SARAWAK, Malaysia, Apr 21, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - One of Southeast Asia's longest running international jazz festivals - Borneo Jazz festival (BJ) - is back once again, bringing musicians of diverse cultural backgrounds together to celebrate jazz music and empower the local community.

Themed "Jazz in The Jungle", the Borneo Jazz festival will be held from 24 to 26 June 2022 in a hybrid format to reach out to the greater jazz-loving community worldwide. The physical concert will take place at Coco Cabana, Miri while viewers will also be able to livestream one-hour blocks of their performances from home.

With musical content curated by No Black Tie Presents, Malaysia's foremost jazz promoter, music lovers can expect a spectacular mix of jazz and hip-hop, tribal vibes, world beats and electro-jazz grooves during the 17th edition of the Borneo Jazz festival.

Watch out for an eclectic mix of jazz musicians, rappers and DJs from USA, Hungary, Singapore, France, Malaysia and more lighting up the Borneo Jazz stage to celebrate cultural diversity, tradition and innovation.

Sarawak Arts Council's band Sarawak Symphony Orchestra (SONS) will also be taking to the Borneo Jazz stage for the first time in a continued collaboration with Sarawak Tourism Board, with the aim to lift Sarawak's local music scene.

The announcement on the highly anticipated annual event was made today by Yang Berhormat Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts along with Yang Berhormat Datuk Sebastian Ting Chew Yew, Deputy Minister of Tourism Sarawak, Yang Berhormat Mr. Dennis Ngau, Chairman of Sarawak Tourism Board, Mr. Hii Chang Kee, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak, Puan Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor, Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Tourism Board, Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar, Chief Operating Officer of MASwings representing Malaysia Aviation Group and Stephanie Kuan representing artistic director No Black Tie Presents.

During his speech, Yang Berhormat Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts said, "With the theme "Jazz in the Jungle", this year's Borneo Jazz is about rejuvenating the jazz scene while being surrounded by the wonders of nature that are in abundance in Miri, the gateway to Northern Sarawak. As we all know, artistes and musicians have all been affected by the lockdowns, so Borneo Jazz festival serves as the perfect platform to rejuvenate, rediscover, rekindle and rebuild the jazz connection that was interrupted for the past two years."

"The hybrid concert is the best way to go this year based on the positive response we have received from the Borneo Jazz Virtual Experience last year in 2021. For the record, the Borneo Jazz Virtual Experience 2021 three-day journey garnered 244,637 online viewers from 43 countries. This year, we hope to have a wider outreach to international audiences encompassing more countries."

Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Tourism Board, Puan Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor said, "We are pleased to once again bring music lovers in Malaysia and around the world physically back to Borneo Jazz festival in Miri, the northern gateway of Sarawak"

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