ethnocentric folk with Western musical concepts. With its debut, the young quartet's rite of
passage is largely centered on climactic buildups, spiced with dense and haunting phraseology,
where they entwine an aggregation of moody passages and breezy interludes before zooming in
for the kill.

The musicians disclose asymmetrical layers consisting of Reza Ryan's crunching guitar licks and
keyboardist Adi Wijaya's sleek keys voicings, at times summoning imagery of weightlessness.
Consequently, they take their time establishing themes while also engaging in gutsy exchanges
and seething choruses. The players also delve into the free-zone on occasion, extending their
collective sense of adventurism and shine forth as astute improvisers. It's easy to discern that the
quartet set its targeted goals with a strong focus on compositional development. So, if you're
looking for a speed-demon type jazz-fusion gala, awash with dizzying time signatures and
cyclical solo spots, then Chapter One may not fit the bill.

"Pop Sick Love Carousel" is a prime example of the band's propensity to morph drifting plots
with frothiness and profound soloing mechanisms into an elongated melody line. Moreover,
Wijaya launches into a brisk organ solo, prompting his cohorts to lash out and nestle into a
popping groove. On "Reverie #2," they mix it up via an expressionistic sortie into a towering
cadenza atop drummer Alfiah Akbar's weighty backbeats amid Wijaya's ascending block chords
on piano, and Ryan's high-volume, distortion-drenched chord progressions.

Saxophonist Nicholas Combe sits in on two tracks, and joins the frontline for a few sinuous
unison runs and ominous storylines, amped by Ryan's stinging solos and brawny developments,
packed with a great deal of chutzpah. Hence, it's a well-formed and thought-provoking agenda
that imparts additional insight on subsequent listens. The band uses space and depth as a means
for appending colorful textures and a vehicle for refreshing previously stated motifs.
Track Listing: Open the Door, See the Ground; Conversation; Pop Sick Love Carousel; Reverie
#2; Love Letter from Canada; Dangerous Kitchen; Dancing Girl from the Planet; Marsavishnu
Named After the Love.

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PROGSPHERE

By Raffaella Berry
With their rather intriguing handle (allegedly referring to a former girlfriend of guitarist Reza
Ryan‘s), accompanied by equally intriguing cover artwork, I Know You Well Miss Clara are the
latest gem unearthed by Moonjune Records‘ Leonardo Pavkovic in the thriving Indonesian music
scene. The quartet join fellow countrymen simakDialog, Tohpati and Ligro on the New York
label‘s ever-growing roster of progressive artists with their debut album, aptly titled Chapter
One. Formed in 2010 in the erstwhile Indonesian capital of Yogyakarta (which is also a
renowned centre for Javanese classical art and culture) when its members were studying at the
Indonesia Institute for the Arts, the band caught Pavkovic‘s attention during one of his frequent
trips to South-East Asia in search of new talent.
As pointed out in the liner notes (penned by esteemed music writer and King Crimson
biographer Sid Smith), Chapter One was recorded in 18 hours, all of the tracks being first or
second takes – a testimony to the band‘s energy and enthusiasm for their craft. The album itself
offers a refreshing take on the classic jazz-rock template so well interpreted in the Seventies by
the likes of Return to Forever, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra – the latter being by
far the biggest influence on the band‘s sound. Canterbury outfits such as Hatfield and the North
and National Health are also a clear source of inspiration for I Know You Well Miss Clara, as
indicated by a playful exuberance that speaks volumes about the members‘ enjoyment of music-
making, coupled (though never in conflict) with a very high level of technical proficiency.
If compared with simakDialog (whose latest album, The 6th Story, was released at the same time
as Chapter One) I Know You Well Miss Clara are more firmly rooted in the Western jazz-rock
tradition, with a lone drummer (the excellent Alfiah Akbar) employing a standard kit rather than
a trio of kendangpercussionists. Opening track ―Open the Door, See the Ground‖ starts out
sedately, then veers into a more experimental mood, with dramatic drums and whooshing, spacey
synth complementing Ryan‘s sizzling yet tasteful solo. The interplay between the guitar and Adi
Wijaya‘s piano (both electric and acoustic) is spotlighted in the appropriately-titled
―Conversation‖, a more laid-back piece with an entrancing ebb-and-flow movement and plenty
of melody. This elegant yet accessible approach, injected with sudden surges of energy driven by
organ and guitar, is also pursued in the Canterbury-flavoured―Pop Sick Love Carousel‖; while
the album‘s centerpiece, the almost 15-minute ―Reverie #2‖, starts out at a slow-burning pace,
then gradually gains momentum – both piano and guitar emoting in almost improvisational
fashion, bolstered by Enriko Gultom‘s nimble bass lines – slowing down again towards the end.
The shortest track on the album at around 4 minutes, ―Love Letter From Canada‖ is also the most
unusual: a haunting, emotional ambient study of surging keyboard washes, sparse guitar and
cascading cymbals, it hints at interesting future developments in the band‘s sound. Its mood is
briefly reprised at the beginning of ―Dangerous Kitchen‖, which then morphs into a leisurely
jazzy piece where guest Nicholas Combe‘s sax and guitar work almost in unison, leaving some
room for a bit of improvisation before the end. A lovely tribute to Ryan‘s idol John McLaughlin
– by the amusingly tongue-in-cheek title of ―A Dancing Girl from Planet Marsavishnu Named
After the Love‖ – closes the album in style, referencing the iconic ―Dance of Maya‖ (from
Mahavishnu Orchestra‘s debut album, The Inner Mounting Flame) in a buoyant, dance-like ride
interspersed by pensive, sax-led passages before its exhilarating, almost cinematic finale.
Clocking in at around 63 minutes, Chapter One is never at risk of overstaying its welcome in
spite of the length of the majority of its tracks. Successfully blending serious chops with
engaging spontaneity and enthusiasm, I Know You Well Miss Clara‘s debut is one of the best
instrumental albums released in 2013 so far, and will delight devotees of classic jazz-rock/fusion
– especially those who prize emotion over an excess of technical fireworks. Hopefully the band
will follow in simakDialog‘s footsteps and visit the US as soon as possible.

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MUSIC STREET JOURNAL

By Gary Hill
What an odd name for a band. Well, once you get past that, though, you‘ll find a
cool disc here. It‘s based in a progressive rock meets fusion sound. At times it
lands close to King Crimson. At other times it‘s more like Rock In Opposition.
Other parts are more pure fusion. It‘s never boring or trite, though. This is cool
stuff, despite the odd name.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street
Journal: 2013 Volume 6 at [Link]/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Open the Door, See the Ground

Keyboards dominate the start of this cut. It grows out after a time to some smoking hot fusion.
This is a killer cut with some great guitar soloing and some sweet shifts and turns. It shifts later to
some spacey sounds and then gets noisy. It gets pretty chaotic at times, then drops way down for
mellow, but still pretty strange sounds from there.

Conversation
Keyboards open this track and hold it for more than a minute. This has a real freeform jazz vibe
to it as it grows out. It starts to get into more of a mainstream jazz groove after a time. Later it
works out to a mellower, melodic sound. The piece just keeps shifting and changing.

Pop Sick Love Carousel

More tasty fusion, this is more mainstream than some of the other tracks. There are some great
retro keyboard sounds at times and the guitar just really lays down some great sounds. There is
some scorching hot guitar soloing on the tune, too.

Reverie #2
Mellow atmospherics open this and the track builds out gradually from there. The guitar that rises
up is quite tasty. It‘s got a fire to it and yet is very melodic. Around the four minute mark it drops
way down to some mellower music. It builds gradually back outward from there. The jam gets
very intense later with some killer work from both the keyboards and the guitar. There are some
segments later where it moves into territory similar to Red era King Crimson. This drops back to
more freeform jamming that feels like Crimson, too. It‘s got a sparse arrangement during that
section. That gets built upon and intensified as they continue with the arrangement getting filled
in as it does so. Then it drops back down to more melodic fusion from there.

Love Letter from Canada

This comes in tentatively with mellow space type music. This is one of the most consistent and
purely melodic pieces here. At less than four and a half minutes in length, the cut is the shortest
on the album.

Dangerous Kitchen
This starts out tentatively and is quite a mellow piece of music as it carries forward at first. There
are some more intense space meets fusion elements that emerge later. As a saxophone soars
overhead this kicks into high gear. As they continue this gets very intense. Piano solos over a
mellower segment later. The saxophone leads a mellower, melodic jam after that. Guitar drives
into more freeform territory that gets a bit weird. Then eventually the melodic movement returns
for a time. They power that out to a screaming hot fusion jam with a lot of King Crimson in the
mix.

A Dancing Girl from the Planet Marsavishnu Named After the Love
A fairly slow moving, guitar driven heavy segment opens this. It feels very much like King
Crimson. After working out on this format for a time, it drops way down to a mellower, keyboard
driven movement. There are bursts of loud craziness here and there as this continues. Eventually
this works out to a more developed fusion jam. The guitar screams some soloing over the top
after a while. A killer jazz groove ensues from there. The saxophone powers out some great
soloing as this continues. As it builds out later it gets more rock oriented and comparisons to King
Crimson are again appropriate. That section takes the piece to its close, also ending the album.

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GRANDE ROCK

I don‘t know who Miss Clara is but this Indonesian newcomer seems to know her quite well!
Their name is as strange as their music is! In fact, it made me wanna listen to it from the very
first time I came across it.

Blending various elements from acts & artists like: Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Matching Mole,
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Return to Forever, Chick
Corea and so on, this Indonesian quartet are (getting) into something rather aspiring and
progressive. Experimental with jazz-fusion improvisations on the one hand and prog rock
(Canterbury scene), atmospheric, avant-garde & psychedelic on the other, I can definitely say
that ―Chapter One‖ has a lot to offer to the open-minded musicians & listeners. Obviously,
IKWMC are crafting their own way by trying to expand their own boundaries through their
music. It‘s miraculous how good and prog, jazz-fusion music is and it‘s coming from Indonesia.
The US established label MoonJune records is actually giving a chance to all those bands to
show their talents to the Western world… and that must be well-respected by all the music lovers
of all music styles.

IKWMC tend to have long tracks. There are a couple of shorter ones (about 4 & 6 minus plus)
but most of the songs are over 8 minutes long. The sound is very tight & full. I do not know if
this is a ―live recording‖ but the sound is very clear in general. The album was recorded at Kua
Studio & Otakkanan Studio, Jogjakarta, Indonesia, mixed & mastered at DMU (Digital Music
University, Surabaya, Indonesia) and produced by the band.

Certainly, we‘re are not talking about an easy-listening or radio-friendly album but neither
something that it would cause you ―strokes‖ due to its complexity or the fast alteration of the
music notes. IKWMC have embellished their music with melodic & atmospheric passages so as
to make the whole listening procedure way more interesting and not tiresome. Furthermore, the
saxophonist Nicholas Combe has also added a bit to that with his wonderful sax parts. I‘d like to
see how I Know You Well Miss Clara are gonna evolve through the years… cuz‘ their debut
release is very stimulating above all…

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TOUCHING EXTREMES
By Massimo Ricci
Let me start with that name – Clara – which is also how I call my trustworthy 1997 Ford Fiesta.
An immediate positive inclination, so to speak. Later one looks at the declared origins of
causation – no need to restate them, even if I‘d add Return To Forever circa Hymn Of The 7th
Galaxy to an impressive list of influences – and goes ―hmmm‖. Then again, a track titled
―Dangerous Kitchen‖ with an obvious clue to Frank Zappa (it‘s not a cover of the latter‘s
namesake pseudo-rap, though). Eventually, the music starts and the compounding of intelligent
sprightliness and esteem for the past masters ultimately prevails, presenting us with an abundant
hour of perfectly enjoyable music with roots in the progressive/jazz-rock heritage of the 70s.
Another Indonesian group from Moonjune, I Know You Well Miss Clara may be the personal
favorites amidst an already presentable batch. Their debut release, without overly exercising an
awkward wording, makes its underlying spirit tangible – and welcome. Recorded in just 18 hours
or so, and it does feel, Chapter One discloses the type of child-like wonderment that pushes a
grouping of musicians to deliver themselves from the ―constriction of belonging‖, for they easily
survive tough tests most everywhere as far as multiple genres are concerned. Technically
speaking, the guys are good-to-brilliant; and if a few imperfections are detectable here and there,
they enrich the formula with a measure of healthy non-pretentiousness. It‘s hard for me to spin
more than once a prog-rock album not coming from the times of my childhood/adolescence; this
time the act was reiterated thrice in a row, both for the above mentioned disarming appearance –
optimistic vibes all over – and for the chronicler‘s own desire of getting a plausible explanation
for this instantaneous sympathy.

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MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM

By Zachary Nthanson

It would be quite a huge risk to take both of the genres of the Canterbury scene and the Jazz
Rock sound of the ‗70s to give it a heavier beat. But when you have an Indonesian band like I
Know You Well Miss Clara, who has been around since 2009, you can expect the unexpected.
The band came around from the Indonesia Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta which is a college
university helping students to teach them about visual aid, performance, and the media arts to
show the styles of international music and the sounds of Jazz Rock fits the band perfectly.

The band considers Reza Ryan on Guitar, Adi Wijaya on Keyboards, Enriko Gultom on Bass,
and Alfiah Akbar on Drums. Their debut album, Chapter One, released this year from Moonjune
Records, is very much a laid-back, groovy, trip to memory lane, and a fantastic instrumental
album that is a magical experience. Hypnotic guitar lines, Flourishing Organ turned Rhodes-like
sounds on the keyboards, and impressive drum work laying down the beats and tempos. It‘s
really quite a journey to go on while seeing where the quartet would take different areas of the
sound. Not to mention it was recorded in 18 hours from start to finish and picking the right takes
and the right notes and where they would go with it.

The opening 10-minute suite, Open The Door, See the Ground, begins with a minor melodic
chord progression done by Wijaya as he sets the tone on what is to come. At first, it‘s a tribute to
Gentle Giant‘s introduction line on Pantagruel‘s Nativity, before Akbar and Gultom create this
disturbing walking line as Reza comes in full swing with this guitar work as he comes in at the
exact moment by doing his mind-boggling work on the instrument as he goes in the style of John
McLaughlin, Robert Fripp, and Allan Holdsworth.

And then it becomes frenzy for the last 3-minutes as they go through a spaced out attack as if it
was recorded for the sessions for Pawn Hearts before Wijaya closes the piece with a dramatic
turned sinister finale on the piano. Conversation and Pop Sick Love Carousel are more of a
Canterbury ‗s take of Steely Dan‘s Aja-era as Wijaya creates some Thelonious Monk-like beats
on the Rhodes as Reza comes up with a bluesy-soul beat on the solo while the gloomy yet
ambient aspects on Reverie #2 is at first a free-for-all as keyboards and funk-bass wah-wah
collide and the drumming goes into a Bruford-like beat and guitar just goes into haywire mode
that is like an alarm siren going off as it goes into a panic mode! Intensity gets the better of the
music.

Love Letter from Canada is back into the ambient surroundings. The Rhodes, Minor Guitar
Chords, and coolness on the drums, makes it almost a touch of Tangerine Dream‘s Phaedra-era
that has this emotional and balladry surroundings to the love of the town, the state, and the
Maple Leaf. Dangerous Kitchen is a wooshing psych chord progressions as Reza Ryan comes
into town with these wonderful minor sounds on his guitar as the band come into a Bebop
movement and it‘s in the style of King Crimson‘s Island-era and the Soft Machine‘s Third-era as
they are combined into one.

The closer, A Dancing Girl from the Planet Marsavishnu Named After the Love, is a homage to
the great Jazz Rock band of the ‗70s, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. It begins with various
movements from their work and it‘s quite a wonderful tribute to McLaughlin, Laird, Cobham,
Hammer, and Goodman. The band shows their true love and passion of this music and how they
were heavily inspired of the Mahavishnu‘s music.

If Matching Mole, D.F.A, Hatfield and the North, and the Soft Machine had a younger nephew,
it would be I Know You Well Miss Clara, and Moonjune have done a fabulous job signing this
band to their label. There is always some good feelings when it comes to the label. Whether its
Marbin, Mahogany Frog, The Wrong Object, and Machine Mass Trio, you know something
wonderful is about to happen. Chapter One is a blessing and it‘s a must have album for any Jazz
or Prog fan to understand the meaning of the combination of the two.

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KORAN TEMPO

By Purwanto Setiadi

(original)

sesekali nama bisa mengecoh. seperti nama band dari yogyakarta ini–i know you well miss clara.

anda bisa saja mengira mereka adalah kelompok musik pop manis, mungkin sedikit rock, atau
sekurang-kurangnya musik yang mudah akrab di telinga tapi sulit dikategorikan seperti yang
dipilih oleh banyak band indie. tapi, sesungguhnya, band yang terdiri atas reza ryan (gitar), adi
wijaya (piano), enriko gultom (bas), dan alfiah akbar (drum) ini jauh melampaui semua itu:
mereka memainkan jazz, dan bukan sembarang jazz.

seakan hendak menegaskan kebenaran idiom ―jangan menilai buku dari sampulnya‖ itu, mereka
memilih wilayah jazz yang sempat dijelajah antara lain oleh miles davis, the mahavishnu
orchestra, frank zappa, dan soft machine. nama-nama ini adalah para peletak fondasi, atau
setidaknya yang ikut membangun, jazz dengan identitas rock, progresif, psychedelic,
bahkan avant garde. reza dan kawan-kawan melebur pengaruh-pengaruh itu, membumbuinya
dengan unsur-unsur lain yang mereka dengar dan pelajari, untuk menghasilkan formula musik
yang nyaris tiada duanya. jika harus disebut, reza cs meramu dan menyajikan sebuah jazz yang
bebas, atau progresif–begitulah jika ―progresif‖ adalah kata yang tepat untuk menggambarkan
hasrat kreatif untuk terus menerobos batas-batas suatu genre.

memang tak mudah dibayangkan. lebih sulit lagi jika kita belum pernah berkenalan dengan
karya-karya para pioner itu. maka, hanya ada satu cara untuk ―mengalami‖ semua deskripsi yang
mungkin dibuat untuk musik i know you well miss clara: cobalah simak album perdana mereka
yang berjudul chapter one.

oleh label yang merilisnya pertama kali, moonjune records dari new york, album dengan tujuh
lagu ini dipromosikan sebagai karya yang ―muram dan mencekam; misterius, menegangkan, dan
mengejutkan‖. dari lagu pembuka berjudul open the door, see the ground, sepanjang 10-an
menit, kepada kita seketika dihamparkan lanskap jazz yang bukan saja kaya variasi akor,
melainkan juga seperti penuh tikungan-tikungan perubahan atmosfer, sarat mozaik nada, dan
ramai dengan bombardemen peragaan teknis berkelas.
dimulai dengan dentingan piano yang mengalun liris dan cenderung kontemplatif (atau misterius,
tergantung kesan siapa), dengan aksen bas yang menggiring asosiasi kita pada pukulan-pukulan
gong, open the door, see the ground lalu berayun dengan karakter yang terkesan senapas dengan
weather report. tak lama, sebab musik lekas berubah, menjadi lebih trengginas: reza lalu
mengoyak kelembutan, ―menggila‖ dengan permainan gitarnya yang beraura sebagaimana
dipancarkan john mcLaughlin dalam proyek-proyek the mahavishnu orchestra, tapi kesannya
seperti mengangkat kita ke awang-gemawang.

sepanjang durasi lagu, kita akan merasakan bagaimana momen lembut-sunyi saling bertukar,
pada saat-saat yang terukur, dengan momen kukuh-riuh. secara struktur, lagu ini bagaikan
bangunan cerpen, tapi dengan narasi cerita yang ―ajaib‖: tak sepenuhnya linear, dengan plot yang
terkesan longgar tapi setiap bagian tetap sulit dihilangkan, dan terutama mengandung kejutan-
kejutan tanpa henti. yang mungkin bisa membuat senang penggemar lagu-lagu berdurasi panjang
adalah bagaimana, dalam aransemennya, ruang yang luas tersedia untuk berimprovisasi.

dalam hal itu peran reza dan adi sangat menonjol, terasa juga di lagu-lagu lainnya. perhatikan,
misalnya, bagaimana mereka berdialog begitu subtilnya dalam conversation. atau melakukan
semacam pertukaran gagasan yang berefek menghipnotis dalam reverie #2. pada pop sick love
carousel, reza bahkan jitu ―mencuri‖ karakter legato allan holdsworth; hal ini muncul lagi pada a
dancing girl from planet marsavishnu named after the love.

di setiap lagu itu, mereka membetot apa pun kemungkinan dan imajinasi yang ada, lalu
bersenang-senang penuh percaya diri dengan instrumen masing-masing. tentu saja, mereka bisa
melakukannya dengan batas-batas ruang yang dijaga demikian baik oleh enriko dan alfiah,
duet rhythm section yang kukuh. mereka memang bukan, katakanlah, pasangan ron carter dan
tony williams. meski demikian, mereka bekerja sama cerdasnya untuk menghasilkan kerangka
irama yang berdaging dan bernyawa.

ada dua lagu lain yang patut disebut khusus: dangerous kitchen dan, sekali lagi, a dancing girl
from planet marsavishnu named after the love. di dua lagu ini dukungan nicholas combe dengan
permainan saksofonnya yang seksi berperan mengangkat performans band ke tingkat yang lebih
tinggi.

sulit untuk tak dibilang album ini merupakan debut yang sangat memukau. andaikan ada
kekurangan pun, kita sebenarnya bisa mengatribusikannya pada kenyataan bahwa reza cs–
semuanya belajar di sekolah yang sama, institut seni indonesia yogyakarta–belum lama bermain
bersama. i know you well miss clara baru aktif pada 2010. tapi yang sulit ditepis adalah, bagi
anda yang sudah mulai malas mendengarkan jazz, album ini termasuk di antara karya-karya
mutakhir yang bisa membuat anda bergairah kembali menyalakan pemutar cakram audio di
rumah dan tekun menyimak jazz sebagaimana seharusnya.

*appeared in koran tempo, november 10, 2013

(English translation)
Occasionally a name can be deceiving. For example, the band name from Yogyakarta - I Know
You Well Miss Clara.

You might think they are a sweet pop music group, maybe a little rock, or at least music that is
easy to hear but hard to categorize as chosen by many indie bands. But, in fact, the band
consisting of Reza Ryan (guitar), Adi Wijaya (piano), Enriko Gultom (bass), and Alfiah Akbar
(drum) far surpassed all that: they played jazz and not just any jazz.

As if to emphasize the truth of the idiom "don't judge a book by its cover", they chose the jazz
region that had been explored, among others, by Miles Davis, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank
Zappa, and Soft Machine. Artists who laid the foundation, or at least who helped build, jazz with
a rock identity, progressive, psychedelic, even avant-garde. Reza and friends merge these
influences, spice them up with other elements they hear and learn, to produce a musical formula
that is almost second to none. if it has to be mentioned, Reza concocts and presents a free or
progressive jazz - that is if "progressive" is the right word to describe a creative desire to
continue to break through the boundaries of a genre.

It's not easy to imagine even more difficult if we have never been acquainted with the works of
the pioneers. hence, there is only one way to "experience" all possible descriptions for music. I
Know You Well Miss Clara: try to hear their first album titled ―Chapter One.‖

First released by Moonjune Records (Chapter One 2013) from New York, the album with seven
songs was promoted as a ―grim and gripping work; mysterious, stressful, and shocking.‖ From
the opening song titled, ―Open the Door, See the Ground,‖ throughout the 10 minutes, to us
immediately spread a jazz landscape that is not only rich in chord variations, but also like the
bends of atmospheric changes, full of tone mosaics, and crowded with demonstration
bombardments classy technical.

Starting with the piano playing that is lyrical and tends to be contemplative (or mysterious,
depending on who is impressed), with a Bass accent that leads our association to gong blows,
Open the Door, See the Ground, and then swings with characters that seem to be as breathtaking
as the weather report. Soon, because the music quickly changes, becoming more trivial: Reza
then tore up the softness, "craved" with his guitar playing that was as John McLaughlin emitted
in the projects of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but it seemed to lift us to the glow.

Throughout the duration of the song, we will feel how soft and quiet moments exchange with
each other, at measured times, with loud moments. structurally, this song is like a short story
building, but with a narrative that is "magical": not entirely linear, with a plot that seems loose
but each part remains difficult to remove, and especially contains endless surprises. what might
delight fans of long-form songs is how, in their arrangements, ample space is available to
improvise.

In that case, the role of Reza and Adi is very prominent, felt also in other songs. consider, for
example, how they dialogue so subtly in a conversation. Or do some kind of exchange of ideas
that have a hypnotic effect on ―Reverie # 2‖ and ―In Pop Sick Love Carousel,‖ Reza even telling
"steal" character Legato Allan Holdsworth; this appears again on ―A Dancing Girl from the
Planet Marsavishnu Named After Love.‖

In each of the songs, they fix whatever possibilities and imaginations are there, then have fun full
of confidence with their respective instruments. of course, they can do it with space boundaries
that are guarded so well by Gultom and Akbar, a strong duet rhythm section. they are not, say,
the couple Ron Carter and Tony Williams. However, they work together intelligently to produce
a framework of fleshy and alive rhythms.

There are two other songs worth mentioning specifically: ―Dangerous Kitchen‖ and, once again,
A Dancing Girl From Planet Marsavishnu Mamed After the Love. In these two songs, the
support of Nicholas Combe with his sexy saxophone played a role in raising the band's
performance to a higher level.

―Chapter One‖ is a very riveting debut. Even if there are deficiencies, we can actually attribute it
to the fact that the bands - all studying at the same school, the Indonesian Institute of Arts in
Yogyakarta - recently played together. I Know You Well Miss Clara began in 2010. But, what is
hard to dismiss, for those of you who are already lazy to listen to jazz, this album is among the
latest works that can make you excited again about turning on the CD player at home and be
keen to listen to jazz as it should.

*appeared in koran tempo, november 10, 2013

JAZZ MUSIC ARCHIEVE

Prog/Fusion-Jazz band from Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

I Know You Well Miss Clara has found the freedom through a great US label, MoonJune
Records, established by an entrepreneurial producer, tour manager and promoter Leonardo
Pavkovic. The focus of MoonJune is to discover and release music by musicians from
multifarious international settings by exploring the expanding boundaries of genuine,
challenging ―non-over-produced music‖ that cannot be easily categorized into any specific
format. I Know You Well Miss Clara has infiltrated the abutments of music boxes, invented its
own character, and evolved it to be more mature. Serving the music in the tradition of
Canterbury Scene, the sound of groups of progressive rock, avant garde and adventurous jazz
musicians based around the Canterbury city during the 60s to the early 70s such as Soft Machine
or Matching Mole.

[Link]
clara?fbclid=IwAR1L15dpFJlvHwS14Lwo7TZjq_MOqMVCLEIVIwVTnnktHnVfGc58VJ8N8RI

AND ALL THAT JAZZ

BY Terry Collins

When I arrived in Indonesia at the end of 1987, I was carrying a collection of cassettes,
recordings of my favourite albums, mainly jazz, prog-rock and what is termed ‗world music‘. On
my early travels around various regions of the archipelago, I added cassettes of ‗traditional‘
music which could evoke memories of the places I‘d visited. But I wondered why there couldn‘t
be blends of them with western music.
The rock music I heard was derivative, albeit with Indonesian lyrics. So I looked for jazz. After
all, if the late Neil Ardley in the UK could arrange his Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows suite –
listen here – using the basic Balinese five note pelog scale played by the crème de la crème of
Britjazz, why couldn‘t Balinese musicians improvise and reverse the process?
It was a few years before I discovered that in 1967 Bubi Chen, the piano maestro from Surabaya,
guitarist Jack Lesmana, and the rest of jazz pioneers The Indonesian All Stars had gone to
Germany to record an album with the American clarinetist Tony Scott. Djanger Bali was the
first album of Indonesian traditional-flavoured music without ‗traditional‘ instruments, apart
from the track Gambang Suling, featuring Sundanese instruments: the zither-like kecapi,
and suling, a bamboo ring flute. Later, in 1989, Bubi Chen recorded Kedamaian (click to listen),
a truly marvellous Keith Jarrett style piano-kecapi-suling conversation.
In the late 80‘s, keyboardist Dwiki Dharmawana formed the group Krakatau to play original
jazz-fusion tunes, with bass, drums and a range of Sundanese instruments, including percussion,
wind instruments and the bowed rebab. Tracks on their fifth album Mystical Mist (1994) were
either jazz-fusion or Sundanese, whereas, having tuned their western instruments to Sunda
scales, their second, Magical Match (2000), is more of a Sunda-jazz fusion. By the time they
released 2 Worlds in 2006, the group was also playing what I can only describe as Sunda avant-
jazz-rock-funk. The track Madenda Fantasy is a piano-suling ‗conversation‘, a loud echo of Bubi
Chen‘s Kedamaian. ((Listen to a piano-kecapi-suling track here from a performance in Venice.)
Java Jazz was formed by Indra Lesmana with Donny Suhendra (from Krakatau) on guitar and
Embong Rahardjo on saxes and flute. Much of the first two albums Bulan Di Atas Asia (1994)
and Sabda Prana (1998) incorporated Sundanese pentatonic scales played on western
instruments. Embong died in 2001 and the group went into haitus until 2009 when Dewa
Budjana, lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Gigi, joined as a second guitarist and Joy, Joy,
Joy was released. It was Indra‘s father, Jack Lesmana (see above) who introduced Dewa to the
principles and basics of jazz.
Keyboardist Riza Arshad formed simakDialog (SD) with guitarist Tohpati in 1993, their first two
albums, Lukisan (1996) and Baur (1999) showed the influence of the popular American jazz
guitarist Pat Metheny. Much as I like Metheny, I‘m not interested in clones, pleasant enough, but
not particularly ‗Indonesian‘. However, for Trance Mission (2002) Riza replaced the drummer
with Sundanese percussionists, and Tohpati too found his very distinctive voice; he‘s now a
guitarist who can send shivers down the backbone.
Leonardo Pavkovic, proprietor of MoonJune Records in New York, heard Trance Mission and
signed simakDialog to his label. The first release was Patahan (2006), recorded live at Goethe
Haus and mastered by Indra Lesmana. This was followed by Demi Masa (2009) and this past
month with 6th Story. Simak dialog means ‗listen to the music‘, be part of it. As Riza says,‖ We
humans are tiny creatures in a humongous universe, but we also have the ability to interact with
it.‖ With this sixth album, Riza and his long time cohort Tohpati take us further on their journey,
far out (as hippies used to say).
(Video of For Once And Never from the album, live at Goethe Haus 17.5.13 + a nice Riza
Arshad radio interview at ProgFest 8.9.13.)
Tohpati has now released two albums on MoonJune. His Ethnomission – Save The
Planet (2010), has Endang Ramdan from SD playing Indonesian percussion plus Indro
Hardjodikoro, SD‘s first bass player. Indro is one third of Tohpati Bertiga whose Riot was
released in 2012. The drummer is Adityo ‗Bowo‘ Wibowo whose main gig is the popular Gugun
Blues Shelter. This shows another side to Tohpati‘s playing, hard rock.
Dewa Budjana is now also signed to MoonJune. He‘s just turned 50 (but doesn‘t look it) and has
an impressive discography dating back to 1994 with Gigi and solo albums from 1997. At the end
of last year Moonjune released Dawai in Paradise. This is a compilation from five separate
recording sessions between 2000 and 2011 featuring his incredibly melodic, spiritual side as well
as high energy tracks echoing the likes of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and National Health, the
‗Canterbury Scene‘ group. (Listen to album stream here.)
Around the time you are reading this, his second Moonjune album will be released, Joget
Kahyangan. This was recorded in Los Angeles last year with a stellar set of American jazzers,
Larry Goldings, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Johnson and Peter Erskine, who interpret Dewa‘s
Indonesian inflected compositions with great empathy. (Listen to album stream here.)
Also this month, following a mini-tour of clubs and festivals in the USA with SD, both Riza and
Tohpati have recorded solo albums to be released on MoonJune. Tohpati‘s sidesmen were Jimmy
Haslip (Yellowjackets) on bass guitar and Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa and Allan
Holdsworth) on drums. Riza‘s were Chad Wackerman and Ernest Tibbs (Allan Holdsworth) on
bass.
And so my long search is over: not only have Indonesian jazz musicians found their voice, but it
is uniquely theirs. There are jazz festivals held throughout much of the archipelago, gigs on
campuses and in clubs. It may have taken 25 years, but there‘s hope for the future, with Indra,
Riza, and Dewa mentoring younger musicians. Listen out for ten year old Joey Alexander, and
musicians such as Sri Hanuraga who are studying and playing abroad.
Then there are the likes of I Know You Well Miss Clara, four very talented alumni of the Yogya
Institute of Arts. Their astonishing and just released debut on MoonJune, Chapter One, deserves
a full article.
Sorry guys, you‘ll get yours soon – and that‘s a promise.
Meanwhile, this official video of A Dancing Girl From The Planet Marsavishnu Named After
The Love from their album is an exciting taste of how Indonesian jazz musicians will continue to
grow and astonish audiences worldwide.
………………………………………………………………..
First published in the Jakarta Expat magazine 24.9.13, but without the links to sample tracks
and streamed albums.
My pen portraits are brief due to the magazine‘s page size limitations. There is a much longer
article to be written, or perhaps a separate blog could be devoted to this fascinating music genre.

[Link]
EJbQkTKbGI9ODNkHmYEAaNrTyC-fGNby-las
JAZZQUAD

Давненько не слышал я столь необычных названий ансамблей, как то, что

пополнило индонезийскую часть каталога MoonJune Records в этом году. I
Know You Well Miss Clara – коллектив молодой, он образовался в 2009 году,
и музыканты, в нем работающие, - тоже люди молодые, полные энтузиазма,
здоровых творческих амбиций и, несомненно, талантливые. Возник этот
коллектив в старинном городе Джокьякарта (центральная часть острова Ява),
когда гитарист и композитор Реза Райан объединил под этим названием
студентов местного Индонезийского института искусств – клавишника Али
Виджайю, басиста Энрико Галтома и ударника Алджу Акбара. Chapter One –
дебютный диск коллектива.

Секрет же экзотического названия раскрывает в liner notes к альбому

британский журналист Сид Смит. Оказывается, так называлась одна из
ранних композиций Райана, впоследствии переименованная в Conversation
№1 (второй трек в альбоме называется просто Conversation, надо думать, это
та же пьеса, а номер в процессе подготовки альбома просто «отвалился»).
Первое же название пьесы перекочевало в название группы. Резе нравится
это женское имя, а на более серьезном уровне оно персонифицирует музыку
и отношение автора к ней.

Перейдем теперь непосредственно к музыке Chapter One. Сразу надо сказать,

что диковинное название – единственный экзотический элемент в I Know
You Well Miss Clara. Музыка группы начисто лишена каких-то
опознавательных этнических признаков, она подчеркнуто космополитична.
Тут действуют признаки другие: если бы я не знал, что ее сочинили и
записывали в Джокьякарте, я бы предположил, что родилась она в
окрестностях Кентербери – многое напоминает тут музыку Soft Machine,
Matching Mole и других славных представителей этой разновидности прог-
рока. При этом Райан явно не меньше слушал и джаз-рок Кориа, Завинула, и,
в первую очередь, МакЛафлина – как-никак он тоже гитарист. Но музыка
альбома гораздо выше и интереснее, чем могло бы быть простое подражание
грандам – в противном случае чуткое ухо Леонардо Павковича, шефа
MoonJune Records вряд ли бы на ней задержалось.
В творческом синтезе различных идей и стилистик, опыта
предшественников, осуществленном музыкантами I Know You Well Miss
Clara, в первую очередь Резой Райаном, как основным композитором группы,
есть и особая «изюминка» - тонкий флер романтизма, который придает
особую красоту и индивидуальность пьесам альбома. Не могу припомнить
прецеденты такого прог-фьюжн-романтизма. Чик Кориа тут не в счет,
поскольку у него романтичность музыки тесно связана с ее этническим,
латинским колоритом. Впечатление такое, словно тень Эдварда Грига или
Роберта Шумана витала над Резой, когда он сочинял, скажем, Reverie #2 -
самую длинную и самую лучшую, на мой вкус, композицию альбома. Также
очень сильное впечатление оставляют Dangerous Kitchen и финальная A
Dancing Girl From Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love - тут уже
название выдает особое отношение индонезийских музыкантов к творчеству
МакЛафлина.

Саунд группы строится на сочетании солирующих партий гитары Райана и

клавишных Виджайи – музыканта очень одаренного и виртуозного. При этом
ритм-группа придает ему воистину роковую плотность, не теряя при этом
джазовой гибкости. Последние две пьесы альбома несомненно выиграли от
введения в состав гостя-саксофониста Николаса Комбе. Не удивлюсь, если I
Know You Well Miss Clara из квартета превратится в будущем в квинтет. Ну,
а пока, слушая Chapter One, можно только радоваться появлению этого диска
и открывать для себя новый интересный коллектив, что я искренне и
рекомендую сделать читателям этих строк.

[Link]
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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Indonesia was probably at the edge of the map for many of jazz-rock‘s ‘60s pioneers, but the
influence of bands such as Soft Machine and Mahavishnu Orchestra eventually found its way to
a young band from the island nation, I Know You Well Miss Clara. On Chapter One, the tinkling
harmonics of Indonesia‘s traditional gamelan music fuse with the dynamics of modern jazz
played with rock energy. Guitarist Reza Ryan plays scorching leads and the rhythm section
keeps apace with the music‘s complex yet forceful drive.

[Link]
records/

EXPOSE ONLINE

BY PETER THELEN

I Know You Well Miss Clara — Chapter One

(Moonjune MJR057, 2013, CD)
by Peter Thelen, Published 2013-08-28
Moonjune pulls another great band out of their Indonesian hat. This four piece with the unusual
name hails from Jogjakarta in central Java, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Java, and a hub
of Javanese fine art, music, dance, and culture in general. Their sound wanders freely between
idioms, with a heavy jazz accent all around and blasts of avant-progressive and 70s Crimsoid
rock, 100% instrumental. The mood shifts between dark and pensive to more colorful and joyful
sorties into the bright lights of jazz-rock, but escapes anything that might be called fusion in the
traditional 70s sense, unless we‘re talking electric Miles Davis, the more laid-back elements of
early Return to Forever, Allan Holdsworth when he used to play a real guitar, or early 70s Soft
Machine (the latter primarily on the final two tracks that feature a guest sax player). The front
line prominently features keyboardist Adi Wijaya and guitarist Reza Ryan, both commanding
players that trade off in the spotlight and deliver the bulk of the disc‘s seven compositions;
behind them plays the formidable rhythm section of bassist Enriko Gultom and drummer Alfiah
Akbar, supporting the entire effort superbly. There‘s plenty of improvisational space in these
compositions, and it tends to wander in the noodly direction, which is just fine with me. There
are a lot of great and purely magical moments throughout this, their debut effort (in case you
didn‘t guess by the title!) and hopefully we are hearing the first of many chapters to come.

[Link]
3?fbclid=IwAR2L6IIhjqxqvp_8xbBiNzUMXC0R7amV6HB879mP7y7zRb8FvxFgVqcNnk4
SEA OF TRANQUILITY

By Pete Pardo

I Know You Well Miss Clara: Chapter One

Moonjune Records has done a fabulous job in recent years unearthing exciting new progressive
rock, avant-garde, and jazz fusion groups from Indonesia. Their latest find is the act that calls
themselves I Know You Well Miss Clara, and their debut for the label is titled Chapter One.
Featuring guitar wizard Reza Ryan, keyboard phenom Adi Wijaya, bassist Enriko Gultom, and
drummer Alfiah Akbar, the band play a lyrical and melodic form of progressive rock & jazz-
fusion that will thrill any lover of classic Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X,
and National Health.

Many of the tracks here are fairly lengthy and allow plenty of room for the players to strut their
stuff. Opener "Open the Door, See the Ground" is a fiery slice of ripping jazz-rock, complete
with molten guitar & keyboard solos over furious rhythms, while the melodic, laid back
"Conversation" sees airy electric piano from Wijaya support some tasty lead guitar lines courtesy
of Ryan. Wijaya's majestic electric piano again commands on the alluring "Pop Sick Carousel",
reminding of classic Chick Corea, Jan Hammer, and Joe Zawinul, and he trades some serious
licks with Ryan as the piece ebbs and flows during its six minute duration, even throwing in a
nifty organ solo for good measure.

The near 15-minute epic "Reverie # 2" is gorgeous, melodic prog, that starts off soothing and
lyrical before Gultom's throbbing bass lines come in and the tune kicks into funky fusion ala
early '70s Miles Davis. Ryan roars and rumbles with some fiery lead guitar work alongside
Wijaya's deft electric piano lines. Great stuff. "Love Letter From Canada" tones things down a
bit, as emotional & atmospheric guitar notes from Ryan and light keyboard washes create a
feeling of severe melancholy, but that doesn't last long as the band comes right back with the
quirky "Dangerous Kitchen", a fun track with guest sax player Nicholas Combe that reminded
me of Chick Corea's Elektric Band a little with its sultry sax, walking bass lines, intelligent
piano, tight drumming, and muscular guitar. Gotta love the homage to the Mahavishnu Orchestra
on "A Dancing Girl From the Planet Mahavishnu Named After the Love", a real early '70
throwback that again features some killer guitar & keyboard work, as well as Combe's silky sax
lines.

Moonjune lists Chapter One as an 'immediately essential initial offering' from I Know You Well
Miss Clara, and I can't say I disagree with that statement at all. Modern day progressive fusion
with a strong look back at the greats of the '70s is all the rage here, and I can't wait to see what
this band has in store for us next. As a first chapter, it's a very good one indeed.
[Link]
IVLf7-yE8k99CGvB-Jx9FVm8lbgyMuD1vRgCkCCSCQTcg87lkrE
BLOGCRITICS

By Jack Goodstein

―East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.‖ If there is any truth to the old
Kipling canard, it is a truth riddled with exceptions. Peking duck and Kenichi Ebina. Miss
Saigon and Slumdog Millionaire – a list could go on for pages. And now, courtesy of cutesy
named Moonjune Records, from exotic Indonesia comes some exciting new entries to that list
with the music of two fine ensembles. I Know You Well Miss Clara is out with its debut
album Chapter One; simakDialog is on its sixth, its third from Moonjune. What these two bands
play is a blend of progressive jazz and rock with Indonesian rhythms and traditions. The
emphasis is on the dialogue between traditions.

Patahan, the first of simakDialog‘s widely available records, was a recording of a 2005 live
performance at Goethe Haus in Jakarta. It was released in 2007. Led by the piano and Fender
Rhodes of Riza Arshad and the guitar, acoustic and electric, of Tohpati, the quintet‘s sound
supplemented by vocals on a couple of tracks has been compared to a grittier Pat Methany,
driven here by two different kinds of kendang (Indonesian hand drums).
The album features five of Arshad‘s original pieces, all running between 11 and 19 minutes.
There are wordless vocals on two, ―Spur of the Moment‖ and the album‘s finale, ―Kain Sigli.‖
This last one also has the Kipling twain meeting with the addition of a poem read in German by
guest Marla Stukenberg in counterpoint with a reading by percussionist Emy Tata. Patahan.
Some impressive guitar work on it from Tohpati, makes for a fine introduction to the band‘s
music.
The 2008 album, Demi Masa, makes it clear that Patahan was no fluke. Once again the music is
all original, and while some of it seems to more strongly reflect Indonesian roots, the dominant
vibe is contemporary progressive jazz. Titles may need translation, but the music speaks directly,
even to the Western ear. ―Trah Lor – Rupa‖ may mean ―Northern People – Faces‖ and
―Disapih,‖ ―Separate Away,‖ but whatever the title, the music speaks for itself in a universal
language.
The 6th Story is their latest album. In the liner notes, Raymond Benson explains something about
the Indonesian gamelan tradition and its application in simakDialog‘s music. It is ―the concept
that a set of instruments are built and tuned together to create a distinct entity.‖ The tradition
looks to create a distinct unified voice—one from many. I‘m not sure that in some sense that
doesn‘t define the jazz tradition as well.
While the liner notes emphasize the Indonesian aesthetic, it makes clear that from the opening
composition ―Stepping In‖ through pieces like ―What Would I Say,‖ ―For Once and Never,‖ and
―Common League,‖ it is not simply the English titles that will be familiar to jazz fusion fans.
This is a band that knows the contemporary idiom.
Perhaps the only alien thing about I Know You Well Miss Clara is the length of their name.
There is certainly nothing strange about their music. If anything, it is even more accessible than
that of simakDialog. It incorporates a rock dynamic that runs from the opening number‘s wailing
guitar work by the group‘s leader, Reza Ryan, through all seven of the album‘s tracks. This is a
musician who can play with soulful tenderness as in ―Conversation,‖ or rock out in ―Open the
Door, See the Ground.‖
The quartet consists of Adi Wijaya on keyboards, Enriko Gulto, on bass guitar and Alfiah Akbar
on drums—they eschew, it seems, the kendang. Nicholas Combe plays sax on the final two
tracks. Perhaps, his presence presages a ―Chapter Two‖ in the near future—his work on
―Dangerous Kitchen‖ adds an interesting new dimension to the ensemble.
With these groups as a sample of the kind of music coming out of Indonesia today, jazz fusion
lovers have a lot to look forward to.
[Link]
clara/?fbclid=IwAR3kJzIgnr2p8jRR4Ci1bI_kO-jJArJ2oXi1epVA2Z2jfmQzzENQyL38dJU

NEW PROG RELEASE

I Know You Well Miss Clara is an experimental propgressive jazz-rock quartet, formed in the
summer of 2010. With such wide-ranging influences as Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
Ornette Coleman, Matching Mole, and many more, the group continues to break new ground as
it discovers and defines its musical identity. The result of their visionary attitude and determined
work ethic is a music that touches places where precious little progressive music has recently
traversed. It is a bold, adventurous music more committed to being sensitive to the moment than
following any formulas or set paths. There is a kindred spirit to that which defined the best of
progressive jazz through much of the seventies and early '80's. It is expressed in a vibrant, urgent
manner that, while paying homage to a host of stellar, profound influences, is none-the-less
completely their own.
Dark and foreboding; mysterious, suspenseful and unpredictable: "Chapter One" are a breath of
fresh air for a genre clamoring desperately for such sincerity.

[Link]
[Link]?fbclid=IwAR2CNJwuknqRTwSYNEtmMeHoHIRcXyhAy4ZGDFq2FMwBTJvCiV7l
Gr2ZWYo
LETTERS FROM TAPE A HEAD
By Sean Caldwell

MoonJune Records is releasing two progressively positioned jazz albums from Indonesia's I Know You Well
Miss Clara (Chapter One) and simakDialog (The 6th Story). I spent some time today listening to snippets of
each album and really enjoyed what I heard. IKYWMC is playing Mahavishu Orchestra straight up, but it
sounds great.

TWO EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESSIVE JAZZ BANDS

FROM INDONESIA, RELEASING TWO OUTSTANDING
STUDIO ALBUMS
I KNOW YOU WELL MISS CLARA – "Chapter One"
simakDIALOG – "The 6th Story"

The Sixth Story is the exhilarating, full-throttle follow-up to 2009's critically-acclaimed Demi Masa and
2007's Patahan (one of Mr. MoonJune's favorite album on the label), from the Indonesian progressive
gamelan-jazz band simakDialog. Raising the benchmark in a genre known for its brilliant artists is no easy
feat, but this album is up to the task: each composition is an exquisite master-class rendering of equal parts
elegance and intrigue. This is modern progressive jazz at its most original, most far-reaching and most
achieving. Referencing the discernible influence of a host of the genre's most innovative voices – from the
great Miles Davis, to Return To Forever, to The Zawinul Syndicate, John Abercrombie Quartet, Tribal
Tech, and even the late, great Charles Mingus – the band continues to push the musical envelope: leaping
boldly into uncharted territories where progressive music has yet dared venture (and precious few would be
brave- or skilled-enough to even consider attempting).

Liners note by Raymond Benson

SD's guitar player Tohpati is recording new studio album in Los Angeles in mid Septemeber with Jimmy
Haslip on bass and Chad Wackerman on drums. And SD's keyboardist Riza Arshad is recording as well his
studio album in Los Angeles in mid September with Ernest Tibbs on bass guitar and Chad Wackerman on
drums and a guest guitar player to be announced. Both albums to be released on MoonJune in 2014.

I Know You Well Miss Clara is an experimental jazz quartet, formed in the summer of 2010 and hailing from
Jogjakarta, Indonesia. With such wide-ranging influences as Soft Machine, Weather Report, Mahavishnu
Orchestra, Matching Mole, Focus, Ornette Coleman and many more, the group continues to break new
ground as it discovers and defines its musical identity. Dark and foreboding; mysterious, suspenseful and
unpredictable: their creations are a breath of fresh air for a genre clamoring desperately for such
sincerity. Chapter One is a profound, monumental release: an album boldly (and easily) surpassing most of the
genre's recent efforts in terms of ambition and accomplishment. It's songs are full of intrigue, expressed in a
vibrant, urgent manner that – while paying homage to a host of stellar, profound influences – never sacrifices
sensitivity and reverence of the moment for the sake of showing off chops. (... and these cats have got some
chops!) IKYWMC's music goes places where few have been fearless- or capable-enough to venture. Their
influences are unmistakeable, yet the end result is completely and uniquely their own.

Liner notes by Sid Smith.

I Know You Well Miss Clara India Tour December, 2013

Dates to be announced soon..

Also, expect the band to be seen in the USA, Brazil and Europe in 2014.

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead

[Link]
[Link]?fbclid=IwAR26DN9EfOqYsmkcXpgctb2S0ZlQ8XJ6CjNiAeiQeDNMWgkpvRKpo3OR8oU

JAZZ MUSIC ARCHIEVES

BY JS

In the late 60s and early 70s, when fusion first hit the scene, experienced musicians often reacted
with curiosity and creativity and a lot of interesting music was performed. Over the years,
formula and cliché set in and fusion became an exercise in technique, big on flash and speed, but
low on creative ideas. Fast forward many decades and fusion has been slowly making a
comeback in the new century, and mostly because the old formulas have been cast aside and
musicians are re-learning how to explore and experiment. With that neo exploratory feeling
intact comes this new quartet from Indonesia, I Know You Well Miss Clara. There is nothing
cliché about this group as they fuse free post bop rhythms with aggressive rock-like energy and
sounds to grasp an early-70s type experimental feel, but without sounding the least bit quaint or
dated.

On their debut CD, ―Chapter One‖, I Know You Well Miss Clara lists some old school
experimental jazz rockers as favorites, including Soft Machine, Matching Mole and Mahavishnu
Orchestra, and also list jazzers like Ornette Coleman and Miles Davis as influences as well. You
can hear all those artists in Clara‘s music, but another good comparison could be those avant-
garde jazz artists who dabbled in psychedelic fusion in the early 70s, musicians such as Julian
Priester, Norman Connor and Oliver Lake. Those artists remind me of Clara‘s tendency to relax
and let their improvised sections unwind at an un-hurried pace. That sort of un-rushed mindset
that allows for introspective creativity is sometimes hard to come by in the modern music world.
In between the improvised sections, the band backs guitarist/leader Reza Ryan as he plays
composed melodies with a fluid heavy sustained guitar sound similar to a cross between Steve
Vai and Alan Holdsworth. Ryan has plenty of technique and speed when called upon, but he
never gives into gratuitous displays of fast scale runs. Reza has a very nice and well controlled
sound, but given the light and introspective feel of some of this music, I‘m surprised he doesn‘t
turn off the distortion more often and just go with a natural guitar sound. Still, his heavy sound is
a perfect for the closing track, a tribute to his old favorites, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
If you are looking for modern fusion that is fresh, creative and original, I Know You Well Miss
Clara is a good choice. Despite their stated influences, they don‘t sound like anyone else.

JAZZ MUSIC ARCHIEVES

By Kev Rowland
Never let it be said that I don‘t do my research, so here are a few facts regarding IKYWMC‘s
home country, Indonesia. While many people, especially those from the Northern Hemisphere,
may be working under the assumption that it is just a small group of islands somewhere north of
Australia, it is, in terms of population, the fourth largest country on earth (behind China, India,
and the US) with a current estimated population of 250 million, which is somewhat different to
the UK‘s 65 million and NZ‘s 4.5!! It is an archipelago that comprises over 17,000 islands,
which go to form a land mass equating to 1,919,440 square kilometres (735,355 square miles)
which means that it is the 19th largest country in terms of land. As well as being one of the
largest countries in the world they are also mad on music, which is why Leo spends so much
time down there unearthing real gems, and yet again he has made a rock solid find with the debut
from this instrumental quartet.

These guys have been influenced by progressive rock, psychedelic rock, improvisational jazz and
other forms and have brought it all together in an incredible fusion album showing elements of
Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis and Hatfield & The North
among others (just to name a few). Incredibly, this album was recorded in just 18 hours, with
most of the material being either first or second takes. Although there are large elements of ‗free
jazz‘ in what they are doing, there is also a great deal of structure and the melodies and
intricacies are sublime. They are also very conscious of the arrangements and need for space, and
it is not unusual for there are to be long passages where only one or two are actually playing and
the others let them get on with it. It is going to be very easy for the rhythm section of bassist
Enriko Gultom and drummer Alfiah Akbar to be overlooked, as although they display incredible
skills and intuitive playing they are there for the supporting roles behind the two writers and
soloists, guitarist Reza Ryan and keyboard player Adi Wijiya. They combine, separate, let each
other take the full spotlight, with a delicacy of touchy and fluidity of playing that is quite
inspired. Adi‘s playing, especially when he is using piano, is full of emotion and lightness of
touch while Reza is for me channelling the skills and dexterity of a young John McLaughlin.
Although the closing song ―A Dancing Girl From Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love‖
may not have the spelling quite right, I am sure that it is a tribute to the man himself, and is one
of two where they feature some wonderful guest sax from Nicholas Combe who sounds right at
home.

The album is a delight from start to finish, and I have to concur with the statement from Sid
Smith that is included in the digipak ―The time you spend getting to know this music will be time
well spent indeed‖. If this is their debut, what on earth are they going to come up with next?
Fusion really doesn‘t get any better than this.
[Link]
xpgNZ_Ow5pVuN97jmXUs5mRwxDXz9V2d0E11z8uquUnKpLVpOUVaE
KAKERECO

I KNOW YOU WILL MISS CLARAは、ジョン・マクラフリンやフィル・ミラーに影響

を受けたギタリストReza Ryanとチック・コリアやジョー・ザヴィヌルに影響を受け
たKey奏者Adi Wijiyaを中心に、ギター、ベース、ドラムによる5人編成で、2013年の
本作『CHAPTER ONE』がデビュー作。

静謐なタッチのピアノが不穏なメロディを奏でるオープニング、そこから手数多く引き
締まったリズム隊が入り、エレピが流麗なフレーズを奏でると、洗練されたフリー・ジ
ャズ～フュージョンの世界へ。そのままでは終わらず、ディストーションのかかったヘ
ヴィなギターがフレットの上を滑るように早弾きを聴かせると、リズム隊を熱を帯び、
一気にアグレッシヴなジャズ・ロックへと突入。ギターのトーンがどれだけヘヴィにな
っても、硬派にならず、浮遊感が通底していて、つねに「洗練」されているのがこのバ
ンドの持ち味です。

バンドの熱量を自在に操りながら、流れるように洗練されたジャズ/フュージョン・ロ
ックを聴かせるセンス溢れる好グループ。これはDISCUSやSIMAK DIALOGなどイン
ドネシアのグループに痺れたリスナーは気に入ること間違いなし。マックス・レコメン
ド！

[Link]
QZDoyQ1UhcG2YULaVXd_MWJM7RtPti_wYZi0c8
[Link]
Chapter One ist der Titel eines Albums der indonesischen Band I Know You Well Miss Clara.
Leonardo Pavkovic setzt damit die Reihe an Veröffentlichungen interessanter Bands aus
Indonesien auf seinem Label MoonJune fort. Das Land scheint, speziell im Bereich Jazz-Fusion,
eine echte Fundgrube hochklassiger Bands und Musiker zu sein.
I Know You Well Miss Clara reihen sich zumindest nahtlos in die zuletzt vorgestellten Jazz-
Fusion Alben aus Indonesien ein. Die Band spielt in klassischer Manier mit Anleihen an Soft
Machine oder Return To Forever bis hin zu Mahavishnu, Miles Davis oder auch Hendrix.
Köpfe der Band I Know You Well Miss Clara sind Gitarrist Reza Ryan und Keyboarder Adi
Wijiya. Beide prägen den Sound der Band nachhaltig. Gehalten wird dieses Band von der
profunden Groovesektion mit Bassist Enriko Gultom und Drummer Alfiah Akbar.
Die Band ergeht sich gerne in losen Strukturen mit Raum für leicht experimentelle Improparts
und spacige Landschafen. Besonders gut trifft es die Band, nach den gelungenen Einstiegssongs,
für meinen Geschmack mit dem unterhaltsamen Song "Pop Sick Love Carousel", der durchaus in
den Bereich Prog hineinreicht. Sehr experimentell wirkt "Reverie#2", mit fast 15 Minuten
Laufzeit erscheint der Song etwas lang(atmig). "Love Letter From Canada" besteht nur aus
Soundlandschaften, was über knapp 4 Minuten gerade noch unterhaltsam wirkt. "Dangerous"
legt deutlich zu. Während Drums und Bass hier ein fast klassisches Jazz-Fundament legen,
erinnern Ryan und Wijya plus Gastmusiker Nicholas Cumbe an die klassischen Soft Machine.
Mit "A Dancing Girl" legt die Band zum Abschluss noch ein Schwergewicht nach. Der Song
beginnt mit Reminiszenzen an die frühen King Crimson und spielt sich danach durch die Welt
des 70s Jazz-Fusion mit Anleihen an den klassischen Prog.

I Know You Well Miss Clara haben zwar von allem etwas,
aber die Schwerpunkte scheinen vor allem Jazz-Fusion und Prog-Sounds der
70s zu sein. Als direkte Vergleiche könnten Soft Machine und King Crimson
herhalten. Aber da ist noch mehr, die Band macht letztlich ihr eigenes Ding.
Auch wenn sie sich dabei manchmal in wenig griffigen Strukturen verlieren,
können I Know You Well Miss Clara umso mehr durch ihre Spielfreude, profunde
Technik und viele grandiose Momente überzeugen.

[Link]
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GAESTELISTE. DE

Nein, mit Miss Clara hatten wir noch nicht die Ehre. Und auch nicht das Vergnügen, denn
Moonjune hat mit diesem Quartett abermals eine hörenswerte indonesische Formation entdeckt -
vgl. etwa auch Agam Hamzah/Ligro, der hier mittuende Tohpati Ario oder simakDialog, die
ebenfalls grade neues Material am Start haben. Der Waschzettel stimmt mit folgenden Größen
auf das Kennenlernen der Clarakenner ein: Soft Machine, Matching Mole (hört der Rezensent
weniger), Focus (gar nicht), Mahavishnu Orchestra (ja), Miles Davis oder Ornette Coleman.
Dem möchte man gern noch Allan Holdsworth hinzufügen - aufgrund von Reza Ryans teils
kühnen Soundtüfteleien - und aufgrund von Adi Wijayas herrlichem Flügelspiel auch ein wenig
Brad Mehldau-Flair. "Conversation" klingt sogar teils wie eine frühe Session der Pat Metheny
Band mit Lyle Mays. Bereits im vergangenen Jahr aufgenommen, ist Kapitel eins eine
durchgängig angenehm ruhig bleibende Jazzrockscheibe mit dem letzten Stück als klarem
Höhepunkt - nicht zuletzt wegen Nicholas Combe am Saxofon.

[Link]
tv02en1qB82nsI-sp0wZMPHWm8iENgJitj3e5E2370XvkQCvyoA

EKULTURA. HU
by czekus mihaly

Úgy vélem, mindenki jól járt azzal, hogy az amerikai MoonJune Records „felkarolta‖ a
progresszív zene világában tevékenykedő indonéz muzsikusokat, hiszen egy lemezcégen
keresztül sokkal szélesebb körben elérhetővé válnak az ott élő zenészek alkotásai. A
közelmúltban már lehetőségem adódott belekóstolni az indonéz zenébe (nemrég mutattuk be az
[Link]-n a simakDialog legújabb albumát), a következő felfedezésem pedig egy nem
kevésbé veretes darab az amerikai kiadótól.

Azt hiszem, hogy a 2010-ben alapított együttes nyugodtan elindulhatna a legfurcsább nevű banda
versenyen, ugyanis I Know You Well Miss Clara néven vonultak be a zenetörténelembe,
bemutatkozó albumuk, a Chapter One egy felvétele pedig a leghosszabb számcím díjra
pályázhatna jó eséllyel – de erről majd később. Úgy gondolom, hogy már a zenei példaképek
felsorolása is sokat elárul a formációt alkotó művészek gondolkodásmódjáról, elvégre a fiatal
muzsikusok saját bevallásuk szerint a nagy klasszikusok (Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, a Soft
Machine és a Mahavishnu Orchetsra) felvételein nőttek fel. A nagy elődök hatása egyértelműen
érződik a zenekar bemutatkozó anyagán, de ez koránt sem azt jelenti, hogy egy újabb „tribute‖
bandával van dolgunk.

Az együttes zenei világában Indonézia pezsgő atmoszférájában oldódnak fel a tradicionális

progresszív zene gondolatai. A Chapter One című album repertoárjában hét szerzeményt
találhatunk, de ez a relatíve alacsony szám ne tévesszen meg senkit, ugyanis a muzsikusok kellő
teret adtak maguknak a kifejtős játékhoz, és így bő egyórás hanghordozó született. A felvételek
jelentős hányadát a zenekarvezető, Reza Ryan egyedül jegyzi szerzőként, a többi számnál pedig
alkotótársként dolgozott.

A sokadik meghallgatás után is az a véleményem, hogy egységes, jól szerkesztett anyaggal

léptek be az indonéz muzsikusok a lemezes világba. A kínálatban egymást váltják a gigászi
terjedelmű („Reverie #2‖ (14:51)) és a rövidebb lélegzetű („Love Letter From Canada‖ (4:27))
tételek, ám a zenekar nagy erénye, hogy a lemez végéig képesek fenntartani a hallgató
érdeklődését, nincsenek üresjáratok vagy töltelékszámok a műsorukban. Az album felépítése arra
enged következtetni, hogy minden bizonnyal Reza Ryan maga is belátta, hogy a tökéletes
összkép érdekében érdemesebb hosszabb-rövidebb pihenőket adni a műfajban kevésbé járatos
hallgatónak, így az albumon egymást váltják a bonyolultabb, virtuózabb felvételek, valamint a
jóval könnyebben fogyasztható kompozíciók.

A repertoár az egyik személyes kedvencemnek számító „Open The Door, See The Ground‖-dal
indul, ami egy sallangoktól mentes, őszinte, progresszív anyag. Különösen a két húzóember –
Reza Ryan és Adi Wijaya – egyedi játéka teszi izgalmassá a számot. A másik kedvenc a
korábban emlegetett „végtelen hosszúságú‖ címmel rendelkező „A Dancing Girl From The
Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love‖ – a számot hallgatva felfedezni véltem egy kis
„Mahavishnu Orchestrás‖ áthallást, de csak nagyon apró momentumokban. A közel tizenegy
perces szám még a legkritikusabb progresszív zenerajongók számára is igazi ínyencségnek
számít: a keménység és a lágyság mesteri keveréke ez a részletgazdag kompozíció.

A Chapter One című albumnak köszönhetően a hallgatónak egy képzett, energikus és rendkívül
innovatív szemléletű formációt van alkalma megismerni. Úgy gondolom, hogy a korábban
bemutatott simakDialog album és a most ismertetett I Know You Well Miss Clara-lemez
remekül betölti az „indonéz progresszív zene nagykövete‖ címet, és számos hazai zenehallgató
figyelmét irányítja rá a távoli világ művészetére.

[Link]
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Dg8E
AUTOPOIETICAN-APUNTES DE

BY CESAR INCA MENDOZA

HOLA AMIGOS DE AUTOPOIETICAN, LES SALUDA CÉSAR INCA.

Hoy es el turno de I KNOW YOU WELL MISS CLARA, un ensamble jazz-progresivo

indonesio formado a mediados de 2010 en la localidad de Jogjarkarta. Los integrantes son el
guitarrista Reza Ryan, el teclista Adi Wijaya, el bajista Enriko Gultom y el baterista Alfiah
Akbar, cuatro mentes jóvenes procedentes del Instituto de Bellas Artes de Indonesia y arrojadas
hacia el ímpetu común de aportar algo nuevo y sugerente dentro del encuentro entre el jazz
vanguardista de los 70s y las facetas más osadas del género progresivo de siempre
(principalmente el Canterbury y la psicodelia).

Los primeros 10 ¾ minutos del disco están ocupados por ‗Open The Door, See The Ground‘. El
prólogo de esta pieza abre se basa en unas sobrias líneas de piano que portan un aura sigilosa,
además de ciertas alusiones tenebrosas; luego emerge un motivo en claves alternadas de 11/8 y
12/8 que sirve para que el grupo suelte un poco más su esencial expresividad, inspirada en los
legados de WEATHER REPORT y NATIONAL HEALTH, con un teclado que sabe llevar el rol
protagónico de manera suave antes de que la guitarra se apodere del foco central con una energía
mucho más explícita. Un motivo siguiente apuesta por una robusta manifestación de despliegues
psicodélicos a la par que mantiene el esquema de trabajo jazz-rockero: la vitalidad explícita de
esta sección termina aterrizando en un retorno al preludio al modo de una coda. Luego sigue
‗Conversation‘, un tema que sirve para que el grupo explore su dimensión intimista: el cuarteto
se sitúa en un bizarro y a la vez relajante intermedio entre PAT METHENY y el SOFT
MACHINE de la etapa ―Six‖. ‗Pop Sick Love Carousel‘ parece ir por senderos bastante
semejantes a los del tema anterior, pero esta vez el swing se siente más luminoso y la
musicalidad del cuerpo central da la apariencia de estar más focalizada. Durando casi un cuarto
de hora, ‗Reverie #2‘ despliega encantamientos jazz-rockeros fabulosos donde el grupo se halla
dando nuevas vueltas de tuerca a su dinámica estilística esencial, a la par que recrea un sistema
de musicalidad más dúctil que permite la gestación de sobrias improvisaciones en torno a los
motivos básicos. El primer MATCHING MOLE y el FOCUS pre-1974 se hermanan
hipotéticamente en este tremendo viaje sónico; melancolía con un sutil toque de densidad, ésa es
la ambientación emocional predominante en esta composición. Hay que señalar una momentánea
variante de suave extroversión que surge a poco de pasada la barrera del cuarto minuto, lo cual
sirve como recurso de ingeniosa sorpresa, así como un breve crescendo fríamente neurótico que
entra a tallar cerca del final.

Tras la experiencia de ‗Reverie #2‘, la dupla de ‗Love Letter To Canada‘ y ‗Dangerous Kitchen‘
se encarga de explorar refrescantemente serenos matices dentro de un esquema de trabajo que, en
sí mismo, ya está expuesto con sobrada claridad y lúcida distinción. El primero de estos temas
ahonda en grisáceos minimalismos cósmicos donde las notas y texturas de los instrumentos
parecen flotar a través del éter interior del ánima; el segundo crea una forma de introversión
colorida que resulta auto-constreñida y grácil a la vez, una sensación que se debe en buena
medida a la aparición adicional del saxofonista Nicholas Combe para la ocasión. Con el extenso
y extravagante título de ‗A Dancing Girl From The Planet Marsavishnu Named After The Love‘,
la última pieza del álbum completa el círculo estilístico del disco gestando una entusiasta síntesis
de la aureola absorbentemente predominante en ‗Conversation‘ y ‗Pop Sick Love Carousel‘ con
los aspectos más extrovertidos del ideario musical del cuarteto. Posiblemente tengamos aquí lo
solos más impresionantes de Ryan en todo el disco… el eslabón perdido entre PHIL MILLER y
JAN AKKERMAN. La banda vuelve a contar con la complicidad de Combe para explotar las
potencialidades de la arquitectura exigida por el desarrollo temático.

¡Qué manera tan alucinante de darse a conocer al mundo! Con ―Chapter One‖ se instaura la
noción de que I KNOW YOU WELL MISS CLARA es una entidad que nace ya con edad
madura dentro del gran mundo de la avanzada jazz-progresiva.

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LATE FOR THE SKY
Nel suo girovagare per il mondo in cerca di gruppi da promuovere e pubblicare, la
Moonjune Records sembra aver rivolto un occhio di riguardo al sud est asiatico,
dando ampio spazio alle produzioni di formazioni indonesiane, com plice anche il
fatto che il governo di quel paese sembra dare più che una mano ad i suoi musicisti
nel provare ad uscire dagli stretti confini dell‘Indonesia.
A fine estate è stato dato alle stampe questo nuovo CD, titolare un gruppo il cui
nome sembra piuttosto il titolo del disco e viceversa. Un tocco di pazzia forse.
Questo quartetto di trentenni provenienti da Jojakarta è guidato dalla chitarra di
Reza Ryan (che firma la quasi totalità dei brani qui contenuti) e dalle tastiere di
Adi Wijayae i suoi riferimenti musicali sono molteplici, per quanto tutti
provenienti dall‘ambito jazz rock, da John McLaughling al prog jazz britannico
degli anni settanta, senza dimenticare certe cose di Miles Davis. Il tutto con ampie
spruzzate di suono fusion che tanto ricor dano le produzioni glaciali di casa ECM.
Come il titolo fa presagire, è già in cantiere un secondo disco del gruppo in cui i
temi qui affrontati e sviluppati attraverso sette tracce, di cui ben tre superano i
dieci minuti ed una li sfiora, si preannunciano approfonditi ulteriormente.

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CULTURE JAZZ

By Thierry Giard

L’intitulé questionne mais la musique mérite le détour. Ce quartet de jeunes musiciens

indonésiens a été constitué par le guitariste Reza Ryan, grand admirateur de John
Mclaughlin et fin connaisseur des musiques de « l’école de Canterbury » (Soft Machine,
Matching Mole...). Avec le claviériste Adi Wijaya et une solide rythmique bien en phase
avec les aspirations du leader, ils inventent une musique poétique assez captivante qui
n’est surtout pas une copie de modèles occidentaux. Le producteur Leonardo Pavkovic
est un vrai pêcheur de perles !

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UNITED MUTATIONS

BY Peter Vanlaarhoven

Indonesian prog rock band I Know You Well Miss Clara has just released their debut album.
The first thing that you notice when you take the actual album in your hands is the stunning
artwork by Angki Purbandono. The piece on the cover is called "Back Off Guys!" and it's from
2012.
Do yourself a favor and google "Angki Purbandono". You're in for a treat.

The actual album is entitled "Chapter One" and it's as gorgeous as the package suggests.
The band is led by guitarist and composer Reza Ryan and by keyboard player Adi Wijiya, and
the music is a fine mixture of jazz and progressive rock.
Unpredictable, astounding, varied, modern jazz, ...
My cup of tea.

I Know You Well Miss Clara is not an everyday name for a band. Reza Ryan explains it in the
liner notes interview with Sid Smith:
"I think Clara is a hot name!" laughs Rez. "But seriously, it's like when you have a girlfriend or a
partner you get to know them fairly well. I think if people want to hear my compoistions they
need to listen fairly well too. So, in a way, Miss Clara is ther personification of my music."

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YOURMUSIC BLOG

Time for another MoonJune release! And one the company speaks highly of, with a press sheet
boasting words like amaze, astonish, treasures or phenomenal. Since we are talking a debut here,
with a quartet of fairly young aged musicians, there must be something happening.
Centred around the indeed considerable skills of Reza Ryan on guitar and Adi Wijaya on
keyboards (with Enriko Gultom on bass and Alfiah Akbar on drums) this concerns another
Indonesian instrumental progressive group. That progressive tag has to be taken with a lot of
liberty here, as I think for most people this would fall into more of a jazz – fusion scene.
And with instrumental music where a lot is based on improvisation, you know before hand it will
take time to digest the music. Especially when 7 songs take you across the one hour mark.
Opener Open The Door See The Ground makes clear the listener will have to endure a lot of free
form. But then again next track Conversation is beautifully crafted around the interplay between
keyboard and guitar. Very moody piece and actually one that is instantly enjoyable. The other
tracks move between these two faces of the band. For me personally, I like the band best when
they focus on melody and structure. Still no denying the players all are very accomplished,
despite the young age.
So the praise, even if coming from the record company, is understandable.

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