Bubi Chen

Born in Surabaya, East Java, Bubi Chen (1938-2012) was an important figure in the development of jazz in Indonesia. Born into a musical family, his father played violin, and his older brothers Teddy and Jopie both became jazz musicians. Bubi began playing piano at the age of five, and by twelve was rearranging classical pieces by Beethoven and Chopin in jazz styles. He studied jazz in a correspondence course with Teddy Wilson as a tutor.

In the late 1950s, he met guitarist Jack Lesmana who would become a frequent collaborator, and joined his quartet. American clarinettist heard the musicians in 1960, and was impressed enough to tell the German jazz critic Joachim Berendt about a vibrant Indonesian jazz scene. Berendt invited what became the Indonesian All Stars to appear at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1967, and they spent two days in the MPS Studio in Villingen to record an album with Tony Scott – Djanger Bali, which included four traditional Indonesian songs. Along with Jack Lesmana and Bubi Chen, the other Indonesian musicians were the saxophonist Maryono, Bubi’s brother Jopie Chen on bass, and Benny Mustafa on drums. Chen was voted as Asia’s top jazz pianist in Downbeat’s 1968 poll.

Chen and Lesmana continued working together, including on an album Chen recorded with strings in 1969, Bila ‘ku ingat. Chen recorded prolifically from the 1960s until shortly before his death. In 1984, he travelled to America to record a trio album Bubi in Amerika with John Heard on bass and Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath on drums. Chen occasionally appeared in piano duets, notably with the Singapore pianist, Jeremy Monteiro, and also with Indra Lesmana, the pianist son of his colleague and friend, who died in 1988.

Key Recordings:
Djanger Bali (MPS 1967) with Tony Scott