Bigger names, talents for KK Jazz Festival this year
Published on: Saturday, July 11, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Bigger names and talents have been lined up for the ninth edition of the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival this year on July 24 and 25 at the Covered Tennis Court, Sutera Harbour Marina and Country Club.The festival is jointly organised by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu (RCKK) and Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu (SPArKS).The launch of the ninth edition performers' line-up was done by co-organising chairman Roger Wang, who is also the President of SPArKS, in Hard Rock Café Kota Kinabalu at Oceanus Waterfront, here, Thursday.
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This year, the festival would be headlined by Motown legend, Bobby Taylor.Taylor is most notable for discovering and mentoring the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson.Another attraction would be the internationally renowned Gugun Blues Shelter from Indonesia, a three-piece band known for its genre-crossing style of blues that incorporate influences from rock, funk and soul. Coming back for the festival is The Rio Sidik Quartet from Bali, Indonesia.
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Music lovers in the State would also be able to see Shun Ng – a finger-style guitarist, vocalist and acclaimed international performer nominated for 'International Artist of The Year in 2013' and '2014 Boston Music Awards' known for his unique and virtuosic style which infuses elements of Soul, Funk, Blues and Jazz on stage.The local front would see Malaysian's Liyana Fizi, a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, wowing the audience with a mix of pop, folksy and jazzy accents.
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She is known for her achievement as 'YES Artist of the Month 2012'. Also in the line-up is May Mow from Penang who would provide her demure seductive, elegant and alluring bassy voice to the Chinese jazzy pop lovers with Shanghai jazz twist.As for the home-grown band, Faizul Sany & The Hybrid, who was the winner of the 'Akademi Fantasia' in 2013, Suria Buskers from Sandakan with their variety music style, Headhunters – who is known throughout Southeast Asia's club scene for their jazz-reggae-R&B style and Quadro Forte consisting of local music graduates, their mix of jazzy upbeat Spanish influences and also the winner from the Talent Search competition would cap the two nights of festival.Sabah's very own Daphne Iking would be back to host and jazz up the stage once again this year.Earlier, Organising Chairman Jack Ong, who is also the President of the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu, expressed his thanks to the Hard Rock Café Kota Kinabalu and Carlsberg for their kind support in the launch as well as to the hardworking committee from RCKK and SPArKS in organising the festival since its inception.He also thanked sponsorship from organisations like Yayasan Sime Darby, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah and other sponsors.The festival is an annual fund-raising event where proceeds from ticket sales would be channelled to fund deserving community projects of RCKK. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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