The 18th Yamaha’s Hamamatsu Jazz Week and My Musical Taste

Yamaha music has known as one of leading musical instrument manufacturer around the world and as one of the biggest electronic manufacturer in Hamamatsu city, Yamaha hold an anniversary Jazz event in Hamamatsu that named Hamamatsu Jazz Week.

The Jazz performance has carry out in Hamamatsu city for 1 week in several stages including street stage like Zaza city and in front of Hamamatsu station’s north gate (gratis), at restaurant’s stage and Hamamatsu Act City’s concert hall (with ticket). Except Jazz performance, there are also Jazz coach clinic that invite several jazz professional artists. This year, the 18th Hamamatsu Jazz Week was held in 23rd – 31st May, 2009.

I grew up with influence of my father’s musical taste. He also introduced me and my younger brother how to play guitar and keyboard. My father was a small timer musician in our hometown Tanjung Pandan, Belitung by playing bass and mainly keyboard with his band Setia Nada (then later Billitonite 5). During my father's younger day when he was still living in Jogjakarta, he often to listen to Rock musician legend like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc and also Jazz performer like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong until Chick Correa and Al Jarreau. Contradicted to me, cause I spent all my childhood days in a small island. My only musical resources was my parent's cassette collection. That's why I frequently listen to my mother’s Bee Gees and another Indonesian old song cassettes until I have no other cassette choice than my father’s collection.

P-pro band

At the first, I took Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple during my junior high school days and I love it at once. During that day, Guns and Roses and Bon Jovi became my friend’s rock band favorite and also Boys Band as well. Well…. I like some of them either, but nothing compared to Jimmy Page, Jon Lord, Freddy Mercury and their compatriot. Then, when I was in senior high school days I start to listen to my father’s Jazz collections. First time, it just like a lot of noise sounds in my ear especially the mainstream jazz standard. I wonder why my father loves them so much, even his friends who live in Jakarta sent him a lot of Jazz cassettes when he knew that my father likes Jazz a lot (like himself). Curiosity.... maybe that was the point. Gradually, my ear start to receive Fusion Jazz, Big Band and Latin Jazz that easier to listen. Now, I can even enjoy the Jazz mainstream genre. Off course, sometimes my friend saw me just like a strange boy who enjoy Jazz than another popular genre. When I was studying in university, my classmates sometimes ask me why I prefer the old crack rockers and Jazz. You know my answer.

Violet Brass Band

Fujimori Trio and Suzuki Mami

Back to the main topic, Hamamatsu Jazz Week. During my part-time job, there are some Jazz live performances like Big Band, quartet and trio jazz group in the restaurant that I work as waiter. But because I have to focus on my job, I couldn’t even enjoy their music. I couldn’t leave my experiment in my lab and part-time job, but luckily I got free time at this Sunday weekend at the end of Jazz Week day. So I went to the last performance that held at 2 different places. First, I went to concert hall in Act City building but a lady asked me the entrance ticket (3.000 ~ 8.000 yen) that I didn’t have. So, I went to the other stage at the north gate of train station. It was free, it was gratis! I spent my time enjoying Jazz from 12:00 until 5:00. There were 5 performers in that day and I saw full performance from 4 of them, not bad.

Hamamatsu Matsuri

I won’t write a lot in this posting, just upload some pictures that I took from central Hamamatsu to show you about Hamamatsu Matsuri (まつりor Festival). Actually the main event in Hamamatsu Matsuri is the three days kite festival (3rd, 4th and 5th May) where every 町 (Chou/Machi or town) in Hamamatsu city will send their representative group to fight each other through their kite in the sky until the supreme one kite flying unmatched.

A group from Tenmachou - 天馬町 during preparation

A group from Chitosechou - 千歳町 during preparation

The kite event performed during the day until afternoon and it will followed by parade of 御殿屋台 - Goten Yatai (A cart which is decorated beautifully) from every Chou/Machi in Hamamatsu at night. Every Goten Yatai accompanied by the Chou/Machi’s representative group (Gumi – 組) who carrying the Goten Yatai cart when the younger female playing Japanese traditional music by drumming a small drum or even taiko (big drum) and playing flute and shamisen (Japanese three string guitar) inside the cart.

Goten Yatai Parade during Hamamatsu Matsuri

I wonder what was that man doing on the top of Goten Yatai during parade?

Wait for a moment and take a rest a while before pull/push the cart again

Young girls inside Goten Yatai in white costum playing drum and shamisen

Sorry, I can't clearly read the letter that written on the lampion. It is their town's name.

Representative group from Tamachi - 田町

M1 of the third floor

Besides laboratories, our research group also has two rooms for student’s research. One in the second floor and the other is in the third floor. M1 (pronounced: em ichi) itself means the first year master course's graduate student, sometimes it is called 修士課程一年生 (pronounced: shuushi katei ichi nen sei) with the same meaning. I have my desk in the third floor room and that makes me a member of the third floor’s M1. Except me, there are three others M1’s in our student’s room. By this short posting, I want to introduce our third floor's three musketeers.

Iwasaki alias Dai-chan

Dai-chan is the funniest guy in our room, a joker by nature and sometimes I thought he can be a comedian or manzai if he wants to. He can play soccer quite well as right wing back in student’s soccer club although he said that he won’t continue his career as a professional soccer player. This Hamamatsu’s resident who’s in charged as party arranger in our group still planning to seek a job after graduation around Shizuoka. Because of that, I was made a joke that he doesn’t want to separate from his mom. No offence buddy, it just a joke. I know how it does feel, H.O.M.E S.I.C.K.


Nukina aka Takero

Takero is living in Fuji, not in Hamamatsu. That’s why he always go and back from Fuji to Hamamatsu every day by train, pretty tired (you can see his weary face.....Hahaha..just kidding). He joined a student’s music club and played guitar in a band during his college days. Recently, he said that he has been quit from the music club but keep playing guitar alone at his home without band (perhaps in front of his girl :P ). Just like Dai-chan, if there is possible he wants to find a job and work somewhere in Fuji after graduation. Home sweet home




Uchida aka Uchi

At the first time I met him, I couldn’t catch his Japanese weird pronunciation which is later I found that he used Kansai dialect when he spoke. Uchi’s hometown is in Kansai area not far from Osaka, to be precise Hyougo prefecture. That’s why he quite often speaks with Kansai dialect or at least pronounces his Japanese with thick Kansai accent. Far from his hometown (Hamamatsu-Hyougo distance is about 220 Km) makes him rent an apartment nearby our campus. It seems he didn’t intend to find a job in Kansai area after graduation since he has been living far from Kansai now. As long as replaced in Honshu, he can work in anywhere.

Bokura no kenkyusitsu (僕らの研究室)

I don’t know what kind of topic that I want to write in this blog, so.... by this opportunity I want to introduce our research lab to you. The meaning of title above is "Our Research Laboratory".

Almost all of our lab members gathering for welcome party at the 2nd floor laboratory

It is a material science research group located in Hamamatsu Japan, supervised by two professors Suzuki-sensei and Wakiya-sensei plus one associate Sakamoto-sensei. The laboratory consist 4th year under graduate students and graduate students (master and doctor degree) and a special student status, kenkyuusei (research student). Well, I was a research student for 1 year before because of my lack knowledge about material science (I got bachelor degree from chemistry) and I was need an introduction course to material science and also Japanese language through research student time. Perhaps it’s a kind of matriculation.

Members of 3rd floor student room

By the way, I am the only non Japanese student in my lab, but everybody in here is very helpful to me. They never refuse to help me for my annoying question about language or even the experiment itself. Well, thanks so much guys. From October 2008 to January 2009, Hana Ursic a doctoral student from Slovenia visit us as visitor researcher and make me not the only one foreigner in this lab for 3 months. Since I didn't meet her and say farewell when she return to Ljubljana Slovenia, I dedicating this posting for our say good bye to her.

After 飲み会 (nomikai) - a kind of drinking party for Hana

Andori, Ookushi, Iwasaki, Uchida, Murase, and Sawamura

Just like another research lab activity, we have routine seminars, experiments, etc. But I want to talk about our non-research activities in here. You can see in the picture that we held bounenkai and shinnenkai (party around new year), welcome party for new member, karaoke or even softball competition.

For the first time that our lab team got the softball winner cup ( 2008 ) in Aichi province

Well, I never play softball or baseball before I came to Japan, but I have fun when I played it for the first time. You know that baseball or 野球 (yakyuu) in Japanese is the most famous team-sport game in Japan while soccer/football is the second. When I was playing in the game, I didn't know the rule even a little bit. My friends told me just hit the ball as possible I can and then run to base that located on my right side. Hahahaha....funny and interesting.

Everybody eat from 鍋 (nabe) a kind of japanese pan for preparing hot dishes (vegetables, mushroom, kimchi, meat, etc) especially in winter

Techno Fiesta di Kampus Hamamatsu

Musim gugur sudah tiba dan Shizuoka Daigaku Matsuri direncanakan akan diadakan pada bulan November, tepatnya pada hari sabtu dan minggu, 8 dan 9 November 2008. Tema yang diluncurkan kali ini adalah pesta teknologi, maklumlah kampus Hamamatsu dikenal sebagai Kougakubu alias Fakultas Teknik.


Dua hari Techno Fiesta diadakan, dua hari pula hujan turun menambah dinginnya udara musim gugur. Walaupun demikian cuaca tidak mengurangi minat masyarakat datang untuk ikut meramaikan ShizuDai Matsuri. Ada bermacam-macam acara yang diselenggarakan oleh masing-masing jurusan, kelompok penelitian maupun SAKURU (kelompok ekstrakulikuler) untuk meramaikan Techno Fiesta. Berikut ini adalah tulisan tentang hal menarik yang dilihat oleh penulis.



Eksperimen dalam laboratorium
Jurusan material sains mengadakan berbagai percobaan menarik untuk menarik minat anak-anak terhadap ilmu sains khususnya material.



Ada kelompok penelitian yang mengadakan acara membuat gambar warna-warni bagaikan sablon dengan senyawa polimer diatas kain. Acara ini ramai dikunjungi anak-anak yang ingin membuat gambar tokoh anime seperti Doraemon hingga Ponyo. Demi keamanan, semua anak-anak diwajibkan memakai jas lab dan kaca mata pelindung.



Kelompok peneliti lain menyelenggarakan percobaan membuat slime dari campuran Polivinyl Alcohol (PVA) dan Borax. Campuran ini dibuat berwarna warni sesuai dengan selera anak-anak yang membuatnya.


Adapula yang membuat hiasan dan gantung kunci dengan menggunakan perbedaan sifat logam dan kaca terhadap suhu tinggi. Diatas logam tembaga dibubuhi oleh serbuk gelas dengan pilihan gambar tertentu, kemudian dibakar dalam tungku hingga 850 derajat celcius dimana serbuk gelas meleleh mengikuti alur tembaga yang mulai melengkung dipengaruhi oleh tingginya temperature.


Yang membuat saya kagum adalah anak-anak yang rata-rata berusia 7 hingga 12 tahun itu banyak bertanya pada mahasiswa-mahasiswi yang membimbing mereka mengadakan percobaan. Bahkan adapula yang menanyakan pertanyaan yang cukup kritis kalau melihat usia mereka yang masih kecil.


Mereka bebas bertanya pada mahasiswa yang lebih tua tanpa sungkan ataupun dilarang oleh orangtua mereka, dan yang ditanya juga berusaha menjawab walaupun kadang-kadang ada pertanyaan yang tidak masuk akal. Maklumlah anak-anak. Saya berharap perguruan tinggi di Indonesia juga dapat melaksanakan acara serupa dengan mengundang anak-anak turut terlibat dalam eksperimen yang menyenangkan supaya mereka menjadi tertarik untuk belajar khususnya ilmu pengetahuan alam.

Selain itu juga diluar berjejer kios-kios yang menjajakan makanan khas matsuri (festival). Walaupun cuaca kurang bersahabat, para pengunjung tetap berkeliaran dengan menggunakan payung.


Kelompok ekstrakulikuler yang berorientasi dance menyelenggarakan tari-tarian dari tari tradisional, modern hingga yang khas dengan matsuri. Yang paling menarik adalah tarian kelompok MORNING MUSUKO yang memparodikan klip video grup girlband terkenal Morning Musume. Musume berarti anak perempuan dan Musuko berarti anak lelaki, sudah barang tentu para anggota Morning Musuko adalah mahasiswa pria yang berdandan manis dan cute ala Morning Musume. Sayangnya akibat terlalu asyik tertawa menonton Morning Musuko bernyanyi lip sing sambil nge-dance ala Morning Musume, saya lupa mengambil gambar buat kenang-kenangan.


Terakhir, yang menarik minat saya adalah panggung band mahasiswa yang tergabung dalam kelompok ekstrakulikuler musik. Sungguh tak disangka kalau kemampuan bermusik mereka sudah cukup baik dan mampu memainkan lagu-lagu musisi professional dengan baik. Bukan hanya cover band saja melainkan juga original band yang membawakan lagu ciptaan mereka sendiri. Menurut kabar salah satu dari band original ini akan membuat album indies (saya lupa nama grup ini, kalau ingat saya pasti tak akan ragu membeli album mereka).


Sedangkan cover band (band yang membawakan lagu musisi terkenal) yang paling menarik adalah “Soko-soko Dynamic“ yang merupakan cover band grup terkenal Tokyo Jihen. Walaupun ada beberapa cover band lain seperti Led Zeppelin, The Yellow Monkey, Sambo Master hingga X Japan, Soko-soko Dynamic benar-benar mencuri perhatian saya. Saya merasakan seakan-akan Tokyo Jihen sedang tampil LIVE didepan tanpa menyadari kalau didepan saya hanyalah anak-anak S1 tingkat empat yang akan lulus tahun depan.

Hujan berhenti turun ketika waktu menunjukkan pukul 3 sore. Jam 5 sore langit sudah berbuah menjadi gelap, maklumlah dimusim gugur waktu siang mulai lebih pendek dari pada waktu malam.