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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,
local songbird Kathleen Rodrigues,
to international celebrities Fred
Cheah and Dennis Lee
and to the new breed of local stars like
Leonard Tan and
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 its 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
Goh Ee Teng - 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. 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 !!
Lenny Quah - Age 22 Vocals
(Elvis Impersonator)
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 top 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.
Kelvyn Yeang - Age: 24
Lead Guitar
Highly gifted and extremely talented Kelvyn is definitely one
of Penang's most promising young guitarists. This young man's
skills on the guitar without doubt makes him one of Penang's
brightest young stars to grace the music scene.
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 their music, music support
programmes, music shows and concerts which will help 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 and development of Penang music 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, Kelvyn Yeang 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 our rich
music heritage and ... the "Music Of
Penang".
"Penang Music - Our Young Talent" - July 2006
By: James A Rozells
Additional Articles click
here to read more >>
"The Music Heritage Of Penang" By: Kathleen
& James Rozells
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