#SHOWBIZ: Tay's 'River' flows with jazz and nostalgia

New Straits Times

26-04-2025

A PHOTO of a river prompted jazz composer Tay Cher Siang to compose an album themed on life as an unceasing, flowing river.
"The idea for the album took a while. I can't say I'm a very organised or goal-oriented composer, pianist or creative person.
"The whole process — from completing the last album, 'Purnama' (which sparked thoughts of what's next) to finishing this one — took four years.
"But the making of the album took two months," said the 47-year-old Melaka-born musician.
'River', out on April 21, is WVC Jazz Ensemble's eighth album and has 14 tracks — nine instrumental and five vocal.
The album cover features a photo by S.C. Shekar of the central forest spine of Peninsular Malaysia.
"Stupendous shot," says Tay, adding that the album photos were taken by Shekar, Wong Horngyih, Jason Tiu and himself.
Tay adds that Gareth Richards wrote a reflective essay on the album's motifs and song notes.
The album features Tay, bassist A.J. Popshuvit and drummer Adriel Wong.
Guest artistes include Farid Izwan on soprano sax for 'Mustard Flower', while 'Ganges' has Yi Munn Lam on guzheng, Alex Rocksta' on liu qin and Vicky Ramakrishnan on tabla.
Singers are Alwagera, Junji Delfino and Izen Kong.Asked about personal inspiration, Tay says 'Ganges' was written during a one-month working trip to India with friends.
"The memories of Varanasi and floating on the Ganges, and the experience and lessons learnt during that journey through northern India, are still strongly felt.
"For instance, Jon Teo, the owner of Jao Tim, said that after the trip, he changed his mind about architecture and opened a jazz bar instead.
"As for me, I have this song and other compositions, to show for it.
"The reverberations from that journey are still being felt till this day.
"Tay adds that some compositions were written during the lockdown.
"A friend posted one poem every night that year to cheer the world up.
"One of them was Malaysian poet Edwin Vathamani's concise and sparse poem called 'Solitude', and it took me not more than 10 minutes to finish the melody.
"I also came across a Chinese-language translation of the beautiful Japanese poem 'Alive' written by Tanikawa Shuntaro.
It was in one of my children's books.
"The illustrations in the book were so well done that I sat down and read through the volume.
"I was moved by the simple profundity and suggestive imagery of what really matters in acknowledging the state of being alive.
"During the pandemic years, this poem begged to be set to music and now the poet's words have a melody to be remembered."
Tay has included an ode to Sungai Melaka, which he felt sounded nostalgic and a little melancholic.
He says rivers have always played a role in his life.
For one, he had to pass it to go to school from young.
"It's about a kilometre or two from home to school. I still like the section of the Hang Tuah Bridge.
"The ancient Sungai Melaka flows steadily under the bridge. Going to school, a cool breeze blew and refreshed me every time I passed the river.
"It was a feeling of being alive."After dinner, when my mother and I went to collect bills from the hotel run by my father, we always walked through the river in Kampung Morten.
"Malay stilt houses lined the riverbank. As we passed, we could smell food cooking and observe life in every form.
"The winding Sungai Melaka would occasionally burst its banks and flood the area where we lived. "Sometimes the water level was waist-high, which was a serious time.
"Even if it was only flooded to the ankles, it caused a lot of inconvenience, and my mother kept complaining while washing the floor.
"However, the leaves floating on the water, along with lizards or slippers washed away by someone, were enough for us children to stare at.
"That river is so familiar to me, with mudskippers sliding on the mud under a hot sky.
"The scene of old sampans tied to wooden poles, sitting patiently. These are my memories of Sungai Melaka.
"It is a symbol of how, in the long flow of time, composers, musicians, artistes and all those who have worked hard, struggled and uplifted others, are part of the river of time."
The album also includes the P. Ramlee classic 'Dendang Perantau', evoking images of people leaving home for distant lands, sometimes travelling by river.
WVC Jazz Ensemble will perform at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas tonight in 'All That Jazz with WVC Jazz Ensemble & The Shang Sisters'.
"We'll perform WVC originals and our fusion/Nanyang jazz songs with The Shang Sisters. Izen Kong and Junji Delfino will join for several numbers, including 'Solitude' and 'Alive' from 'River'.
"And the album will be on sale then."