I was only fortunate enough to attend half of the two day event. It was held over at Bayview Beach Resort, north of the Penang Island. The combination of great music, wide open field with everyone relaxing on the grass, starry night and cool December wind, romantic in its own way. No other place in Penang have that many souls all flocking together on the grassland, all single minded in enjoying an evening of exhilarating Jazz.

The event started on Saturday with groups such as Java Five of Germany and our own Fairuz Hussien, and on Saturday, the evening is graced with performances from John Kaizan and Denise Mininfield of USA. While the evening is reserved for hours of concert from various groups and countries, the day was laced with workshops on Japanese Traditional flute playing, guitar and vocal lessons, and even interview with artist, not common in music festivals. The workshops events are open only to Concert ticket holders, making it a fulfilling experience.

It was unfortunate that we did not manage to attend the full festival agenda, only manage to make it to the Sunday evening concert. We wanted to watch Java Five and attend John Kaizen’s Japanese flute workshop most, but we have to missed it. It was not all lost. The minute we arrived at the open field, we were delighted on the atmosphere, it felt like there are no worries in the world. Almost everyone was lying quietly on the field, all focused on the stage, and the music just carry our burdens away. For a moment, it felt like time never existed.

I did not bring my camera, and did not capture any of the evening event, but Mis-Chique did, and even have a short video on Jave Five performance. More photos of the past event and event news can be found at www.penangjazz.com. I could not wait to see what is install for us next year.