02 December 2011
Newsdesk
The name Jessica Manuputty may not ring a bell. But you will be captivated by her voice once you listen to her songs. Like a good quality wine, her voice is full-bodied and has a balance in high and low registers.
Hundreds of people who came to Erasmus Huis in South Jakarta earlier this month were curious whether the Dutch singer could charm them. They did not waste their time.
Jessica’s soulful voice and easy listening music style managed to win over the audience, who were tapping their feet and nodding along with the jazz performance.
Wearing glittery blue hot pants and a one-shoulder black top with tassels, Jessica, accompanied by a band comprising a pianist, guitarist, bassist and drummer, greeted them in English, Indonesian and Dutch.
“We are from the Netherlands. I am an Ambonese, but grew up in Holland. That is why I cannot speak Indonesian fluently,” she said, smiling.
She opened the gig with “On My Side”, followed with “Get on a Ride”. Jessica showcased her flowing vocals when singing “A Breathless Hush”, which she wrote herself.
It was not a flawless performance. She coughed on the fifth song when singing “My Tutu”. She stopped for a short time to drink some water but smoothly covered the silence by asking the audience to stand up and dance together.
“Don’t be shy to get up out of your chairs and dance. Have a party with us!” she said.
“My Tutu” is, indeed, a very danceable song that has an easy beat. The listeners, many of whom might already have fallen in love with her, thoroughly enjoyed the impromptu dance and joined in to sing the refrain. They stepped to the right and to the left, mirroring her example on the stage.
“The Man”, which she had sung on a local television station earlier that morning, also captivated the audience. With the seventh song, “Stay”, Jessica demonstrated that she could reach high notes and come back down to the low ones without much difficulty. Excited screams soon filled the auditorium when she belted out a traditional song from Maluku, “Sudah Berlayar” (Already Sailed).
She sang 11 songs, most of which were written by her. In a short interview with The Jakarta Post shortly before she caught her flight to Maluku to perform at Ambon’s Jazz Plus Festival, Jessica expressed her delight when she said that she had made the best decision to abandon her studies in psychology in order to pursue a career as a musician.
“I thought psychology was interesting, but not interesting enough, and I wanted to really follow my heart and try to make a career in music,” she said.
Her official website mentions that she auditioned for the singing department at the Utrecht School of the Arts. After graduating in 2008, she became an excellent backing vocalist over the years, working with, among others, Barry Hay, Postman and Wicked Jazz Sounds.
Jessica apparently wants to make sure that she is not one of the people who do not do what they really want to do, who get trapped in a mundane, daily routine. Her parents, fortunately, give her all the support she needs to chase her dream.
“I just want to try, at least. I know it’s hard. It’s a long way to get to the top and to get things done, but it is worth it because I am very happy becoming a musician, making music and living my life with music,” she said.
Jessica’s penchant for music started early when she learned classical piano at the age of 12. Her interest in other genres grew when she became a teenager, but jazz has a special place in her heart.
“I grew up listening to many jazz records played by my father,” she said, adding that of all her family plays music, although not professionally.
The woman who grew up listening to the music of American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder refuses to say her music has a pure jazz influence, admitting that much of her inspiration comes from pop and funk music, too.
Jessica said she is currently preparing around 20 songs for her first album, which is expected to be released early next year. Stay tuned, girl. We look forward to listening to it.
