FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

April 17, 2009

 

 

Jazzing up Singapore songs:

Cultural Medallion winner Jeremy Monteiro

gives familiar tunes a new twist

 

 

Cultural medallion winner Jeremy Monteiro has given Singapore songs a new twist in a fresh album, Singapore Swing, to be launched on Tuesday 21 April 2009.

 

Commissioned by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), this collection of 12 familiar tunes puts a twist to many of our local favourites. Listeners can enjoy a fresh new take on Dick Lee’s ‘Home’ in true jazz ballad style or sway with the happy groovy jazz waltz of ‘Gelang Sipaku Gelang’. Instead of putting the CD out in stores, the songs will be made freely available for downloads from 22 April 2009 at www.mySingapore.sg, making them easily accessible to everyone, including Singaporeans overseas.

 

The album was produced by renowned jazz musician Professor Jeremy Monteiro, who has more than 20 jazz albums under his belt. Jeremy has a deep passion for our national songs, and he says: “I believe that a nation that sings together stays together and I have always dreamt of doing an instrumental album recording of Singapore songs in jazz style.”

 

The jazz pianist, also known as Singapore’s King of Swing, commented that when he was recording the songs, he was “struck by the beauty and universality of the melodies”.

 

Jeremy and his band will perform selected pieces from the album at a launch event on 21 April 2009, at jazz@southbridge, 82 Boat Quay #02-01. Members of the public are invited to drop in from 9pm. Jeremy and the band will perform 3 sets between 9.30pm – 12.30am.

 

MICA’s Director of the National Resilience Division, Dr K U Menon, observed: “Singapore songs are an important component of nationhood - our heritage & our identity - and evoke a sense of nostalgia with many Singaporeans.  They remain very popular, as evidenced by the many requests we receive each year for compilations of Singapore songs, both from Singaporeans as well as foreigners, and particularly in the lead up to National Day.  We thought it would be timely to do a new collection of popular favourites and that having an instrumental version in jazz would transcend cultural and language boundaries,” he added.

 

THE END

 

High resolution pictures and copies of the CD are available to media upon request.

 

For further enquiries, please contact:

Joanna Kang

National Resilience Division

Tel: 6837 9846

Mobile: 9733 2396

Email: Joanna_kang@mica.gov.sg

 

 

 

NATIONAL RESILIENCE DIVISION

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS