Ahmad Muriz (right) leads 'A Night Of Jazz With The MPO' at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS in KL on Oct 4, joined by local jazz veterans Chan (saxophone, left) and Veerapen (piano, middle). Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Merging the swing of jazz with the sweep of an orchestra is no small task.
For Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) conductor Ahmad Muriz Che Rose, the challenge lies in keeping the strings and saxophone in balance, creating harmony without drowning out either side.
That fine line will be put to the test at the A Night Of Jazz concert with the MPO at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 4.
"The challenge is to get the right sound balance because there will be many instruments on stage. Wind instruments are usually much louder than strings. So, we need to arrange it carefully so that the combination sounds balanced and harmonious,” he said at a recent press event at the DFP.
Ahmad Muriz said the concert will also feature veteran pianist Michael Veerapen, alto saxophonist Julian Chan and the Julian Chan Jazz Orchestra, as well as vocal guest performances by Pop n’ Bop, Tony Eusoff and Junji Delfino.
"The expectation is very high, so in terms of interpretation, performance and technical expertise, all the musicians will raise their game. From the audience’s perspective, they will not only see the technical level but also the artistic level reaching greater heights,” he added.
The concert setlist - divided into "Basie Straight Ahead" and "Ellington Cottontail" - will include local favourites such as Hujan Di Tengahari (P. Ramlee) and Chendering (Jimmy Boyle) alongside standards such as Route 66, Summertime, That Old Black Magic and I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
Chan said the musicians’ depth of experience means that even without intensive early rehearsals, they’ll still deliver a polished, high-level performance.
"What usually happens is the music will be given (to us) beforehand, so everyone has enough time and opportunity to look at it and practice. Since we are professionals, we can just meet in the week of the show, do a few rehearsals to tighten everything up and then perform on show day," said Chan.
"Also, this music is not necessarily new to the musicians in terms of style. They all come with a really good understanding of what to expect when they are playing because they have been doing this for many years,” he added. - Bernama
