Jazz is finding a new groove in Malaysia, with pop culture bringing in young listeners, says award-winning pianist

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Jazz may have deep roots in Malaysia, but award-winning pianist, composer and producer Tay Cher Siang believes the genre is finding fresh momentum among younger listeners today.

Jazz has been part of Malaysia’s musical fabric since the days of colonial-era British Malaya, before thriving in the post-independence years through icons such as the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee and the late, great Penang-born Jimmy Boyle, to name a few.

Although jazz slowly faded with the arrival of the “pop yeh yeh” era in the mid-1960s — followed by the disco and funk craze of the 1970s — it briefly made a commercial comeback in the 1980s, with figures such as Michael Veerapen, the late percussionist Lewis Pragasam and his outfit Asiabeat, as well as Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim and Datuk Sheila Majid.

It, however, remained in the background as the hype around Malaysian glam rock or “rock kapak” took over regional charts in the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

Fast forward to today, award-winning Malaysian jazz pianist, composer and producer Tay Cher Siang said the local jazz music landscape has seen an elevation in recent years.

“From my observation, I do see a shift in the cultural landscape here, young people show up at jazz gigs and concerts, and the demographic of jazz listeners has broadened over the years,” Tay told Malay Mail.

The 48-year-old said this rejuvenation should be credited to the many local practitioners who have been actively educating and promoting jazz music to wider audiences.

He added that pop culture has also played a role in the revival, with films such as La La Land and singers such as Laufey helping to bridge the gap with younger audiences.

“Also some of the trends such as the returning of vinyls, or the popularity of City pop, which is basically Japanese jazz musicians making 70s to 80s J-pop, these all contributed to young people’s appreciation of ‘old music’.

“I guess it is always good to see young people who dress up in their fashions and listen to the music – not to say older listeners don’t dress up, well I should say, we love all our audience lah,” he said.

Celebrating diversity through jazz

As the driving force behind the acclaimed WVC Malaysian Jazz Ensemble and a champion of local music education, Tay has spent the last two decades as one of the prominent figures in the Malaysian jazz scene.

A multi-time BOH Cameronian Arts Award winner for his theatrical and original musical compositions, Tay also gained international recognition when he and the WVC ensemble featured on-screen in Hollywood’s Crazy Rich Asians.

He is now curating the upcoming Royal Selangor Jazz Festival 2026, his third time at the helm.

“The ideas of this festival from the beginning are all about showcasing the diversity of the Malaysian music community, sharing various types of jazz music with the audience, and offering the whole day experience for the whole family.

“We are very glad that Datuk Zainal Abidin will be joining us, backed up by our Steward of Malaysian jazz, our big brother Mr Michael Veerapen and his musicians.

“We also have Ghibli jazz with my band WVC, singer Yonlynn and violinist Poann, where we will explore the sound of the imaginative worlds of the Ghibli studio. We hope that our audience could discover new things in our rendition of the well known repertoire,” he said.

Set to take place on July 12, the festival will transform the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre in Setapak into a continuous 13-hour celebration of jazz, with 19 acts across four stages, including names such as The Julian Chan Orchestra, The Frankie Sixes and Ida Mariana.

Tay, who described this year’s curation as being deliciously mixed like the famous Malaysian dish rojak, also said the line-up was inspired by his love of books and other forms of literature.

“It’s difficult to narrow down a specific list of books that directly influenced my curation; instead, I try to read as broadly as possible — from manga to Dostoevsky, and Yuval Harari to Murakami, all the way to The Analects and Guns, Germs, and Steel.

“Immersing myself in history has taught me about the staggering diversity of human stories out there and to me, jazz is exactly about that diversity—it is the art of how different genres, styles, and voices coexist beautifully in a single performance.”

“So, when it comes to curating the Royal Selangor Jazz festival, my choice of performers automatically veers towards diversity in genres and styles, after all that's the essence of Malaysia, isn't it?” he said.

Tickets for the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival 2026 are available via Ticket2U, with general admission priced at RM150 for adults and RM30 for children below 12.