NEROFICO - Live Jazz, Cinema & Italian Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Zailan Razak Project

Zailan Razak has over twenty years of experience as a professional musician, arranger, producer and musical director. He spent twenty years of his adult life living in the United States of America both working and studying for his bachelors and masters degree. He has now been back in Malaysia for eleven years and currently working as a Lecturer and also as the Coordinator for the Bachelors Degree (Honors) Program in Music Performance at UiTM and a Professional musician, arranger producer and musical director.

Zailan has gained ample of experiences in both studio and live performances in modern music and jazz music when he was in the USA, working with big names in the modern and jazz music industry like Sister Sledge, Dennis Rowland, Marion Meadows, Khani Cole, Nelson Rangel, Pazzport, Jeannie Newhall, Johnny and Joey DeFrancesco, Papa John DeFrancesco, Azz Izz, and many other local artists in Phoenix, Arizona. Besides working with the big names, he had the opportunity to share stages with some of the big names in jazz like Grover Washington Jr., Hiroshima, Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, Bobby Caldwell, Tower of Power, Ronnie Laws, Sonny Rollins, just to name a few. Zailan is very active in the Malaysian music industry, as a session bass player and is also the musical director for Ruth Sahanaya from Indonesia.

He is also one of the producers in Dayang Nurfaizah new and upcoming album. In the jazz music scene he is actively involved with some of the local jazz names like Michael Veerapan, Lewis Pragasam, Steve Thornton, Mac Chew, Suflan, Greg Lyons, Alonso and the Jazz Latino, and his own Latin Funk Quartet. Other live performances include, jazz and blues festivals in Singapore and Thailand and with visiting jazz artistes from Japan, Korea, New York and Colombia, Zailan Razak Project is a four piece Funky, Latin and Jazz band consisting of Bass, Drums, keyboards and Percussion and occasionally has a 6 year old guest percussionist by the name of Danial Razak who happens to be Zailan’s son, and at other times there is sometimes a guitarist, saxophonist or a singer that joins the band. You’ll never know what to expect from this band until the day of performances besides hearing lots of jazz tunes with Latin, R&B, funky groove and bass lines. Zailan Razak plays predominantly a 4-string Marcus Miller Signature Series Fender Jazz Bass.

Cats In Love

Cats In Love - an unlikely name for an unlikely bunch of musicians. But like all things unlikely, there remains a sense of familiarity. The trio plays a brand of rock not unlike the classic rock genre of the 1960s and 1970s, with an air of sophistication that's decidedly modern. No, there are no world domination plans, and neither is the band setting out to reinvent the wheel, but if it's a rocking good time that's being sought, these boys know just what to do.

Aaron Khaled

Although only 22 years old, classically-trained Aaron Khaled has already made a name for himself locally and abroad, with winning turns as a vocalist, pianist and violinist, performing solo, or in small ensembles and orchestras. A bona fide musical prodigy who’s on the verge of exploding in a big way, Aaron has recently been wowing local audiences at with his very personal interpretations of well-known songs and standards. Aaron is also heavily involved in the local and international theater scene with his performance in 'The Secret Life of Nora' being his most recent.

Rashdan Harith

Rashdan Harith is one of Malaysia’s indie musician whose work is inspired with the likes of, jazz to rock ballad vibes. According to Rashdan, he is ‘constantly exploring different routes and genres in approaching his music’. Rashdan’s acoustic music will always blow his audiences away and his energy onstage is simply indescribable.

Rendra Zawawi

Rendra Zawawi is your soul-folk acoustic singer-songwriter. Often remembered by his strong vocals, he reaches out to listeners through his honest yet dynamic written materials. Being theatrical himself and on stage, he enjoys the wonders of playing live all around, giving audiences a pleasant experience with subtle introductions to his original numbers.

Rendra writes about the everyday bustling of life - love, turmoils, environment, wars. His studies abroad in UK have given him unique influences on his music - both in melody compositions and lyrics. He then furthered his music ventures into Japan, giving him a unique insight into radical creativity. To date he has performed in many prestigious venues such as No Black Tie, Bangkok Jazz, Groove Junction, KLPAC and even Ambassador Theatre in Dublin and RAG LiveHouse in Kyoto, and of course the occasional open-mics around UK and Japan. He has also played in notable events such as KL Sing Song, Moonshine, Rantai Art Festival, Eco Festival and more.

Rendra has also released an independant EP in the year 2005 which was recorded in Luncai Emas. In 2007 he recorded a live compilation of his newer materials where some will be the official soundtracks for an upcoming independant movie 'menipuLATE' by Ariff Aris coming early 2009. 

These days you will often find him playing live either solo - his voice and his guitar, or a trio made up of him, a violinist and a pianist, or with his full band consisting of him, lead guitar, bass, drums, violin, piano and saxaphone. Either three will have you pinned down to your seats, and make hair stands. Rendra would be accompanied by his band for this show.

ROLLIN’ SIXERS

Eddy Lim attempting vocals and blues harp, Khairil M Bahar and Henry Tan strumming on six-strings, Jay Kughan on bass ‘cos he wasn’t allowed to play a six-string and Ian Stewart on drums and percussion. The band wishes for 2 things: that the smoke-filled, booze-soaked juke joints of old America exist in 21st century KL; and that they’re black.

The Aseana Percussion Unit (A.P.U)

The Aseana Percussion Unit (A.P.U) is a total percussion unit first formed in 1998 when 4 guys got together with the thought of experimenting on blending the sounds and rhythms of different types of drums and percussions. The group has since then grown and now has 11 highly skilled percussionists and musicians as its core members. If you think the drum is just an instrument that makes a lot of noise – then you have not had the experience of watching an Aseana Percussion Unit performance. The extraordinary musical properties of each instrument are skillfully explored and combined as a whole and the effect is extraordinarily beautiful. A very well-travelled band, they have been invited to perform in festivals all over the world, including in countries such as South Korea and China. This is a rare opportunity to catch them in a club setting. Make those reservations fast!

The John Thomas trio

The John Thomas trio, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has been officially around since 2008, though they have been playing together since 2002. Its members, John Thomas, Ee Jeng and Fly, possess an innate understanding of each other musically, which makes for their remarkable band chemistry. Known for their inventive compositions and imaginative arrangements of standards, they have recently been experimenting with combining their love for jazz with Malaysian rhythms and harmonies, which makes for a truly unique sound. This new direction will be showcased on their upcoming album, slated to be out mid 2011. They recently completed a tour of southern China, where they headlined the Beishan International Jazz Festival, before making their way to performances in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Changsha. They concluded the tour by performing at the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival, where they shared a double billing with the great Joey Calderazzo trio.

Tony Leo & Frens

Come for a fun-filled-sing-along-get-connected gig as Tony Leo entertains you with well-known songs of today and yesterday as well as his own written songs on the night of his birthday. Tony Leo has been performing as a singer-songwriter as well as a guitarist and a theatre actor the last 6 years. 

Red Ruby Avengers

Red Ruby Avengers is a band consists of four regular 20 year old something boys – some working while some still studying. Afiq Iskandar, Hafiqzuden, Hafiz Najib and Hafiz Latiff have been practicing together eversince they graduated from college in 2008. Even though they were studying together at the same University, the idea of playing in the same band only came about after they have graduated. 

What was only meant to be a fun activity between friends took a memorable when they decided to record the songs that they have been practicing at I Seek Music under the guidance of brilliant producer Mokhtar Rizal. Their first EP which consists of five original tracks were well received but because it was not properly printed and pressed, the band’s first CD went unnotice. The band has had several successful gigs through out their involvements, but things began to take and interesting turn after the band was joined by Raimi Ruzli of Half-Asleep as a permanent member of the band which also contributed and extra element to the band’s post-90’s Alternative sound.  Hafiz Najib then decided to step down and pass his position to Aniq Hazwan as the permanent bassist whiles Hafiz would like to take time off to focus on his career. 

The band refuse to be placed under any genre as they believe it would create a barrier to the creativity in the compositions and arrangement and would prefer to be comfortably known as an Alternative Rock band. Claiming influences from great bands of the 90’s such as Butterfingers, Silverchair, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, the band has also been labeled as a 90’s revival band.  The band relies on constant shifts from the clean sounds to the heavy distorted guitars sound supported by haunting basslines and tactical drum approach along with melodic vocals to define their sound and to carry their composition.

Narmi

Though he is not classically trained in guitar, Narmi's music is soulful and full of heart. Narmi's grasp for catchy melodies and his unique voice has enabled him to gain a steady following in the singer-songwriter circuit. Also, Narmi's first single "Whirl" is currently on rotation on the radio and was No.1 for 2 weeks on the Hitz.FM MET10.

Imran Ajmain

Imran Ajmain is a 30 year old Singaporean-born Malaysian Artiste. His new single is "Selamat Ulang Tahun Sayang" taken from the album, 'Punca Dan Tindakan'. At the age of twenty-five, the lyrical and musical talent that Imran Ajmain possesses is far beyond his years. Born a second child to a musician father and a stay-at-home mother, Imran was exposed to a slew of music genres. In hopes of a better opportunity, Imran’s academic year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998, got him coming home to discover his true passion.

A master in the art of storytelling, Imran began writing very early. His creative energy has contributed much to the lyrical well-being of many young Hiphop singers and rappers in Singapore, especially after his 3 song stint in popular rap group, Triple Noize’s debut album, From Where We Sit. Many had turned to him to create a signature sound for themselves in the Singapore Hiphop music scene, creating a brand name for himself as the only R&B/Hiphop singer/songwriter who matters.

Debut album was released independently in Singapore on the 2nd last day of 2006, and garnered him many accolades through-out 2007. This includes 7 nominations for Anugerah Planet Muzik, scoring 3. Not bad for a beginner eh. He also was listed as Top 10 Entertainer in Singapore's Life! Newspapers, and at a feelgood awards show on Suria, Pesta Pesta Pesta, Imran garnered the most online votes that won him 'Penyanyi Paling Jiwang'.

Story telling Tuesdays

Since people began to communicate with each other, "Tell me a story" has been a request of both children and adults - here at Nerofico we have decided to accommodate this request and organize a storytelling night, where you will be entertained by anecdotes of all different walks of life, who have decided to share their experiences with us.