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THE
MUSIC OF Penang
OUR YOUNG
TALENT
(
By James Rozells
& Kathleen Rodrigues )
Penang
which has
always boasted a long list of music greats
from the late Tan Sri
P. Ramlee, Jimmy Boyle, Joe Rozells and David Ng, to music legends
Ooi Eow Jin
and
Dato'
Ahmad Merican, to international celebrities Fred Cheah and Dennis
Lee
and to the new breed of local stars like the Alley Cats
..... has
hope. Hope in the talented, vibrant, exciting and young music
talents of Penang which will tomorrow, surely be, the pride of
Penang and a part of it's proud and rich musical heritage.
Let us introduce ..... the next generation of great Penang
musicians !!
Aaron Teoh
- Age: 14 Saxophone
Matthew Teoh
- Age: 12 Bass Guitar
Jordan Scully
- Age: 11 Drums
E. T.
- Age: 14 Keyboards
Young Penang Jazz Quartet
Jonathan James Scully
- Age: 19 Drums
Talented
young Jonathan Scully is the nephew of Penang jazz
saxophonist, bass guitarist & drummer William Scully.
Another young Penang musician in a long line of heritage Penang
Eurasian musicians, Jonathan who started playing the drums at age
6, excels at his instrument. At such a young age, this highly
talented young man will surely make his mark in Penang and in the
Malaysian music circle.
Darrin James Rozells
- Age: 21 Lead Guitar
Young and talented Darrin
James, the son of James Rozells, started playing the guitar at age
10, and by the time he was 12, was already proficient
playing the old Shadows hits as well as hits from the Eagles.
Darrin also plays the bass guitar. With his band AMPM they won the
"Yamaha Asian Beat" competition
2004 Northern Region finals and represented Penang in the finals
in Kuala Lumpur.
Joni Tham
- Age: 21 Vocals & Guitar
Joni Tham started playing
and singing since she was 5 years old. She plays the acoustic
guitar and has
been blessed
with
an exceptionally good voice. Presently working in Penang,
she’s got the dream, the
drive and the
talent to be highly successful in the music industry
….
if opportunity exists
!!
Simon Christopher
- Age: 23
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards & Drums
Simon Christopher,
versatile musician who plays the keyboards, drums and guitar, the
latter being his favourite instrument.
Simon a very talented singer
who does good renditions of The Eagles and Michael Buble looks
forward to a career in music. Simon
started playing
music at age 10.
Christopher
Estrop - Age: 24 Keyboards, Guitar
& Vocals
Versatile, hardworking and talented Christopher (Rodrigues)
Estrop is the grandson of famed Malaysian jazz guitarist Larry
Rodrigues ( Uncle Larry ) and son of legendary Penang songbird
Kathleen Rodrigues. Chris who plays keyboards, guitar and sings
embarked on his music career at age 18. A key
member of band AMPM,
they
represented Penang at the "Yamaha Asian Beat" competition
finals in KL in
2004.
Rina Vincent
- Age: 26 Vocals
Daughter of Antonio Vincent, lead singer of famed 60's band The
Sweet September, Rina is another one
of the fine young singers carrying on their parents fine
music tradition in Penang.
Clair Rozells - Age: 28 Vocals
Probably the most promising
Eurasian hope for the future. Clair, daughter of James Rozells
started her singing career in 1999 at the Flying Club, Sheraton
Hotel Penang with Ronny of the famed Sweet September.
Experienced a short stint with a 7-piece show band in East
Malaysia before returning to K.L. where she sang with Richard Hoon
for functions. Back in Penang for a while Clair sang with Freddie
Chin at the Flying Club and in various private clubs. Highly
talented and much sought after in Kuala Lumpur, Clair Rozells carries the hope and future of
the rich Eurasian music heritage of Penang.
In concluding this paper, may I suggest to members of the public,
the corporate sector and concerned music enthusiasts to make a
concerted effort and support the young musicians and singers in Penang through the
establishment of music schools, support programmes and music shows which will encourage
young musicians to take on music as a professional career.
In addition, the press, so important in creating awareness and
promoting our young talent will always
play a vital role in the
promotion, development and eventually the future of these young
music talents.
To the young Eurasians, for example Christopher (Rodrigues)
Estrop, Darrin James Rozells, James Baum, Jordan & Jonathan
Scully, the descendants of the great musicians, the very
young and talented Matthew & Aaron Teoh and the many more young
Penang talents who are embarking on their music careers now, we
urge you to take advantage of your natural talent acquired from
your family heritage, the rich and proud Penang music history
and the encouragement from your parents, family and friends and partake in your personal musical
growth and development, and not only in current music trends but also
in the good ol' oldies, jazz, Malaysian and traditional music.
Finally, we would like to
appeal to the State Government, relevant Government authorities,
hotels and entertainment outlets to support and encourage the music profession so
that it will become a viable and profitable professional career
for generations to come. One step in this direction would be
to promote
the employment of local Penang musicians in our rich Penang
entertainment outlets rather than employ too many foreign bands
who would naturally not, contribute to nor reflect the
"Music Of Penang".
"Penang Music - Our Young
Talent" - July 2006
( by James
Rozells & Kathleen Rodrigues )
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