Molam master passes

Bangkok Post

14-07-2025

World Beat journeyed to Roi Et province last week to attend the funeral of Assoc Prof Jarernchai Chonpairot, who passed away on the July 5 aged 83.
Ajarn Jarernchai, who was still on the faculty at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University's College of Music (a department he helped found), was World Beat's "go-to" for an understanding of traditional Isan music, especially molam.
In the early 1990s, after living in Japan for several years, I returned to Thailand determined to write about and take photographs of Thai music. I was trying to make sense of the different styles in molam music, and after a performance at the Thailand Culture Centre, I finally met Ajarn Jarernchai and explained my dilemma.
About a week later, I received a letter, typewritten on small notepaper, that summarised the main styles of molam. Academics are not always that co-operative with journalists but he never turned anyone away; he always had time for those interested in Isan music.
For over 50 years, he and Prof Terry Miller of Kent State University in the US collaborated on research in the ethnomusicology of Isan music and co-authored research papers.
The story of the long collaboration and friendship between the two professors goes back to 1972, when Ajarn Terry came to Thailand to do research for a doctorate, which would result in his classic text book Traditional Music Of The Lao – Kaen Playing And Mawlum Singing In Northeast Thailand (Greenwood Press, 1984).
Ajarn Jarernchai was the research assistant for this research project and the two travelled all over the region looking for different styles of lam, some of which have sadly disappeared since then.
After his return to the USA to complete his doctorate, Ajarn Terry helped Ajarn Jarernchai move to study in the states where he completed his Master's and doctorate degrees; his research centred on molam musicians from Laos. He became one of the first Thais to gain a doctorate in ethnomusicology from a US university.
Upon his return from the USA, Ajarn Jarernchai helped set up the department of music at Maha Sarakham University, for both Western and Thai traditional music. Over the years, many academics have been trained by these two professors, and their huge body of research is of great cultural and social value, not only to researchers but to all of us.
Ajarn Jarernchai was also keen to showcase molam music to new audiences. He joined a panel to discuss molam at the Foreign Correspondents' Club that I organised, using his khaen (free reed bamboo mouth organ) to illustrate his presentation, along with a former student, Chumchon Suebwong, who introduced a chromatic khaen, designed to enable players to perform with Western orchestras (one of his students, Sun Nantachai, recently performed in the US with a Western classical orchestra using a chromatic khaen).
And last year, at the annual Jim Thompson Farm Tour (now Festival) in Pak Thong Chai, Korat, I reunited the two academics to talk about their field research during the "American era" of 1959 to 1976, during the period when US military bases were active in the region. It was truly fascinating to hear their stories.
He was also a prolific composer; in fact, he recently told me that he had been composing a song or tune a day. Music always seemed to be part of what he was doing. And, of course, he was a master of the khaen and many other Isan instruments.
You can hear him on the Globestyle album Isan Slete, which was released in 1989 and to this day remains one of the best molam albums ever recorded overseas. The album features bandleader Saman Hongsa, with most of the musicians selected by Ajarn Jarernchai, who plays khaen and ching (temple cymbals).
At his funeral in Wat Burapha Phiram on July 9, students and alumni performed molam music (featuring three educational institutes in one orchestra) and danced, while Chumhon Suebwong (saxophone) and Sun Nantachai (khaen) performed solo and as a duet. National Artist Songsak Prathomsin led an Isan music ensemble with his woad (bamboo pan pipes) leading the way.
The huge turnout for his funeral bore testament to Ajarn Jarernchai's influence and popularity. He was also kind and supportive, and he had a great sense of humour. He will be greatly missed.
In the funeral book, given to all mourners, there is a long article in English on making khaen (a very complicated and time-consuming process). At the end of the article, Ajarn Jarernchai talks about how there are fewer professional players than when he started his research.
One of his solutions to this problem was to suggest that a foundation should be set up to support Isan culture and research, provide scholarships for local artists and disseminate materials on all aspects of Isan culture. As he said: "We hope that if we can set up a healthy environment for Isan culture, khaen music and other types of Isan culture may be revived and improved for prosperity."