Image 1: Nazar AT Noe’man. Founder of KLCBS (Karang Layu Citra Budaya Suara) jazz radio on 100.4 fm in Bandung.

Little Nazar liked to secretly sip the coffee made ​​by his father, an Indonesian famous architect, Mr. Ahmad Noe’man. “Don’t sip too much or you’ll get a moustache,” was what Ahmad Noe’man would say to his son – jokingly, of course. But until recently, although not a heavy drinker, coffee has been one of AT Noe’man Nazar’s life’s companion, who is the founder of KLCBS radio, a station that airs jazz as its genre since March 11, 1982.

Image 2: Electrolux & Compak. This Electrolux machine is equipped with a stabilizer to maintain the electric current when brewing and frothing. Understandably, for Nazar, the electrical and electronic things are his daily play-dohs.

Coffee is like jazz

My small talk with Nazar at his residence last Sunday afternoon was absolutely delightful – his home is where KLCBS has been airing jazz tunes for 30 years. In living room,  I saw an advanced audio equipment; an MA6200 integrated amplifier McIntos type which I begged to Faidhan Noe’man (Nazar’s second son) to turn on. Soon after, a Pat Metheny concert was played in a superb blu-ray disc quality and sounded through a McIntosh audio amplifier –a beautiful background music that played during our conversation making one finally understand the meaning of ‘music to my ears’.

Nazar introduced himself to me wearing his Sunday attire –  a white T-shirt and knee-length denim shorts. Accompanied with Faidhan,  we chewed the fat with Nazar who has an extensive knowledge in many areas.

“Coffee is like jazz,” Explains Nazar about how this music genre is so rich and comes with a wide range of streams. “Jazz can be Avant-garde, or fusion, and that’s what makes it so enjoyable, just like the different variants of coffee.”

Nazar is still loyal to his French Press, although he actually wants to also try to make coffee using an espresso machine. But glaucoma makes him resolve to using this simple equipment as his daily coffee brewing tool. “Back then, literatures about coffee was rare and only a few people could be consulted to talk about this particular beverage.”

In addition to finding pleasure in a cup of brewed coffee he personally makes, Nazar often recognizes an earthy taste and aroma from his coffee. “Maybe because we and all living things are made of the earth element, that taste will inevitably occur, although only just a little bit” he said with a laugh when Faidhan Noe’man, his second son jokingly implied that he also would charge their family members 20 thousand rupiah for a cup of espresso made by him.

Image 3: Faidhan Noe’man. KLCBS Music Director and Nazar’s second son.

About Jazz and KLCBS

Nazar appreciates thet fact that since his teen years he has been introduced by his parents to classical music, which started from the Baroque era composers such as Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi, and eventually, jazz. “Usually classical music fans are loyal to their choice of music, but my parents enjoy both of them.” Then came the time when Nazar was trusted to add more to his parents’ music collection when Ahmad Noe’man asked him to buy LPs, which back then in the 60s, worth 75 rupiah. “Even the price of a bowl of meatballs was never more than 5 rupiah” he said with a smile. That was the beginning of the growing amount of music collection that Nazar started by himself.

In Nazar’s opinion, classical music reaches the top of a music appreciation. His first experience to classical music and recognition of its composers continued on to knowing musicians such as Geoge Gershwin, Cole Porter, and other jazz streams such as beebob, hardbop, and many other. But Nazar thinks that jazz has the ability to assemble a variety of musical genres within a certain pattern. He cited the work of John Lennon that can be played in jazz because it extends the “age” a great pop music, including classical – which can be appreciated, and certainly worthy of collection.

KLCBS was born when Nazar’s music collection grew while at the same he was unable to continue to high school. Ahmad Noe’man adviced him on playing his music collection to a wider audience through radio – a ‘charity’ which was what they used to call it back then. Incidentally Nazar had many friends in the electronics department at Bandung Institute of Technology, which had its own radio transmitter and helped establish the birth KLCBS, more than a quarter century ago.

Image 4: McIntosh. In the world of espresso machines, McIntosh is similar to legendary icons like Slayer, Synesso and Strada. Hardcore audio fans must know the reputation of McIntosh as one of the best audio equipments in the world.

Since the beginning, Nazar has always focused on the content of the broadcast and even more specific in choosing a music format, so of course jazz is and has  been the main genre for KLCBS. “Back then, the radios that broadcasted all over Bandung focused on playing traditional local songs; even though some played jazz, not much – only two hours for a certain day of the week.” Recalled Nazar of the establishment of his radio.

Born and raised in Bandung, I am one of those people who grew up listening to high quality jazz music on KLCBS, which was aired on 100.5 FM back then. Closing in the 90s period, FM stations were not as varied as they are now, and KLCBS – with its announcer’s distinctive voice; a bit formal but not too uptight – made me learn a lot of jazz musicians from various streams, especially because smooth jazz was making its revival, driven by the GRP the record label. The jazz collection played by KLCBS don’t always play sweet (safe) jazz, which is relatively easy to listen, but for some reason, this radio has always been skilled at inviting its listener to appreciate jazz’s history; from mainstream jazz to the modern era

Let us hope there will come a time that KLCBS has its own coffee corner, because I truly believe that jazz and coffee, as elements of civilization, make a ‘lethal’ combination.

(To Nazar Noe’man)

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Nazar AT Noe’man : Kopi itu seperti Jazz

Koreksi : gelombang KLCBS berada di 100.4 FM

Nazar kecil diam-diam sering mencicipi kopi yang dibuat oleh orang tuanya, arsitek kebanggaan Indonesia, Ir. Ahmad Noe’man. “Jangan banyak-banyak, nanti kumisan” itu saja komentar singkat Ahmad Noe’man sambil bergurau tentunya. Tapi hingga saat ini, walau bukan peminum kelas berat, kopi sudah menjadi salah satu pengisi hidup Nazar AT Noe’man, pendiri radio KLCBS, sebuah stasiun yang menjadikan genre musik jazz sebagai pakemnya sejak 11 Maret 1982.

Kopi itu seperti Jazz

Obrolan ringan dengan Nazar di hari Minggu siang kemarin tentu menyenangkan yang berlangsung di rumahnya sekaligus tempat KLCBS,memancarkan siarannya sejak 30 tahun lalu.  Di ruangan tengah saya melihat peralatan audio kelas atas, sebuah integrated amplifier McIntos tipe MA6200 yang saya mohon kepada Faidhan Noe’man, anak kedua Nazar untuk diperdengarkan. Jadilah sebuan tontonan konser Pat Metheny yang menawan dalam cakram blu ray dengan audio sekaliber McIntosh yang tidak membuat telinga kelelahan (ear fatigue) yang diputar selama perbincangan berlangsung.

Nazar memperkenalkan diri kepada saya, dengan penampilan santai di hari Minggu, mengenakan kaus oblong putih dan celana denim selutut. Ditemani Faidhan, kami berbincang ringan dengan seorang Nazar yang punya wawasan luas di banyak bidang.

“Kopi itu seperti musik jazz” ujarnya mengandaikan bagaimana genre musik ini yang begitu kaya dengan berbagai macam aliran. “Jazz bisa avant guard, atau fusion, itu yang membuatnya menyenangkan, seperti kekayaan varian kopi”

Nazar masih setia dengan alat seduh french press walau ia ingin juga mencoba membuat kopi dengan mesin espresso. Tapi penglihatannya yang terbatas akibat glaucoma membuatnya tetap menjadikan alat saring kopi ini menjadi rutinitas yang biasa dilakukannya.”Berbeda dengan saat dulu dimana literatur kopi masih jarang ditemukan dan hanya beberapa orang yang bisa diajak berdiskusi tentang minuman ini.

Selain menemukan kenikmatan dalam secangkir kopi yang selalu ia seduh sendiri, Nazar seringkali menemukan rasa dan aroma dari unsur tanah. “Mungkin karena kita dan semua mahluk hidup berasal dari tanah, maka seringkali rasa itu selalu keluar walaupun sedikit” ujarnya sambil tertawa saat Faidhan Noe’man, anak keduanya menimplai kalau dirinya akan men-charge 20 ribu per cangkir bagi anggota keluarga yang ingin dibuatkan secangkir espresso based oleh Faidhan.

Tentang Jazz dan KLCBS

Nazar mensyukuri kalau sejak usia belasan tahun ia sudah banyak dikenalkan oleh orang tuanya dengan musik klasik yang dimulai dari komposer era Baroque seperti Bach, Handel, dan Vivaldi dan jazz. “Biasanya pendengar musik ini setia dengan pilihannya, tapi justru orang tua saya menyenangi keduanya. Hingga akhirnya ia dipercaya menambah koleksi musik saat Ahmad Noe’man memintanya untuk membeli piringan hitam yang tahun 60an masih berharga 75 rupiah. “Harga semangkuk bakso saja tak lebih dari 5 rupiahnya”katanya sambil tersenyum dan koleksinya pun semakin bertambah banyak.

Nazar mengaggap musik klasik adalah pencapaian puncak sebuah apresiasi musik. Perkenalannya dengan komposer klasik lalu bersentuhan dengan Geoge Gershwin, Cole Porter, beebob, hardbop, dan banyak aliran jazz lainnya. Tapi Nazar menganggap bahwa jazz bisa merangkai berbagai genre musik dengan indah walau punya pakem terntentu. Ia mencontohkan karya John Lennon bisa dimainkan di dalam jazz karena memperpanjang “umur” musik pop yang bagus termasuk klasik, bisa diapresiasi, dan tentu saja layak dikoleksi.

KLCBS, lahir saat koleksi musik Nazar semakin bertambah sementara ia tidak bisa meneruskan sekolahnya sejak sekolah menengah. Ahmad Noe’man memberikan saran bagaimana kalau koleksi musiknya diperdengarkan kepada khalayak yang lebih luas dalam medium radio atau dalam bahasa saat itu “disedekahkan”. Kebetulan Nazar punya banyak teman di jurusan elektronika ITB yang saat itu punya siaran radio sendiri dan membantunya mendirikan pemancar yang melahirkan KLCBS, lebih dari seperempat abad yang lalu.

Sejak awal pendirian Nazar fokus kepada isi siaran dan ingin lebih khusus dalam memilih format musik dan tentu saja jazz adalah genre utama KLCBS,. “Saat itu radio di Bandung masih mengusung siaran campur sari walaupun jazz ada, tapi hanya diputar dua jam di hari tertentu” katanya mengenang pendirian radio ini.

Sebagai orang Bandung sayat dibesarkan dengan mendengar siaran jazz bermutu dari radio KLCBS, yang saat itu masih berada di gelombang 100.5 FM. Menjelang tahun 90an, stasiun FM masih belum seramai sekarang dan KLCBS, dengan suara penyiarnya yang khas, sedikit formal tapi tidak kaku, membuat saya mengenal banyak musisi jazz dari berbagai aliran, apalagi saat itu sedang terjadi kebangkitan smooth jazz yang dimotori oleh perusahaan rekaman GRP. Ramuan jazz yang diperdengarkan KLCBS tentu tidak melulu sweet jazz yang relatif mudah dinikmati, tapi entah mengapa radio ini begiatu piawai mengajak pendengar melakukan napak tilas dan mengapresiasi jazz dari mainstream hingga ke era modern.

Mari kita berharap akan ada sebuah sudut sajian kopi di KLCBS, karena saya haqqul yaqin, jika jazz dan kopi selain sebuah unsur peradaban, tentu saja lethal combination.  

(Untuk Nazar Noe’man)

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