Jazz festival boon for local acts
Published on: Saturday, March 03, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: The Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival has contributed much to the progress of the local music scene, said Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu (SPArKS) president Roger Wang."Over the years, the local (music) scene has grown and benefited from the festival," said Wang at the 12th KKJF media launch, here, Friday."There are more local acts for the festival this year…in fact, the festival has always been held to cater to the needs of local Sabahan acts.
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"It took a while to have enough good local musicians or acts before we can feature them in the festival…and this year, there are more of them."Jointly organised by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu (RCKK) and SPArKS, the annual fund-raising event continues to bring together an array of musical talents from around the country and the world to the city, performing live to ardent music lovers.Wang who is also KKJF co-organising chairman said the organisers are also looking at "what seems to work, especially the food and beverage (F&B) section.""We received good response on the F&B side last year, and we are going to continue to put focus on that," he said.
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Organising chairman Jack Ong said the organisers are expecting about 3,000 audiences for the festival which will be held at the covered tennis court, Sutera Harbour Marina and Country Club, starting 7pm (both days), from March 9-10."This year, we are targeting to get more tourists from China and South Korea to attend the festival," he said.
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An impressive line-up of international acts, together with renowned and upcoming Malaysian talents are set to perform back-to-back on either the centre or main stage during the two-night festival.Among the highlights for the first night would be Rozella and Esther Applunius – both Sabahans.Regularly performing and creating music, Rozella was a Voice International Music Awards (Vima) 2016 nominee and the winner of Tiger Jams 2016.The singer-songwriter's musical talents were recognised when her previous single Home to You was handpicked for an exclusive remix by international synth pop duo Chvrches.Besides regularly performing and creating music, Rozella is also a voiceover artist and a body positive advocate.The petite songstress Esther is no stranger in the local entertainment scene.Apart from winning first runner-up in the third season of One in a Million, Esther has entered and won many singing competitions since she started performing in 1998, including the 2005 Sugandoi Kaamatan contest, and the 2016 Star Search 999 Singing Competition.She also grabbed a silver medal in last year's World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in California, US.Sybil Thomas was born to sing, and she will be the main act to wrap up KKJF on the second night.She has been singing since she was five, and her first big break came in the early 1970's when she toured Italy with the distinguished group, The Platters, as the only female singer.In her career, she has worked with other artists such as Jeffrey Osborne, Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman, and George Duke.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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