Snazzy jazzy oldtimers

Joe Rozells and the Palm Beach Boys

THERE’S a buzz on the island —- the Sixth Penang Island Jazz festival is just around the corner. And people aren’t waiting as pre-events have been going on across George Town and beyond this month. Last Sunday, G Spot, one of the fringe venues, in G Hotel, had its second “countdown evening”. There was a jazz evening on Thursday at Paradise Sandy Beach Resort, and Little Penang Street Market will have three jazz performances and an exhibition of jazz photographs, on Nov 29.

So the sounds of trumpets, keyboards, saxophones, drums and basses of all sorts have been echoing through the rain-swept streets of Gurney Drive, Upper Penang Road and Tanjung Bungah. And calmly awaiting the big day, opening on the main stage on Dec 5 are the Island Palm Beach Boys.

Comprising multi-talented William Scully on Hawaiian guitar, Leander Jeremiah and George Baum on guitars, Bonnie Jeremiah on bass, Douglas De Souza on drums, Alphonso Scully on ukulele and Colleen Read on vocals, the Island Palm Beach Boys are a celebration of the time when Penang was famous for its multitude of musical talents.

Chatting with them at the tranquil Arati Villas coffeeshop, it was easy to be transported back to the good ole days. Names came tripping easily off the tongue: Joe Rozells, Larry Rodrigues, Edwin Rajamoney for starters. Then Spencer Rangel, Leo Aeria, Stanley D’Almeida, Bertie Limuco, ‘Jock’ Remedios ... the list could go on. These were the balmy days of the 1960s, when the Hawaiian style of music in particular was synonymous with clubs and functions held in Penang.

Each of these musicians has had a part to play in that. Nearly all of them played with Joe Rozells at the time when Joe and his Hawaiian Palm Beach Boys were the top Hawaaian band in Malaysia. The Island Palm Beach Boys also played with other established Penang bands, like Edwin Rajamoney’s Island Rhythmics, and had set up their own bands. “We used to play from 9pm-1am non-stop,” says William, “seven days a week, one day off a month. “Those were the rules in those days and that is why so many of us learnt all the instruments. We took turns to go for a toilet break or a smoke, and so the rest would have to fill in.” De Souza now lives and plays in KL, but the rest still stay and play in Penang. “We get together now and again at the Tombstone,” says Alphonso, referring to a coffeeshop near the graveyard in Mount Erskine. And through their participation in groups like the Melo Tones, patrons can still hear the haunting music of the past. “We play about two or three functions a month — weddings, parties — and people still tell us how much they miss the Hawaaian sound of earlier days,” adds Alphonso. Venues such as the Island Club, Chusan, Springtide, the Minden Barracks, the Green Parrot, and the Shanghai have given way to new places and new audiences. “But no one can take away the richness of the musical heritage of Penang,” says festival organiser Paul Augustin, “and we are happy to celebrate it at this year’s festival.” It is not just an exercise in nostalgia: veteran though the Island Beach Palm Boys may be, they each come from a family where the musical gene has been passed down the generations, and within the lively and vibrant younger jazz scene in Penang can be found other Scullys, Rozells, Rodrigues, D’Almeidas and many others.

So as you lay back by the sea on opening night of the Sixth Penang Island Jazz festival, be transported back in time by the mellow music of these wonderful musicians, and know too of the links across the generations that have inspired and kept jazz alive and vibrant in Penang over the past 50 years. Which is perhaps why the Penang Island Jazz Festival has begun to take such strong root. Let the countdown continue.

n The Sixth Penang Island Jazz Festival runs Dec 3-6. The Island Palm Beach Boys kick off music at the main stage on Dec 5 at 6.30pm. For details, visit www.penangjazz.com.