Jazz Festival Contains Pop Singer? This Is The Response Of Monita Tahalea

Monita Tahalea (Ivan Two Men/VOI)

JAKARTA - Monita Tahalea saw positive things from a debate on social media about a jazz music festival that did not provide space for jazz musicians to appear, aka lack of jazz.

As is known, this debate began with Indra Lesmana's statement criticizing the promoters who held jazz music festivals but instead gave a large portion to other (pop) genres rather than jazz musicians.

Although Indra did not mention names, the public assumed that the criticism was aimed at Prambanan Jazz which was promoted by Rajawali Indonesia.

Indra's statement was welcomed by Anas Alimi, who argued that the decision to present famous names from the realm of popular music was because Prambanan Jazz had to survive. He also gave an example of several world jazz festivals that also presented line-ups outside jazz musicians.

The difference in two views attracted the attention of several great musicians, especially those who were close to jazz, namely Dewa Budjana and Sri Hanuraga.

Responding to the spotlight on the jazz music festival, Monita said, the debate was actually good to make more people care about the sustainability of jazz in Indonesia.

For me, what was discussed yesterday actually opened a new horizon. People are becoming more and more concerned, "said Monita, met after her appearance at BRI Jazz Gunung Series 2 Bromo at the Java Resort Jiwa Bromo, Probolinggo, last weekend.

For Monita, this problem must also be questioned to the musicians who appear. The reason is, they were the ones who accepted the offer to appear in the event by bringing a jazz image.

"The performers must also be more concerned. Because they are invited to an event titled a certain genre, it means they have to adjust," said the 37-year-old singer.

Monita hopes that discussions on social media can produce good agreements, where each party has more integrity in carrying out its work.

"So, in my opinion, it was a good discussion, because in the end it became all literate, and people finally came back again and had to have integrity if they wanted to make something, I don't know the organizer and the singer too," he concluded.