Jazz, caves and the jungles of Borneo – a music festival in the Malaysian state of Sarawak
- Planning for the summer holidays? Borneo Jazz Festival bewitches with line-up of local and international musicians, rappers and DJs
- The small town the festival is held in, Miri, not far from the Brunei border, is a stepping-off point for the Mulu Caves
My Borneo jungle adventure begins in civilised Kuala Lumpur. It’s late and I am sipping a negroni at the bar in No Black Tie, a state-of-the-art jazz club crowded with excited musicians, the talk all about the upcoming Borneo Jazz Festival.
“Each year, we bring everyone together in the tiny town of Miri, just on the border with Brunei,” says Evelyn Hii, the club’s owner, who organises the festival in her native Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. “Jazz artists from across the world will perform at night, conduct masterclasses during the day and discover the magic of Miri.”
After dumping my bags at my hotel, I arrive at the Coco Cabana just before the sunset inauguration ceremony kicks off the festival. The venue, a soaring wooden auditorium, dominates a narrow palm-fringed headland jutting into the sea. At its tip stands the Seahorse Lighthouse, around which dancers, musicians and a mystical storyteller from the Kenyah tribe, resplendent in traditional hornbill feathers and embroidered beads, bewitch the crowd with a sacred welcome ritual.
The ceremony is “like a mix between jazz, hip hop and music from the rainforest – amazing!” says American pianist Kirk Lightsey, one of the stars of the festival. “The storyteller is like a rapper, with his grandparents as backing singers and musicians playing traditional sape guitar and gamelan-style xylophone – totally modern and totally traditional at the same time,” the sprightly 82-year-old tells me. “I came here expecting to be surprised and I am not disappointed – I mean, jazz in the jungles of Borneo!”
