gruvavenue jazz-solute!

Genting International Jazz Fest 2008

2008-04-02T04:43:00.000-07:00

Though gruvavenue won't be performing within the Genting International Jazz Festival 2008 this year, i managed to put up these talented cats (Black Machine Trio & SVS) to give their patrons a good variety of great jazz from traditional standards to future sounds. Performances starts from 12 noon to 9 PM weekly, and until 6 PM on festival dates. Selected venues include The Bakery, First World lobby, Resort Hotel Lobby and Latte@ Genting.

If you're wondering "who & who" are gonna perform "where & when", explores and walk around the cafes, bistros, and lobbies. We'll be there to perform some chill music at places least expected. Happy "treasure hunting"! Admission is free. However i strongly suggest you get a cuppa hot drink and something to munch! Warning: The food is TEMPTING!

Information of the festival in EVENING:
Date: 4th & 5th Apr 2008
Ticket: 1-day pass @ RM100 per head, 2-day pass @ RM150 per head.
Concert admission is for individuals aged 18 years and above only.
Venue: Genting International Showroom
Website: http://www.gentingjazz.com
Hotline: 03-2718 1118

Quote from Artistic Director of GIJF:
"All the bands that are slotted to play for this year are performing very different genres of jazz music. Expect to hear African jazz, blues, virtuostic Brazilian mandolin improvisations, Caribbean jazz, celtic-cuban salsa big band, Jamaican reggae-jazz and much much more."

Media Review of "The Awakening"

2008-02-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Electric intimacy

By : SUBHADRA DEVAN
Jan 20, 2008

THE jazz is smooth. The audience is lively. The band and the crowd are in the groove. It may be only a recording but when the album is made at a “live” session, the electric intimacy fairly sizzles.
Independent band GruvAvénue’s latest offering, The Awakening, offers urban jazz with a clean sound. It was recorded in October at the band’s concert at The Actors’ Studio in Bangsar Shopping Centre.

The concept for the album percolated through about three years, says 32-year-old Ong.

“Our first album was a studio recording.” The self-titled debut album, released in August 2005 under Black Machine Music Production, had entirely original compositions.

“Doing a live concert recording brought that concert energy home,” he says.

“It’s a lot more fun to do but technically more difficult. It was pretty tough for our engineer Vincent Lim. For us musicians, we could see each other and that made the music flow easier.”

Once known as Black Machine, GruvAvénue entered mainstream music consciousness with its inaugural performance at The Actors Studio, Plaza Putra in 2001.

They’ve kept themselves busy since, with many special appearances around the local jazz circuit. These include Avanti Italian American Ristorante in Sunway Resort & Hotel and the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Festival.

The Awakening ’s tracks are loaded with instrumental blocks with solid sound from pianist Tay Cher Siang and leader-bassist Vincent Ong, sax solos by Shazee Ishak and snappy drum beats by Martin Ngim.

Shazee also raps while singer Vanessa Tan weaves her take in a sometimes husky, other times throaty style.

Judging by the music sheet for the album, the band members all seem to have had a hand in writing the music or the lyrics.

Ong says his favourites on the album are Time For Change and Mountain, which music he wrote last year.

“Most of the others are also written just for the concert,” says the Petaling Jaya-born Ong who now resides in Cheras.

Time For Change , he says, was inspired by the development in front of his condominium. This is the only track on The Awakening with a message.

“There used to be a golf course but day by day the landscape changed. And I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Shazee raps it the lyrics for this save-the-earth track. Some of the lines are: “ As I rise in the morning, vision start to play, have these become rituals every day, every day…

“We take we take but we never give back... now we’re slowly dying...”

The chorus –“ we all need to possess greater love" – is sung in a nice mellow contrast by Tan.

From the start with the warm-up number Let’s Play, the album doesn’t fail to please.

Standout tracks include the lively Mamacita with a funky samba beat, snazzy One Town, the danceable Highlife and 34 seconds of the electronica-like Salty Man Can’t Come In where Ong shows his fret work.

“Three of the tracks had to be cut short because it was a live performance and we played two sets of 45 minutes each.

“The full version of those three tracks can be heard on amp.channelv.com/gruvavenue.”

“The best thing is the chemistry and the energy you’ll hear on the album,” says Ong.

Not true. The music plays hard for first place.

The Awakening is available at Tower Records. The band will perform at Alexis Bar & Bistro on March 21-22.

Please VOTE for us!

2007-11-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a whole lotta people who've supported us, the GruvAvenue concert & CD project is materialised! Vince & i wouldn't have gone this far without the encouragement, help and support you all gave us. Here's our small gift to you all out there - a track which you can keep as long as you want! Do register an account there, and start to check out the music, rate, and download for free. And if you think our track is fine, please, please, pleaseeeee, VOTE for our track. Your opinion is very important to keep us growing!

GruvAvenue "The Awakening" CD is released!

2007-11-17T07:48:00.001-08:00

For everyone who'd waited a month and wonder what the heck were we doing, fret not. The GruvAvenue "The Awakening" CDs are finally available to you! It's now selling at all major TOWER Records in the following spots:-

Kuala Lumpur Area
Suria KLCC
Lot 10

Petaling Jaya Area
Mid Valley
One Utama
Hartamas Shopping Centre

To preview:
http://amp.channelv.com/amp/gruvavenue

The Concert was SOLD OUT!

2007-10-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone the concert was a great success. Anna did a great job on the photography. It's a tough task esp with yours truly, the rookie on lighting. I had fun playing the lighting console as it's all real-time and manual. Zaw, the theatre lighting supervisor was a great help. He gave good tips and pretty much let me exercised every fingers i have, and borrowed me his when mine were ran out! If you've missed the show, here's some pictures.

THE AWAKENING Live Concert

"THE AWAKENING" Live Concert

2007-09-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

CHANNELING THE GROOVE INTO YOUR SYSTEM
- GruvAvénue "The Awakening" Live Concert in The Actors Studio, Bangsar-

Concert Info:-

Date: 3 October 2007

Venue: The Actors Studio @ BSC

Time: 8 PM.

Attire: Smart Casual

Ticket Info:-

Price: RM 38 nett (inclusive of ticket charges)

Box Office: The Actors Studio, Level 3,

West Wing, Bangsar Shopping Centre.

Telephone: +603 2094 0400 / 1400

Opens: Daily 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM

Kuala Lumpur , 1 Sept 2007 – Once in awhile in the musical incubator of the downtown club scene, a truly musically sophisticated work with broad appeal emerges as if from nowhere. The truth, of course, is that these gems are the results of years of hard work, artistic development and unique musical vision: all these crystallize the release of self-titled debut album "GruvAvénue" in 2005.

Formally known as "Black Machine", GruvAvénue exploded into the KL music scene with its inaugural performance in The Actors Studio, Plaza Putra in 2001. The band continued to make special appearances at jazz clubs such as the legendary No Black Tie, Alexis Wine Bar & Bistro, Jazz Bar @ The Orange, Bangkok Jazz, Livehouse Niche and various Jazz Festivals. Soon after, the band enjoyed heavy rotation on Australian smooth jazz station, The Breeze106.3 and constant airplay on national radio station, Traxx FM, Jazz Selekta.

Looking forward, GruvAvénue is set to wow audience again with yet another feat – the first Malaysian Jazz group to record a live album. Scheduled for October 3, 2007, at The Actor's Studio, the band will captivate audience with their full range of original compositions. The elements are delicate melodies, strong rhythmic sense, vibrant harmonic nuances and pulsating grooves!

GruvAvénue keeps a simple and yet organic instrumentation – bass, saxophone, drum, keys and vocals. As a collective, "GruvAvenue" artists come from a wide range of jazz backgrounds which sees as a binding force. These musicians embrace not only free improvisations but also appreciate tonal composition and extended musical forms and changes. Any brief moments of conventionality are trumped by eclecticism, an excellent composing transcends the established musical borders and stares down current definitions of what jazz should be. They have come together with a love for the new as well as the old…each bringing a universal quality that reaches out to varied audience.

Vincent Ong, bassist described as a friendly iconoclast, an artist who enthusiastically explores new concepts at the cutting edge of jazz. A stylistic chameleon that uses different textures and colors to create tension and augment a song's complexity.

Tay Cher Siang , pianist with flawless embrace for the keys presents the 'sweet' touch. Somewhat authoritative yet moving, he hovers somewhere between homage and prayer while slowly building and then writhing the mood.

Martin Ngim, drummer brings the groove with strong rhythmic sense and tenacity. Moving from seductive percussion works to vivacious raw grooves, he adds vigor to the group.

Shazee Ishak, saxophonist and rapper brings forth sensual harmonic nuances on his wind instrument and expands the group's spectrum of sound with intoxicating loops through modern technology.

Vanessa Tan, a gift to jazz buffs. Not just for her exuberance but her ability to articulate without resorting to imitation, synthesizes with her own estimable talent and results is eye-opening and entertaining. She can shift from one color and feel to the next deftly, moving from throaty version to swinging up-tempo.

Five amazing talents, one amazing sound. "The Awakening" Live Concert promises a dynamic group and energetic performance.

For more information:-

Log on to

Black Machine Music Production

GruvAvenue @ My Space

GruvAvenue @ AMP Channel [V]

Email to gruvavenue@gmail.com

Call Band Leader, Vincent +6012 390 9828.

Wedding Bells were ringing!

2007-06-16T02:47:00.001-07:00

Congrats to our pianist, Cher Siang!

I overslept and missed the speeches and grand toast. My bad. Trumpeter Ed was punctual. When he called i just woke up. However Saxman Julian arrived latest. He turned up while we're happily scooping our Baskin Robbin ice cream. The caramel flavour was way too sweet. The chocs were great.

This 'grande amour' luncheon reception was held on June 3, few weeks ago. Their buffet spread was wonderful. It's one of the few times where most dishes are nice. A good mix of flavours specially chosen by the host, CS's beloved & in-laws. Definitely a feast fit for every cultures and even the most picky dieters. Green salads, Malay ulams, Chinese fried veg. Roast Meats, Butter fried prawns, Braised squid in soya sauce. Rice, Fried Noodles, Pastas, Desserts of chinese red-bean soup, western bread puddings, tartlets. and so much more than i can't recalled. The most outstanding ones i can remember was the asparagus stir-fried in belacan and baskin robbin ice-creams, cos i bet you won't get these at any typical receptions.

We attempted to get this couple drunk. On behalf of the band, here's to the charming couple, wishing them "Forever in Love".

Glam & Fab

2007-06-16T02:23:00.000-07:00

I came across this picture while organising my photo folders. This was taken after our GruvAvenue performance for the "Exclusive Re-introduction of Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur". The gorgeous lady who sang with our band was the fabulous local artiste, Noryn Aziz. She just received the award of "Best New Female Artiste" from the "Anugerah Planet Muzik" (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia) on June 8, 2007. Congrats to her. We also got the chance to experience the newly re-furbish Hotel Istana first hand. In a nut shell, the room is comfy, cosy and clean. Kudos to Hotel Istana!

Reaching Out!

2007-05-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

After months of working night and day, i'm baaaaaackkkk!

Here's a tiny eye candy for those (me too!) who has short attention span - a "DEMAND IT" icon on RIGHT bar! But read on...This is something for us to reach out to you all out there. Don't worry, i won't go all the way to hunt you, stalk you, or even shoot you with a (water?) gun! So... read on... We want to bring GruvAvenue to you!

How does this works? Very Simple!

If you want GruvAvenue to play in your city, just click on 'DEMAND IT'. When the votes reach critical amount, the plan to play for you at your city could be materialise regardless of measurable distance. Like the old saying, "when there's a will, there's a way." - alright, you might say "you know a proverb? what's the big deal?". Let me show you why this is interesting to me. Before i start to make plans of where to play, you need to tell us WHERE YOU ARE. And we'll go there, walk there, drive there, fly there, ride there (name it!) to perform for you, though most probably not serenading under your window, unless you have the gears in your courtyard. But on second thought a garden gig is absolutely cool though pest control is strongly recommended. The pessimists would say i'm going crazy to "dream the impossible dream". The optimists say, "this is the people's power." Now you have the freedom to choose... and act...

Go ahead and tell your friends, families, colleagues, acquintances, and anyone you could think of to check out our music, and cast your votes. We need your supports! Like all elections, every single vote counts. So start making the difference now, and show us your demand.

You can make it happen!

Route to Bangkok... Jazz!

2006-12-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Whether you're familiar or not getting use to drive around KL, here's a map to give you some ideas of how to get to Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro. There's an open-air parking lot charging per entry which is fantastic for patrons. Not to forget: our performance with Fancy Poultry is on 24th Dec 2006, this Xmas eve. 10 PM onwards!

Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro Lot B1 & B1A, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan,50200 KL. (603) 2145 8708

Sneak Peep!

2006-12-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

So far we received a lot of questions from friends and fellow musicians about our upcoming gig this christmas eve. There's a long list of questions, and here's what they're like after categorised according to the five principle of who, where, what, when, how.

1. Who are these people?

2. Where did you find them?

3. What do they do?

4. When did you see them?

5. How did you get it?

For a sneak peep of the fancy poultry, click here.

Local Mag - FACES

2006-12-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

Special thanks to local magazine, Faces for including our upcoming gig within their event listing section. Hopefully we'll meet some new faces and new friends this coming christmas eve. See ya!

GruvAvenue Christmas Eve Party

2006-12-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

It's a long time since our previous open performance. So here's a little treat for all our friends, families and basically everyone on the street! Come to Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro This christmas eve, 24th dec for a night of christmas cheers. It's really hard to find a place that DOESN"T CHARGE COVERS these days, especially for some night entertainment on Xmas Eve! So if you have to drive all the way to Chulan Square, come earlier for scrumptous dinner around the corner and hop right in Bangkok Jazz on 10 PM! Only One Night in Bangkok! in the heart of our beloved city of KL.

this is not a toy!

2006-10-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

Yanagisawa Curved Soprano. Much smaller than the alto.

Sounds good. Looks cute. Expensive.

Fellow musician, Ben's the owner of one. Congratulations!

GruvAvénue on MySpace!

2006-09-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

Wooohooo! Check out GruvAvénue on MySpace! and listen to their tracks. All comments are welcome. Please make use of the comment box below. It is still very available to you, the wonderful readers of this blog.

More electrical Gadgets?

2006-09-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

According to my informats from Samsung, one of their resellers is having a warehouse sale in USJ area today Sept 29 to Oct 1, from 9 AM - 6 PM daily. Discounts are up to 70%. How true is the sales? Don't shoot me, i wasn't there this morning! Here's a little confession. We'd performed for couples of Samsung events so the news of this warehouse sale should be accurate. As far as the discounts are concern, It's up to you to check it out and be the verdict. If you find any bargains, do show off your 'victory items".

Map enclosed.

Happy Birthday

2006-09-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

... to Vincent. It was a very peaceful and quiet celebration after his long hours of rehearsal on 18th Sept. Click here for details.

I'm here...

2006-09-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

Not that i have nothing better to do today, but this is a lot of fun. Having a map on the blog! The thought of getting to know where you guys are physically while reading the blogs might be very intimidating at first. But don't worry, it's not satelit powered, so nobody can hunt you down or knock on your door. No street name required anyway. And seriously i began to feel that internet is really making our world shrink! So go on and PUT YOUR MARK on my small world!

KLUE Music Review - August 2006

2006-08-31T05:40:00.000-07:00

Wooohooo! KLUE magazine had reviewed our GruvAvénue CD in this August issue. If you're wondering what do they think of our music, buy a copy or read at the indian magazine stores, book stores, or anywhere you can find them!

Care for our environment?

2006-08-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

As you can see, i'm actually writing about things which already had happened. Better be late than never! At least i'm a mortal, still trying my best. Here's what it's all about:

From 19th August til 16th Sept 2006, i'm putting the GruvAvenue CD on sale in the Arts & Earth Festival. The exhibition which is filling to the brim with contemporary fine art pieces, booths, screenings, talks and environmental awareness projects for people from all ages is now happening in the KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) daily from 11 AM to 7 PM.

GruvAvenue CD is selling at RM 25.90 per piece in conjuction with all these activities. I had managed to pull together stickers with the A&E logo, cut it one by one with a scissor, and sent the first stock to the GEC office all in 2 hours. Swee Lin reminded me that those stickers are unique since it's all hand-cut and not identical in shapes. Soooo kind of you, dear. And what's more?

Besides supporting our local musicians and composers, you're actually contributing to preserve our nature, our environment which we live in, breath and drink from. This year's theme is water. Hence Proceeds from this CD sales will be donated to the RIVER CARE FUND. Is this another hoity-toity or artsee-fartsee thingy from those who paints and plays music cos they might have nothing better to do?

If this is your first impression, then you need to come to the fest and learn a thing or two about this very planet that you're living on. Buying expensive water filter system is not the only way in a long run. We need to go to the core of the problem. Our natural resource of our drinking water - our rivers! These rivers are polluted from developments and mis-handling from the public, us! That's why we need to raise the public awareness of the little-thing-you-do that makes a-big-difference. And all these efforts and projects need fund to operate. This is where everyone, i mean EVERY one should participate.

Hence i'm putting the Black Machine (since it funds the CD production) and my old self to do whatever we can to contribute to our community and environment. Take good care of yourself. Take good care of your environment. It'll take care of you for many years to come. I can't do this alone, but together we could make the world a better place for living.

Support Local Artist. Purchase GruvAvenue CD @ Arts & Earth Fest in KLPac til 16th Sept. Proceeds will be donated to River Care Fund. Thank you very very Much.

... Jazz Selekta Launch

2006-08-25T11:42:00.001-07:00

we're invited to the Jazz Selekta Launch in Bangkok Jazz couple tuesday ago which was happened to be on the 15th August, same date as the first day of fourplay concert in MPO! Plenty of local veteran performers like Leonard Tan, Fairuz Hussein and musicians include Eddy, Syam, Jin, Ramlan, Az, Shelly performed live to the listeners on that night. My favourite of the evening was an outstanding piano stunt by Dato Mok playing two tunes, Beautiful Love & All the Things You Are. Not because he's slightly older, or holding a very important position in RTM (Malaysia's national tv station), but this cat really plays so well that he could put any pianist (with conscience!) in town to shame. i spent most of the time cheering as the live broadcast started at 9 PM. Managed to take some shots with Jezza, Maya and couples of friends.

A Big Thank You to ...

2006-08-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

everyone who made this performance a sucess.

First, thanks to junior from alldatjazz.com a.k.a. Brian Kwan for the lovely pictures.

Thank you to Vincent, Shazzy, Justin, Charles and Vanessa for all the hardwork, amazing talents and energetic show(wo)manship.

Loads of gratitude to the organiser, Sunrise Berhad for believing in us.

Fantastic stage monitoring and sound from Gerald and Jim.

Many thanks to Mel from NST, Jezza & Maya from Jazz Selekta, and all press & media for the publicity and coverage.

Many thanks to the wonderful audience, blog peers, Swee Lin and you guys ;-)

And the list goes on and on...

*Bow*

GruvAvenue @ Sunrise Jazz Fest 2006

2006-08-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

GruvAvenue @ Alexis Live Report

2006-08-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture taken during the show.

We have a very special gentleman checking out our gig at Alexis yesterday.

Here's few things which we must say "Thank you" to him:-

1. Thank you for buying our CD.

2. Thank you for coming to our live gigs.

3. Thank you for introducing our gigs to your friends.

4. Thank you for staying tune to THIS blog and many more.

For those of you all out there, we hope you'll enjoy our music, and chill out at our gigs and stay in touch. Want some signatures on our CD? see you at our gigs! We love to know you all! So don't be shy! Write us! Come & Say "Hi"!

For everyone who have the slightest idea of who or what we are, you're always welcome to check it out!

GruvAvénue @ Alexis Ampang

2006-08-10T02:46:00.000-07:00

yes, the group will be playing in Alexis after their performance in the recent Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest on 29th July. If you happened to miss that one, here's the chance to catch them!

11th & 12th August 2006.

10:30 PM onwards.

Free Admission.

Car Park closes at 2 PM.

As usual we have the man - Vincent and his loves, the bass and some of his new compositions. Shazzy injecting some cool raps, with his hip (hop?) & horny (tenor!) lines. Charles tapping out pulsating drumbeats. New additions are :- Leonard on keys & ivories, and the sensational vocalist-Vanessa, who writes fantastic lyrics at rocket speed. Julian, old mate from "the Black Machine" days will be sitting-in on this saturday. Do check out the Alexis in Great Eastern Mall, Ampang and make reservations. The best is yet to come as the night falls...

If you need infos on directions and stuff, click ME.

What? Where? How? When?

2006-07-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here's few things about the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest 2006 for those of you who're interested. i hope it'll address some of your concerns, if not, you still can write me. Not that i will know everything, but i'll try to find out the info, and by all means, i'm strictly not an informat. So anything that requires exceptional physical strength and skills as those displayed within MI3 or 007, is beyond my expertise. Meanwhile, here you go:-

1. What's this? Is it really free?
Ok. You're right. The admission of the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest 2006 is really, really, really Free! Thanks to the great minds and wonderful people within the Sunrise. So if someone is trying to collect cover charge or entry fee from you, report to the guard. They have plenty there within the plaza, so it's very safe.

2. Where do i park my vehicle?
However, if you're driving, the basement parking within the plaza has many lots. The parking management normally charges a flat rate during the evening. Auto-pay machines are located around the buildings, so get ready some 'syilings' and 'ringgits'. This does ease the jam at the exit of the parking lot, provided everyone remember to pay for their ticket before collecting the vehicles.

3. What can i drink & eat?
There are plenty of cafes, fast food chain and restaurants surrounding the fountain courtyard so be there early and pick the outlet you fancy. No name dropping here since none of these outlet attempted to bribe me for doing so. But you can get an extensive range of food from decently cheap (since the word 'very' doesn't sounds good with 'cheap') to 'great-value-for-money' to 'splurges', and with that would upgrade the term "drink & eat" to "wine & dine". However, there'll be more chairs and tables around the fountain as the usual practice, waiters & waitresses to pitch sales. So pick your choice.

4. What can i wear?

This is strictly for those who haven't been there before. No offence. You can wear anything you wish. Part of the whole area is open-air, while there's shaded pavement, then there's the air-conditioned outlets. Smart-casuals for the conservative, very casual for the care-free, and anything-in-between for everyone.

5. Can i bring my baby?

Any baby or babes from 1 month to 88 years old are welcome. No discrimination. Prams and wheel-chairs can access through lifts in carpark.

6. Would it be VERY loud?

This is subjective to where you sit. Anyway, it's nothing to do with rock music, so if you're planning to get deaf here. Try harder. Chances are you won't succeed.

7. How to get there?

There's no LRT or monorail stations located within walking distance. Motor-cycles, bi-cycles, drive is OK. Getting friends to drive is greatly recommended! It's more fun, environmental friendly, not to mention petrol is rather expensive these days. Click here for the map.

8. When is the festival?

The festival starts on 28th July and ends on 12th August this year. It's only on weekends, Fridays & Saturdays. Where else can we find a festival that's free admission? Click here for the full schedule. Date, Time and Bands are all there.

Meanwhile, if you're still have no idea? Stay tune for more info. Or just bombard my comment segment below. Anyone is welcome, except advertisement.

GruvAvénue @ Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest 2006

2006-07-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Date : 29 July 2006, Saturday
Time : 9:00 PM - 10:45 PM
Venue : Fountain Courtyard, Plaza Mont Kiara

See ya there!

No cover charge!

2006-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

yes, it's time of the year. Some time around July & August where we, the lucky folks staying in Klang Valley mark our busy schedule and make time to the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest. And if you think nothing in life is free, think again! Not everything. And like i said, we are lucky! So we do get our fair share of good things. And if you don't believe it, ask those who came last year, the previous year, and the year before. i was asking a friend to bring her group of fun-loving people, and after a long 20 mins, she asked again for the entry ticket pricing.

So mark your calendar 29 July 2006...
what-a-bout? check my flyer!
if you want one to keep, write me at gruvavenue@gmail.com

GruvAvénue @ Avanti

2006-03-13T22:04:00.000-08:00

Local Jazz Band in the ascendant – GruvAvénue will rock the house on latenight. This time the group will take the elegant seduction of smooth jazzand infused it with the vivacity of pulsating drum beats. Rather thanlimiting itself to a purely nostalgic standard jazz music format, this performance will showcase an array of its’ musical diversities fromsoulful ballads, traditional swing, R&B, Hip Hop, dance beats, to originalcompositions from its self-titled debut album. An intimate and yet,friendly environment between the band and audience will be provided.

Venue : Avanti Italian American Ristorante,
Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, P.J.
Date : Fri 17 Mar 2006
Time : 9:30 PM onwards
Tickets: Free Admission

Band Links : GruvAvénue
CD Available : TOWER Records nationwide and
selected ROCK Corners.
Band Enquiry : Mail Me

FAQ : what are you doing in the band?

2005-12-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

That's the most frequent FAQ i get from first-time audience at the GruvAvénue performance. It's definitely complicated and confusing! It's common for everyone to have two jobs nowadays for instance a lawyer by day, costume jewelry maker by night and so forth. Whereas i don't have to work in that manner, my schedule is very compact and concentrate. Lucky me! Much better than those working around the clock. What am i doing in the band? That's a simple question. On the show, i take video montages & still pictures, telling the sound engineer it's not a rock band, and some times, cashier, if we are selling limited edition of GruvAvénue cd, and also running around like wild horses to get these guys' autograph for them. Copy writing and sending notice to event listing boards weeks before the show. Also lucky me, these press people is always very helpful. On a daily basis, my task involve answering all enquiries and updating everything from a to z. After constant nagging from my director, here's the updated version of GruvAvénue bio data as by Dec 31, 06 :-

Introducing "GruvAvénue™"

Formally known as "Black Machine", GruvAvénue exploded onto the KL music scene with its inaugural performance in The Actors Studio, Plaza Putra in 2001. The show saw the dynamic band combining its aptitude for improvisation to an eclectic selection of music.

Black Machine has continued performing actively, securing regular stints in jazz clubs such as the legendary No Black Tie, Jazz Bar @ The Orange and Livehouse Niche along the way. The year 2004 saw Black Machine making its successful debut in the Sunrise Carlsberg Jazz Festival. The band is also a regular feature in many local jazz-themed restaurants.

Comprised of four members, GruvAvénue was reorganised in January 2005 by Black Machine founder - double bassist and producer, Vincent Ong. He was joined by Charles Wong on drum (from 2001), Clement Siow on keyboard (from 2004) and Shazzy on saxophone (from 2004). Each of the four members is an accomplished musician and skilled arranger. Vincent, the band leader doubles as the songwriter. Charles and Clement are both tertiary music educators, while Shazzy is commonly known by local press and media as hip hop recording artiste in ascendant.

Not keen to rest on its laurels, the self-titled debut album "GruvAvénue" consisting of entirely original compositions was released in August 2005. Preceding to this, a sneak preview was held at Alexis Wine Bar & Bistro, Ampang in July, followed by a major re-introduction of the band at the regional foremost music festival - Mont Kiara Rhythm & Jazz Fest in August. The band headed back to Avanti Italian American Ristorante in Sept, enthralling jazz aficionados with their brand new musical styles and approaches; while their music is in heavy rotation in Australian smooth jazz station - The Breeze106.3 on the coastline overlooking the remarkable Great Barrier Reef. In October, revolutionary national radio program – Jazz Selecta interviewed GruvAvénue. The two-hour interview was air nationwide live on Traxx.FM (90.3 /100.1 FM in the Klang Valley) and available for live streaming globally. The band invaded Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro in November and developed a close rapport with a full house. Whilst experimenting with modern technology, the band will pay homage to jazz legend in forthcoming showcase in December. The debut album, "GruvAvénue" is available in selected Rock Corners and Tower Records nationwide.

The Music

As contemporary jazz band, GruvAvénue keeps a simple and yet organic instrumentation – bass, saxophone, drum and keys. In the studio, GruvAvénue blends traditional jazz harmony and heartfelt original melodies with contemporary grooves to create a unique and sincere sound. Their music absolutely captivating, full of delicate melodies, subtle intricate changes, strong rhythmic sense, vibrant harmonic nuances, are perfected by flawless live playing. On stage, they take their energetic performance a step up by incorporating pulsating grooves and intoxicating loops through modern technology. Reluctant to stay in their comfort zone of nostalgic standard jazz music format, the band constantly expand their signature sound spectrums and experiment with a wide diversity of musical genres ranging from soul, traditional swing, House, R&B, hip hop, dance beats, pop and fusion. Masters in projecting both: sophisticated seduction of intimate acoustic jazz and vivacious raw grooves of electronica, here’s the four amazing talents, one amazing sound!

Do drop by and say "hi!" if you guys see me at the show. Next? My artwork coming soon!

guess who did i meet today, dear?

2005-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

Alright! you'll never hear anything so female from my mouth. Yes, i mean in the actual audio sound produce by my tongue, throat, voice box, and whatever that's connected to this parts. Seeing the Malaysian Video Awards (MVA) schedule earlier this week, the forum of "Idea development & Story Strategies" and a talk about "How to pitch a tv animation" caught my interest. The former, is a forum facilitated by the beautiful Bernice Chauly with guests :- Ng Ping Ho - TV sitcom director. A good narrator! great in humorous sitcom with social values! Sidney Tan - Animator with witty cartoons. we're waiting for his "Blue Karipap". Tan Chooi Mui - indie short film director. Writes in Mandarin! Her "company of mushroom" is a must-see featuring indie guru pete teo and other luminaries. Eugene Foo - Experimental Animator/ Film maker. Great details in creating the bizarre visuals. The second talk was from six to seven. Maybe that explained the small audience. But speaker Steve Bristow came prepared and gave his best shots. His powerpoint presentation was very informative with keynotes. And in a nutshell, how to pitch? Bring your Bible, your best personalities and anything that helps promote your feng-shui! Not to forget, a utility bag with extension power cord, mouse, mini-jack and a great sense of humor!

Now back to the question in the title. The person i bumped into was (drum rolls, please!)... Brian! Hopefully his probation period in alldatjazz.com is over. Any promotion for this great fella with da funky hair, mr. editor eugene?

thank you.

2005-11-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Before you proceed to read the following, please practise your "boo..." and "ceh.." in advance if you have to detest what i'm gonna do next. Of course, this is nothing close to winning the grammy; and i hope it doesn't sound like anyone of those you seen on the emmy either. So, are you ready?!

First, i would like express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made our previous GruvAvénue performance a great success. Thanks to Vincent, Shazzy, Clement and Charles. You guys rock! To the magnificent team (if you're reading this!) in Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro and Heineken, your hospitality and promotion scheme work wonders! Jezza & Maya of Jazz Selecta, you're simply the best! Many thanks again... and again to our media and press for the great publicity : All Dat Jazz N' More! Kakiseni, Klue, Faces. To our wonderful friends who help in forwarding the news, especially blogger Julian, Tim, Brian and everyone whom i forgot the names since i haven't get used to this, your effort is greatly appreciated. *tears in eyes* To our fantastic audience (this is the cheesy part, ready?) - i love you. And guess what? GruvAvénue loves you too! *flying kiss*

Hmm...obviously i should rent some grammies and see how they do it. Any recommendations?

how's the gig?

2005-11-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

That's the FAQ by friends who missed our recent GruvAvénue performance in Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro. So here i am writing a post-mortem, trying to pen down and share as much as i could remember, especially for you all who's reading this overseas.

Vince and i arrived for sound check at five thirty. After we entered the premise, the rain started. We tried to return to the car at once to unload our gears, but it turned out to be a deluge. Soon the road right outside was flooded. "Damn!". We waited with our fingers crossed while the staff sets the table for the evening. After an hour or more, it was still drizzling. Luckily the band mates, Charles & Clement were all here already. Vince went to the car to unload the gears with a tiny umbrella which was better than none. And we started the sound check for stage monitoring with the help of sound engineer, Vignes. After much "louder...", "softer..." and sorting out other connection issues, sax man Dr Shazzy arrived with his hip loops and his horn. There's some minor problem, and luckily david had a spare 9V battery. He's my saviour! Upon finishing our sound check, we're treated with authentic thai therapy : hot tom yam soup, green curry chicken and steamy warm fragrant rice. The food were creamy and rich, live up to their slogan "sinfully yours"!

We started our performance slightly after ten when the place was packed with audience. Local luminaries DJ Jezza & DJ Maya and winners of contest during our interview in Jazz Selecta last month were here to witness the performance. Other luminaries included a HK actor with his entourage and malaysian born guess watch supermodel-you-know-who-i-mean.

We had a great time playing to a full-house. After the performance, the band mates were requested to autograph on their huge poster. Here's the evidence of them relishing their first taste of fame! The poster and banner were superb! We can't get enough of it! Zillion thanks to the tremendous effort by the competent bangkok jazz and heineken team! While i was happily packing, the band mates were given a complimentary bucket of chill heineken beers without my notice. *sigh* I was only told while we're having supper in Jalan Alor.

We're terribly sorry for everyone who came and didn't manage to secure any seats. Don't worry, we'll be having another round of GruvAvénue showcase in december. Date, Time & Venue will be announced soon. If you would like to receive our newsletter for upcoming performance, drop me a line at gruvavenue@gmail.com. I'll keep you posted. Til then, stay tune for the updates!

see that?

2005-11-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

"Where did i see these guys before?"

Stop wondering! You can't miss this GruvAvénue banner if you're driving along Jalan Raja Chulan. It's at the Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro, next to Eden Restaurant, in Chulan Square. Thanks to the special team in Bangkok Jazz and Heineken, we have a banner, a BIG one, for our coming feature performance this sat, Nov 19. The feeling? Absolutely mind-blowing!

the one and only...

2005-11-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

national jazz program on malaysian air... (drum rolls, please!) JAZZ SELECTA ... is blogging! Run by the witty DJ Jezza & gorgeous DJ Maya, and patron saint of jazz (quotes Jezza), eugene from alldatjazz.com, this blog is very informative with musical facts, playlists, and a lot more with humorous sections of he says and she says. Do click here to listen live online, or if you prefer the conventional way : 90.3 in the Klang Valley, KL, Malaysia.

Warning : This is unlike any other orthodox radio format that only promotes the commercially success mega-stars. It's addictive! It's contagious! Tune in every tuesday 9:00 PM - 12:00 AM (Malaysian time laaaa!), and tell your friends about it!

sneak peek of upcoming gig.

2005-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Finally materials for our upcoming gig on this saturday are here. Sneak peek, anyone?

We got the fantastic art work courtesy of supportive teams from Bangkok Jazz & Heineken. Great Job! We got few loops courtesy of the Sax-y man, Mr. Shazee which i should address as Dr. Shazee from now on. Who? Where? When? What? and How? It goes like this:

Title : GruvAvénue @ Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro
Date & Time : Sat 19 Nov 2005 (10 PM onwards)
Venue : Lot B1, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 KL.
Tickets : Free Admission
Venue Tel : 603 - 2145 8708

Synopsis :
Local Jazz Band in the ascendant – GruvAvénue will rock the house on late night. This time the group will take the elegant seduction of smooth jazz and infused it with the vivacity of pulsating drum beats. Rather than limiting itself to a purely nostalgic standard jazz music format, this performance will showcase an array of its’ musical diversities from soulful ballads, traditional swing, R&B, Hip Hop, dance beats, to original compositions from its self-titled debut album. An intimate and yet, friendly environment between the band and audience will be provided. Food and Beverages promotions will be crafted by Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro and supported by Heineken.

Band Links : GruvAvénue
CD Available : TOWER Records nationwide and selected ROCK Corners.
Enquiry : gruvavenue@gmail.com

a musical journey (part 8)!

2005-11-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

in the chinese believes, the auspicious number eight will bring good luck; i shall end my shanghai tour here:
We took a cab to the Ching An Si airport transit terminal. There're transit buses leaving to Pudong airport every twenty minutes, so nobody should miss their flights. There's huge clock indicating transit departure time at station. The buses were rather fast. Reaching the airport in 45 minutes or so, which should be consider as very punctual. For RMB 19 per head, this is the best and cheapest way to commune between Pudong airport and Puxi city centre.

We queued... and waited. Checked in our luggage at the check-in counters. And waited... And finally heading home! Travelling makes us appreciate where we came from. And we're proud to be the friendly malaysian. If you need help on our streets, just asked anyone. Try that in shanghai! Not recommended. And the best part, we're coming back with an EUB!

a musical journey! (Part 7)

2005-11-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

Day 4 : Xiang Yang Market. In a nut shell, this is not a good place to buy anything! We came around elevan and had our brunch at a chinese chinese food chain, yong her. Their set lunches are good value for money; but there weren't enough chairs and tables. It's semi-self-service, meaning place your order at counter & pay, get your receipts, and wait at your seats! It's always good to have a travel companion occupying table & seats for the group. Or you might run the risk of looking around for empty seats, while your food is ready!

Xiang Yang Market is totally different from Nanjing Road shopping area. You can find many stalls selling all kinds of handicrafts and european branded stuff replicas. Definitely not a safe area to walk alone. There're plenty of guys urging the tourists to buy their goods. One guy was very persistent. He followed us, asking, begging, threatening, pushing vince's shoulders, attempting to attract us to his stall. We declined his offer. After following us through twenty to thirty stalls' distance about 15 minutes, he lost his patience, and pulled vince's hand abruptly! It's very frightening! Where on earth would you get a total stranger grabbing and pulling your hand with no reasons? Scaring of robbery or snatch thief, i panic and screamed! Everyone looked at me and the fella finally let go and left us. Since i'm on the mission of buying cute souvenirs for my female friends, we braved ourselves through the rows of stalls and found a section where the shopkeepers are not so aggresive. And again, i was slashed. but we're anxious to leave this place ASAP!

Leaving Xiang Yang, we walked further down the street to look for a place called cotton club. Now we're at building number three hundred something. so that's about another seven hundred blocks. Odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other. Divide by two. ok! it's another three hundred and fifty building. Hmm... shouldn't be too far away... we walked...

And walked...

Hold on! Can anyone tell me what trees are these? i saw plenty of this in the street.

And walked... and were lost... and headed backwards... and finally found the cotton club. Not operating by day? There's another jazz club few blocks away... We walked there and found the place! Also not operating by day. We headed back to the nearby subway, stopped by Nanjing road for my favourite dessert. Then took a cab back to the motel and sleep.

At night, we took a cab to the cotton club. The best thing about taking a cab in Shanghai is that you must be able to tell your destination in mandarin, know the road name, and intersection name, and give the driver direction! The driver was making rounds within 50m radius of our destination, and finally he asked us for direction. As i was reluctant to argue with him, i asked him to drop us. "Here!". We took a 5 minute walk to the cotton club. It's still not operating. There's a tiny notice saying they're taking a day off. We walked to the JZ Club and saw an act from Beijing and another from New York. The Beijing act was more towards rock-influenced and better received by the chinese audience while the act from NY was rather calm. Both groups were very different in their musical interpretations, but equally good in their own skins. Note : lifestyle items here often comes with a hefty tag, whether it's a cup of coffee or a glass of house pouring wine, expecting anything RMB 60 - 80 onwards.

a musical journey (Part 6)!

2005-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

Still Day 3 : We walked for almost one and a half hour around the nanjing road area. Read the map, and asked a police for direction. Finally after a few alleys and across the highway (flyovers), we found the Kin Ling Lu. A street of shops specialise in all sorts of musical instruments, imported or locally made. The prices range from RMB 50 to RMB 50 thousand. wish we have something like this in KL! Instruments for everyone!

By this time, my legs were auto piloted. Thus we walked to the nearby Cheng Wang Miau. There's even more shops selling apparels and vanity accessories in wholesale and retail. We walked further and found the traditional chinese themed buildings (Yuyuan). Strictly tourists area. The place was crowded with tourists, queuing to buy takeaways, though all the food was so-so or worst. The weather was getting colder as the night fell. Stalls selling handicrafts and souvenirs were abundant. i was terribly ripped off while buying some souvenirs, but who cares? Seemed like the weather was not doing me any good!

We walked back to Nanjing Road and found out that all coffees at any cafes were RMB 50 - 60 per cup, with nothing fancy and the taste were horrible. Now i understand why the locals brought their own tea in a container! Along the way, the neon signboards were awesome! but the apparels at sale sucked big time. We walked back to the stalls near the subway and brought some egg tards for supper, since their zhong-you-ping i tasted this morning was fresh and at RMB1. The temperature was 14C. This is the longest distance i'd walked in a day through my entire life... and if you want to visit china, get a pair of good quality walking shoes. It's a about the walk. And if you want to talk the talk, pick up some mandarin! You'll never regret it!

a musical journey (Part 5)!

2005-11-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a little photo tour.

Day 3: We reached the nanjing road about 10AM. The wind was dry and chilly. So we're very much like Rudolph. After breakfast, i tried to shop. It's a road so long that we couldn't see the end of it. Halfway through, we bumped into these outdoor fine arts exhibition by their locals. Very impressive! There's plenty of shops selling local candies, groceries and seasonal apparels. McD has five outlets throughout this area, but the sundae cone has only two flavours at one size - regular. Comparatively, we're lucky to be spoilt with more choices in Malaysia. All the shops were packed with tourists from all over the world or more likely all over china. So the storekeepers wouldn't have time for you to hesitate. They'll serve the customers behind while you try to figure out what you want. Definitely living the chinese proverbs 'time and tide wait for no man'.

After a long walk, we came to the famous peace hotel. But our attention were drawn immediately by the majestic pearl tower of shanghai. A symbol of shanghai's cosmopolitan status. There's a cruise boat specialise in Huangpu River tour for tourists. The old fashioned boat in pic was plenty as well.

As old sayings, when in rome, do what romans do. Thus we joined the sea of tourists and took the tunnel ride below the HuangPu River which was RMB 30 per head. The ride lasted about three minutes with color lightings around the tunnel. Nothing fancy but kinda reminds me of the space ship passages from 80's movies. We took the subway back which was RMB3 per head. And the walk continued...

a musical journey (part 4)!

2005-11-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

just in case you're wondering: this is a display of an unfinished double bass we came across at one of the booths. In other words, a naked one! See the natural stripe of the wood?

a musical journey! (part 3)

2005-11-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Day 1. In the evening, we went to the CJW at the Bund Centre to meet up with vince's friend, L.A. based double bassist Mike Carr. His playing was very impressive and highlighted with energetic solos. Their band were awesome, with the extra ordinary saxophonist playing to the likes of John Coltrane, and fantastic drummer similar to Buddy Rich. The pianist and vocalist were equally good as well. The club is situated on the fiftieth floor, with a view of skyscrapers and neon lights. We had an unforgettable evening meeting great musicians and enjoying good music.
Day 2. We went to collect the bass, but things went wrong! The personal who handled our purchase was not around. Thus we couldn't collect the item even with their official receipt. There's also some signs of wear and tear which were not present when we placed our deposit the day before, though they offered not to let others try it as it's considered sold. So we paid for our first lesson : never place any deposit. When shop in china, always practice Cash and Carry. As it's the one and only piece, we took the instrument and arranged services from our trusted local bass-worksman. We checked out the CJW at XinTianTi which is a heavily commercial-influence club populated with tourists and expatriates. Finally got a table after 1 1/2 hour, and found out the music was not to our liking. Scouted around the area and found nothing we liked. Retired early. Looking forward to the next day.

a musical journey! (part 2)

2005-11-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

Continue at the expo... We strolled through the whole area twice and came across few electric upright basses, but there weren't much choices. They're either too bulky, too expensive, or doesn't produce a decent sound similar to the acoustic bass. After a long day searching high and low, we finally settled on the palatino EUB. Vince tried the instrument. There's plenty of guitar amps around, but no decent bass amp. After changing two amps, hurray! The EUB manage to produce a basslike sound. And this EUB seemed to be an adorable acquisition. We couldn't hear much since there's a deafening rock guitar demonstration in the same booth. The downside : we can only collect the instrument the next day when the expo would be closed. We paid the deposit and went back to rest. *tired*

a musical journey! (part 1)

2005-11-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Oct 21. Day 1. Arrived in Shanghai Pudong airport at 7AM. Checked in. Headed straight to Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) for the MUSIC CHINA 2005. There was a decent rock musical performance when we arrived at the venue. The whole area was divided into few major warehouses, some white canopies as temporary display areas or food stations, and a temporary stage showcasing concent sound equipments. This expo was all about equipments! Any type of equipments : the sound reinforcement and lighting equipments, and musical instruments. Be it contemporary or traditional. Be it million dollars or few RMB. One can definitely find some good or rare buys here. Vince and i also bumped into few fellow malaysian musicians and music store owners. It definitely seemed like a music shoppers' paradise!

There's plenty of music demonstrators and shoppers testing instruments around the booths. The outcome? A massive symphony of polyphonic and polyrhythmic sound commonly known as noise. We saw a lot of XL instruments like the giant size gong, cymbals and erhu which taking picture was forbidden. Few traditional instrumentalists were very good in demonstrating, though the sales persons were generally friendlier, still taking pictures were not welcomed. I managed to snap some shots and ran away before they caught me. *grin*

what we did ...

2005-11-01T06:13:00.000-08:00

Here's an overdue brief account for those who tried to tune into our GruvAvénue interview at the national radio program, jazz selecta on last oct 18. Weather : drizzling. Time : 10 PM - 12 AM. Content of interview : topics about playing in a band, few sensitive issues about our struggles on local jazz scene, and a sneak peek of our coming gig on nov 19 at bangkok jazz thai bistro. A complete report will be disclosed soon... so as usual... do come back for a visit, and drop me a few lines if possible.

my apology

2005-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

To everyone who tried to tune in for our debut interview on air yesterday:

i'm truly, very, greatly, sorry. Apparently the traxxfm's real player link was not updated. We're at the station and found out that the fella who's suppose to repair this, was on medical leave, due to side-effects (sickness) of fasting. Hope he'll get well soon, so as the link. We want more jazz music online! Are you with me?

1st interview on national jazz program!

2005-10-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

Catch GruvAvénue even though on the other side of the earth?

Tune in to Traxx.FM (90.3 /100.1 FM in the Klang Valley) tomorrow, tuesday night for the Jazz Selecta program from 9:00 PM. to midnight (Malaysian time) for a whole stretch of jazzing and grooving. Brief news updates will be presented at every hour, so stay tune even though you don’t hear any music playing (yet!). The show “officially” begins at 10:00 PM, continues by Jezza & Maya interviewing GruvAvénue! A short anecdote of jazz history and sub-genre facts will be conducted by “The Maestro” around 10:45 PM. Then we’ll heat the nite with more groovy and funky great listenings til midnight.

For KL-based listeners :

Here’s what we got for you! 2 pieces of gift vouchers sponsored by Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro are for grabs! So what are you waiting for? Just call in and answer a simple question, you’ll be the lucky one! Interested listeners can call in at:

03-22825491 or 03-22824746

A sneak peek? Alright!
This is not just any typical interview with stereotype information about the band. Many aspects including GruvAvénue upcoming performances, new band sound, and their challenges to survive as an instrumental (or all male?!) group will be brought up (hopefully!). There’s a list of tough questions courtesy of local jazz-site – alldatjazz.com. And if you hear any hiccups or plenty silent moments, please forgive us. This is our first time on air. So click me to tune in.

Friendly radio hosts, the great looking Seremban-born radio DJ Jezza, and the multi-talented belle Maya can be reached through the phone numbers mentioned above during the show!
Or send messages via SMS “tx [songtitle]” to 39330

They can also be contacted via email but do that early.

Email: maya@traxxfm.net or jezza@traxxfm.net

malaysian time or GST?

2005-10-17T03:13:00.000-07:00

For your information, when it's 10:00 PM (TUESDAY) in Kuala Lumpur.
GruvAvénue will be feature in national radio jazz program.

Tune In Here!

All timing stated above might not be accurate by the time of publish since my geography still has plenty of room to improve.

2005-10-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the official press release for our upcoming radio interview.

Minus my usual goofy attitude. Enjoy!

Contemporary Jazz group GruvAvénue will be interviewed by Traxx Selecta on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 at 10:00 pm on Malaysia’s national radio station. GruvAvénue’s self-titled debut jazz CD, will be featured on the show and is available at all tower records in Malaysia and selected Rock Corners record shops.

Oct 13 – Homegrown contemporary jazz group GruvAvénue will be showcased on Tuesday, October 18, 2005 at 10:00pm by Traxx.fm’s “Traxx Selecta,” , The interview, available globally at traxxfm.net, will include original music composed by GruvAvénue band-leader and double bassist Vincent Ong. Smooth, laid back, pop and R&B-inflected, this slick and stylish self-titled album is the new breed of groovy contemporary jazz. The original music here is absolutely enthralling, full of delicate melodies, subtle intricate changes, strong rhythmic sense, vibrant harmonic nuances, and perfected by flawless live playing.

TRAXX SELECTA is a show that concentrates on different genres of music on five-days-week basis. On every Tuesday Traxx Selekta promotes jazz music and emerging jazz artists of all sub-genres. The show is also packed with facts, jazz history, artist info, song info and other related trivia. Jazz fans all over the world can tune in to hear Deejays Jezza & Maya's interviews with local veteran musicians and up-and-coming jazz groups.

GruvAvénue CD was recently reviewed in Malaysia's major newspaper, the star, in which the band was highly recommended. When asked to comment on GruvAvénue 's debut CD, local jazz website, alldatjazz reviewed, “the album is a significant recording of original, smooth jazz compositions by some of the finest young names in Kuala Lumpur’s ever growing jazz circle. the improvisational element is also present and evident through-out with ample helpings of legato saxophone lead, fluid piano and punchy bass lines. This album was definitely worth getting and it left me wanting more of the same. It's only the beginning for this band and let's watch what's forthcoming in future.”

“GruvAvénue” is available at all tower records in Malaysia and selected Rock Corners record shops. For more information or for booking, please visit blackmachine.com.my or email sun@blackmachine.com.my

our cd reviewed by jazz connoisseur

2005-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Alright! our music is reviewed by All Dat Jazz 'n' More! The coolest, most updated and comprehensive guide of malaysian jazz scene. Why it's cool? it's strictly independent! so the opinions are not influenced by any sponsor since there's none. Most updated? There's updates every one to three days. Comprehensive guide? You can count on their extensive categories of interviews of who's who, reviews of tis and tat, gig listing for a good night out, and music theory as well. No subsciption fees and registration required. Enough said. Check it out!

friday nite at Avanti

2005-10-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

The last september 23, was a milestone in our GruvAvénue record. It was in fact, a night reserved for music, and highlighted our band senza singing! Many Thanks to the supportive management team in Avanti and their patrons. We had audience dancing since the band started. *surprise*. The original tunes from the album GruvAvénue were given makeovers, with new solos and extended plays. There's a few unreleased new originals from the band leader, Vincent. This guy simply amazed us by composing one song after another! Well done! If you're wondering, don't look any further. he's the fella playing the henessy XO bottle-like instrument, commonly known as double bass. Doesn't that look alike? Other songs of the nite included motown hits rock with you which started a la michael jackson, and ventured into the regent of jazz, thanks to shazzy's wonderful lines, while the crowd was dancing.

The lucky winner of our Jazz Selekta - GruvAvénue cd giveaway contest, Hui Ling was here with her youthful parents. i hope they had a great time. For any parents who have doubts whether to send your children for tertiary music education, please come to our shows some time, hopefully these would give you all some ideas of what performance is about, and help you making the right (or wrong?!) decisions. Local celebrities who graced our show included the very (extremely!) tall and handsome JFK and deejay Burn. They popped by during their intermission of a beauty contest around. Now, please don't get me wrong! They're not the contestants! they're the judges! Practically everyone hot-blooded male's dream job! Veteran entertainer Mr. Sharizan Borhan was in the house as well, so we took the chance and requested him to join us and performed a marvellous rendition of come fly with me. Other netizens and local jazz activists who're present were jazz critics Eugene from alldatjazz.com and his protege, the charming Brian.

Definitely the best is yet to come. and i'll keep you close.

GruvAvénue on air!

2005-10-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

GruvAvénue is on air at 106.3 The Breeze in Australia!

106.3 the Breeze is the newest, smoothest and most relaxing terrestrial radio station in Tropical North Queensland. A radio station that truly reflects the Port Douglas lifestyle. Featuring a unique blend of contemporary Smooth Jazz and soft vocals, The Breeze is unlike any other station on the FM dial. The LISTEN LIVE section will be available worldwide to all listeners soon. Listen, relax, and escape with the all new sound of Today's Smooth Jazz. Port Douglas is the closest gateway to the famous Australian wonders - the Great Barrier Reef. The tranquil waters of this harbour embrace a lively marina and a breathtaking sandy sweep of beautiful Beach.

Stay tuned for MORE UPDATES!

wedding bells are ringing ...

2005-10-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sept 24 marked one of the pivot point in Charles' life. Our little-drummer-boy is finally unavailable from this moment on. Their church ceremony was done one week prior to this in Kota Kinabalu, with all the blessings from their respective families. While the dinner reception was held in KL for the bride's relatives and friends, and bunches of us - the friends! Since this accomplished drummer had a more significant role here as the groom, he's given relief not to play the march-in number, thus we had this unique line-up fit for this occasion.

Taaa... dah! i present you the most DIY wedding entertainers with AJ on drums, the groom on micking, clement on keyboard, vincent on slapping the electric bass, Julian on sax, and Eddie, the most hilarious cantonese master of ceremony, anticipating his maiden voyage!The guys perfecting the march-in song during rehearsal! Grooming session took place shortly after this, and proceeded by beer sessions! Strictly lepak!

On behalf of GruvAvénue, i wish you guys, Charles and Judy : "Happy Married Life" and lots of cute babies on the way!

red hot!

2005-09-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

i was busted in mid valley while taking this picture. There's a common rule or in more appropriate terms, refer as regulations, that one should not take any picture within any stores. Be it a magazine store, food store, apparel store, or record store! The tower personnel actually arrested me, luckily not by force, while i was shooting this. For those of you who wonder why would i do this on purpose, don't worry! i'm not a rebellious teenager. *i wish*

All pictures taken during this session were only meant to be used as a means to best promote our cd, on our website www.blackmachine.com.my for the "GruvAvénue cd is now available at Tower Records" web page. Now the next question is, why shoot at the exact location? Again it's against the law, as here it is refer to the real law as written, that utilising downloaded materials from their website for commercial use is a violation. Fortunately the staff released me after clarifying with their HQ. And no animals were harmed throughtout the entire period!

For everyone who's around mid valley, do check out the tower records. You could sample our cd at their disc magazines, and find our cd beneath this red wall with the shiny sign - 'jazz'.

GruvAvénue Hot Spot : Tower Records @ Mid Valley

Next Spot?

2005-09-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here's the upcoming post preview : The last weekend was probably the busiest one i had in the month of september, with the GruvAvénue gig at Avanti, and the wedding reception of our little drummer boy Charming Charles.

This picture was taken at One Utama. And visiting the record shops has became one of my regular routine, not to mention the shopping and all the eating. Guess what i found? These record shops are fantastic! They're putting our cd on their "Come On! Listen to This!" disc magazine players around the shops. For those who browse record shops frequently, look for the word GruvAvénue! Anyone who likes watching movies in one utama, check out the record shop beside the cinema!

GruvAvénue Hot Spot : Rock Corner @ One Utama.

we're on The Star Music Review!

2005-09-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

We're honoured to be given this privilege. A big "THANK YOU" to local newspaper The Star which review GruvAvénue cd last sunday. For those who missed it, here's the excerpts:

GruvAvénue, the EP, is a collection of original tracks... a mixture of smooth urban jazz and modern fusion, all instrumental and everything executed to near-perfection ... Vincent took his quartet into the recording studio and came out with a six-track EP that reflects his musical passion and beliefs ... there’s an edge in the performance that lends the EP a natural, organic touch. The music, wholly composed by Vincent, will please casual listeners ... this is just first flight. watch these guys grow!

Once again, a big "THANK YOU" to reviewer Sujesh Pavithran. For you all who's wondering. Mr. Sujesh is a music reviewer for jazz and classical genre for over twenty years. He's also a skillful bassist and bass enthusiast. This is definitely the best birthday present for Vincent.

GruvAvénue Hot Spot!

2005-09-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

By now you could probably guess that i only managed to put our music in two spots, which is rather pathetic. If that's the case, please pray for me that i won't be fire for being such a slow coach. Luckily the truth is quite the opposite. So far there's more than ten places where you could hear or buy GruvAvénue music. And... i'll try to disclose the rest as frequent as i ...er... blog.
The GruvAvénue cds are made available for purchase at these world-class record stores since last august, thanks to the supportive marketing team in the Tower Records Malaysia. There's something that caught our eyes while we delivered our stock to their head quarters. The giant size Michael Bublé sticker at the door is so catchy, resembling a grammy figure! If you like to shop cds by browsing, this is the place! All cds are arranged in alphabetical order. and if you can't find our cd, chances are it's either at the listening booths or some where behind famous jazz giants of the likes of Coltrane or Miles. If there's any cds you can't find on the racks, just ask the store assistants. And the GruvAvénue Hot Spot is :
Tower Records @ KLCC

happy birthday to ... Vincent!

2005-09-19T03:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Mr. Vincent Ong, aka GruvAvénue band-leader's birthday. The initial celebration plan in evening was cancelled since everyone's busy with the mooncake festival or work. Drummer Charles would come back to KL late at night, while keyboardist Clement would be attending his family reunion in Seremban. So we went for our second attempt of food marathon at Chilis in BSC ...*not again!*

... with the help of horn-man, Shazee and his belle, Freeda.

Every birthday can't conclude without a cake, so the marathon ended with a sinful moist hot chocolate cake, top with freezing vanilla ice-cream in a chocolate dome shell. If you're trying to resist this temptation, occupy your fingers by taking pictures instead as Shazee did! yum-yum...Yummy!

we're available!

2005-09-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

GruvAvénue CD is finally available for purchase in record shops after much talking with the right people. Thanks to the helpful store keepers and supervisors. Here's one more place where you can hear and buy GruvAvénue cd.

GruvAvénue Hot Spot :

Rock Records @ Bangsar Village!

you hear GruvAvénue at ...

2005-09-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

The thought of making a list of places that play our cd, GruvAvénue finally materialise after receiving encouraging responses from all our friends, music lovers, helpful record stores, and you guys! Few supportive outlets have surprised us by playing our cd on a regular basis. A Big THANK YOU to these wonderful people that runs the places! To kick off my goal of completing our list of great places where you could hear GruvAvénue music, without further ado... i give you... the listing in random order!

GruvAvénue Hot Spot : Avanti Italian American Ristorante!

what is this?

2005-09-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

If you fancy a walk in space or a journey in the time tunnel, try this! Install the optical fibre lighting. The color changes every few seconds. Pair this with the distorted mirror effect. taa-daaa! i felt like lost in time and space while trying to focus on my reflection. See...

thumb's up!

2005-09-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Music lover and supporter, jazz critic Eugene of alldatjazz.com getting an original copy of GruvAvénue debut album. Here's a tip from him : to best enjoy our cd, set your EQ level ALL FLAT. What's the effect? Get an original copy of our cd, and you'll find out! If you wanna know what's happening in the KL jazz scene, find live performances or free music resources, check out his website. Very informative and entertaining.

my greatest enemy is ...

2005-09-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

In fact, that's a good question.

Through out my entire life, my greatest enemy is none other than proscrastination, period.

Together with you, i shall conquer that. At least i'm trying now...

belated happy birthday!

2005-09-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Friday early morning. Vincent, Charles, Julian's aprentice and i were celebrating Jul's birthday at the mamak. No other stores were operating at this hour. Their fried chicken are, in fact, trademarked! Mr. J is looking forward to leave malaysia to study in the U.S. of A. next year, if everything goes well. Wish you'll get what you wants, Jul! if there's a genie, i'll asked for a gf for you. Someone to spice up your life!

tanggal tiga puluh satu...

2005-09-04T09:04:00.001-07:00

We went to chill out with vincent's old friends on merdeka eve at the Curve. No traffic jam. No road blocks. There's even plenty of car park spaces and seats around when we arrived around eleven. Our national flags were hanging all around the mall. i lost count after the fifth one.
There's two bands playing. One opposite the marche, with few ladies having fun dancing, pretty much like line dance. The other band was playing within a bistro at the end, which was too packed for me to have a closer look. No fireworks nearby. if you're curious about who-and-who made it there, check out my other blog.

what's going on?

2005-08-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

My car was hit last monday, so i practically got a lot on my mind, and lost my head in the process of reporting, reporting and reporting! At last, the car is in the workshop, waiting to be repaired. And it's time for me to return to my normal routine, blog!

Here's few things i noticed from our sunrise gig. The foreign workers were always around. Last year they're on the fence on the first floor. All the doors/passages were locked this year. So for this year they're sitting on any common area they could find. From the look of their eyes, one can tell these are the die-hard music fans. They sat there the whole night, only making occasionally trip to the loo. Hmm... Also we missed the nice food courtesy of the surrounding outlets. Last year, we had vouchers from Zakuro! This year we received none. Hmm... Not much people turned up at the workshop. i was there around seven thirty, thinking i was going to miss the whole thing. But there's only a few people when i arrived the venue. How could one miss a complimentary workshop by our jazz maestro, mr. gambus? Was it because of the rain? Also if you're using a 7.0 meg digital camera, do me a favor! upgrade to the 512MB memory card. Mine was full loaded after few shots. Luckily my old trusted nikon was there. Managed to take few shots of our good friend, the sax guy, Julian. Sorry Jul, i tried my best. You could always hire me next time!

Few things that works well here. Performing in an outdoor arena with alfresco dining is totally different from a small club. Fast and upbeat songs are always a good pick. Be daring and take risk! And the most important part, tolerate the heat! It's so warm that everyone was sweating and soaked. i was glad that nobody passed out. The "GruvAvénue" had a lot of fun, playing original compositions from their recently released album. To the wonderful audience and those who are reading these, once again, thank you!

Thanks to Pete!

2005-08-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

The guru of indie music, Pete Teo popped by during our preview at Alexis last July. He brought a copy of our cd. Yes! our sixth customer of that night! and welcome us to the world of indie! It's very aspiring to listen to his advice esp in issues about publicity, financial and audience control. A sincere, hardworking and witty fella, with great talents, and huge success! We don't get much people like that anymore.

My salute to the most extra ordinary man in local music scene, Pete!
You can never miss him from the crowd. Here's your clue : look for the *smirk*

i can see clearly now...

2005-08-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

I can see clearly now, the haze is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright , bright Sun-Shiny day!

The haze which lasted about a week definitely was a threat! especially to anyone (join me?) with chronicle respiratory problems. Activities recommended were as followings : net surfing, writing, be a couch potatoes, put air-conditioning to full blast, stayed indoor and be a patriotic citizen shopping til you drop in the sales carnival! The immediate damages were ... fatigue, obesity and hefty bills. Other damages were to be indentified.

Information from trusted resources stated that the haze was clear from mid valley yesterday. Not around my place. it's pretty much like in genting! But if you stay up late til this morning around seven with me, you would have witnessed the haze ... gone overnight!

O... What A Sight!

GruvAvenue at Sunrise!

2005-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who were there with us! The supportive response from the audience was simply the best thing any performers could have asked! By eight-thirty, the place was quickly filled by diners and jazz lovers. We have much more younger listeners compare to last year. Good signal that jazz is widely appreciated by people of all ages.

Anyone who came earlier with their instruments had the privileged to get up-close and personal, jamming on stage with the master of improvisation, Mr. Gambus. Mean while off stage, Shazzy was enjoying his five seconds of fame as in pic!

After a short break, the stage was heated with exotic belly dancing! The cameramen had his moments zooming to the erotic part... the belly button! That's the most skinny belly dancers i had seen to date. The costumes was very naughty! but i managed to capture the censored version for you guys who's can't make it there.

It was a hot night...

Blame it on the weather... or the dancers!

After Douglas' introduction, GruvAvenue kicked off their first set with "My Simple Plan" and melodious "If You Only Knew". Other songs performed including original tunes written by band-leader cum double-bassist, Vincent Ong includes R&B infused "Ease of Wine", "Black Machine Blues", emotional "Waiting for the day" and the explosive "HighLife" as closing. The whole place was packed with bunches of people. There's a group of guys with their supersize tripod, digital SLR and huges lens; taking shots and clapping so loud after each songs. Applause is always the most beautiful music for performers! you'd know what i mean when you see the grin on the performers' faces on stage!

Guest Vocalist, Rachel Guerzo's rendition of "Aqua De Beber" and "Dindi" brought images of picturesque ipanema beach to mind at instant. Paying homage to the traditions, the band and her belt out swing tunes "Taking a Chance on Love", "East of the Sun", "Devil May Care" and "Fly Me to the Moon" in three-four! If you love to sing, "Waters of March" would be the perfect challenge. Take precaution. This song require stamina and alertness.

There's so much people i would like to thank. i'm still trying to complete the list. It goes like this...

Thanks to the wonderful audience. Thanks for your tremendous support! To Sunrise Berhad and your sponsors, it's a great pleasure to perform in this fest. Thank You! To Kakiseni.com and AllDatJazz.com, your effort in publishing local jazz music is priceless. Thank You! To everyone who brought our cds including Brian, thank you for your patience and understanding. We didn't plan it'll be such chaos and haven't start practising the autographs yet ;-) To Gerard and Jim, Good sound. Thank you! To Charles and Clement, you guys rocked the stage! To Shazee, you're Man-of-the-Night as Player-of-the-Season to a football league! To Vincent, two thumbs up! To Rachel, your commitment to give the best is much appreciated. To Frida, thanks for going all out to sell the cds. The interlude was dramatic and inspiring. To my friend-Chen and the Chui family, thanks for your support! To everyone i can't manage to include here ... how could i forget you? Just write me... Part II (post mortem) is coming!

Farewell to Justin!

2005-08-10T01:01:00.000-07:00

We went for a sinful lunch at Chili's in BSC last monday. As usual, Julian's late. It's my fault. i should have called him first thing in the morning. Here's the tip! Give him another half an hour since he'll be driving from Kajang. By the time he reached Chili's, we had no choice but finished the mouth-watering nachos and fajitas. Apart from all the delicious food fit for a carnivore, there's plenty of choices like the mashed potatoes and caesar salad for the health conscious vegetarians. Definitely a good place! See... these guys were so drowsy after the hi and might pie!

Now just in case you don't know. Justin will be going to US to further his study. Where about? A university nearby Pittsburg. What about? Classical compositions. How long? two years. or more! Til then, anticipate another musical monster to the likes of John Williams or John Cage. For those of you who can hold back your tears, bid him farewell at the KLIA airport tomorrow night.

Time waits for no man. Five years ago, we started our first gig with only Vincent, Julian and Justin at the mines exhibition centre. Finally Justin is leaving to pursue his dream to study oversea. So if you have a dream, what are you waiting for?

Good Luck, Justin! We'll miss you...

on the other hand, keep in touch with us via the msn messenger about your new venture? i'm all ears!

gig at Alexis

2005-08-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

8 July. The CD was not ready! But ... the manufacturer was kind enough to give me fifty copies around eight-thirty for the preview in Alexis Ampang. There's a guy selling socks while we're having bak-kut-teh in Jalan Ipoh last night. It's frightening! Would you walk around Jalan Ipoh at two in the morning, asking people to buy your socks? What motivates him? You could say he's freakingly desperate, or out of his mind! Guess i better work harder, if i don't want to end up asking passers-by to buy my merchandise at two a.m.... Scary!

Delay!

2005-08-05T04:01:00.000-07:00

Finally the saxophone tracks were done! 28 June. Guess the hardest thing was to put everyone together for recording. If you want someone that plays well, chances are that person would be so busy since everyone wants a piece of him or her. And we'd four super busy performers with different schedules! Spent three hours to mix six tracks. That's totally ridiculous. i'm one week behind schedule...

snap! snap! snap!

2005-08-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Day Two. 21 June.
The Saxman was not around.
Another two tracks recorded.
One ballad in trio!
All done within three hours.
There's one whole hour to kill!
Perfect time for me ...
snap pictures for the CD inserts.
Vince's wearing sweater! Studio's cold.

six degree of separation?

2005-07-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

The date was 20th June. The guys and Vincent had got together to run through the songs twice last week. Looking at their tight schedules, there's nothing more i could have asked! We got five hours at the studio today. Nothing more, nothing less. It's fully booked! By four o'clock, all of us arrived at the studio. Vince had to carry his double bass to the fourth floor. No lift, or escalators. Just staircase ;-)

There's a sound engineer setting the microphones and stuff. He looked rather familiar. Let me recalled...Now everyone was in auto pilot mode. The musicians were checking their sound. Tried it. Fixed it. Tried it. Fixed it... At the meantime, i went into each separate rooms and took some shots of them having fun playing - since there's plenty of adjusting. The sound, the volume, the signal, the monitoring... there goes one hour...Finally, we could start to record. Everyone was very excited. Half way - Stop! Adjust the monitor level again. Now record again. Done! The moment of justice - playback. Hmm... we all insisted to have one more take. There's only three rooms. Drum in one. Double Bass in another. Keyboard in console room. The saxophone couldn't be placed together with the rest of them since it's signal leaked into others. so we need to do separate take for the saxophone. Repeat sax!Finally the first track was done. Another hour gone. ... There's an old saying, "more haste less speed". i tried to bite my tongue. The second track was a breeze. just one take. And another to brush up few moments here and there. Hey, This is what technology is meant for. The third track. Guess we're all tired and hungry... there's three takes if i didn't lose count. By the end of the evening, we nailed three tracks. All real-time playing! Consider a mission impossible completed. Three tracks within five hours! Can you believe it?

The night before, Shazee suggested the name Gruv Avenue over the sms. We always wanted a name that best project the concept of our music. Guess we could settle on this wonderful name courtesy of Mr. Saxy since Vince can't agree with my suggestion, and vice versa. OK, i'll stick these two words together and see what happens..."GruvAvenue"!

Ahh... Billy. My old friend from Penang! We couldn't recognise each other. He gained weight, and i'm proud to lose some baby fat. We never meet for the last eight years. i'd heard of him from Charles for quite some time but absolutely no idea of who he is. it's all in the name! His name was not Billy! Any way, it's great to see him doing well. Who says it's six degree of separation? Our world is definitely getting smaller than we thought...

More recordings to do. We'd three weeks to get it ready for purchase... Zzz...

this is how it begins...

2005-07-20T03:05:00.000-07:00

it all begun at 20th June. Exactly one month ago. Everyone thought it's a dream-come-true for my partner, Vincent. After all what else could one complain when they could turn their hobby into a profession. Hmm... Nothing much.

There's always some thing he wanted to do. And it's definitely to make his own CD. Producing an album was always a thought, a thought that's too luruxious and time-consuming. We all know it''s a blessing to be able to indulge in whatever one do best. You know it, i know it. And the worst thing is, he had written quite a number of compositions! Frankly speaking i'm very reluctant about this. After some extreme serious discussions over the what-if, and why-not, we decided to give it a go.

so what's next?

Delegation! He'd take charge of all the musical aspect, and i'd only have to settle the rest. Hmm...sounds pretty easy.

Little did i know, there's a long nightmare ... waiting for me ...