The Lady of Jazz

The title itself actually defines the solo artist who stands out endorsing the very album. Margie Segers takes a binding part in the early chapter of modern jazz industry odyssey in her country. Setting a milestone of her career in Indonesia in 1960’s, Margie has a long-winding merit as one of dedicated soloists in the country, pretty enough for her to gain a special distinction. And that lavish experience is what she inadvertently transfers into this album produced by a top class jazz figure, Ireng Maulana. Therefore now we are talking about a premium album of its class, so to speak. 

Consisting of completely western jazz tracks, initially Margie and the musicians involved must have an excellent trait to not only grasping fully the ten often played foreign songs, but also diverting them into a fresh, yet distinguishable arrangement. The truth is we find it here. The first track, Give Me the Night, fits best as an introduction to this album, and Margie really introduces herself when she articulates melodic vowel loudly just as the music plays. Subsequently, the singer is compelled to build an expectation to her listeners. And I incline to say that she has done her job successfully. Her stressing is indeed satisfactory, as she walks through the song smoothly till the end. 

Skipping to the second track, Margie once again attempts to emphasize the character of her voice. Hello is brought in her melancholy style like you have never heard of before. Margie’s style is as much pre-determining the song. Her gripping dry voice effortlessly draws a fine line of tones, which is a suitable asset to avoid cliché. If you have head of Antonio’s Song by Salena Jones, listen to how Margie exemplifies the song on her own. Margie also sings Imagine in jazz version, to which I never thought the song could be presented that way. Several tracks of jazz-blues tracks also exist, such as Help Me Make It Thru the Night, and Superstition, though I decline that she sings well in the particular genre. Another dissatisfaction would be the overly-exposed keyboard sounds found in most of the tracks, regardless my subjective opinion. I still believe that the sound of piano has a lot to say in jazz music rather than keyboard, taken from its classical term. 

Above all, a factor just as important as Margie in this album is pointed to the band, which deserves the same level of praise. The band comprises numerous reputable Indonesian jazz musicians, Mus Mujiono and Ireng Maulana as guitarists, Idang Rasjidi as pianist, Didiek SSS as saxophonist, and many others. Together, they deliver a contemporary instrumental composition necessary in replenishing all the frequently played songs as handpicked in the album.