Going Places – August 2019

goingplacesmagazine.com

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87

| August 2019

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ARTIST OF THE MONTH

my solo piano album titled The Great Wall

Comes Alive.

In 2017, I was awarded the Grand Master

Brand Icon Leadership Award by Brand

Laureate and was appointed an adjunct music

professor at UPSI.

Name some of the award shows where you

were invited to be a judge.

I was honoured to have been a judge in award

shows like the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union

(ABU) Song Festival in Bangkok, Hanoi and

Jakarta. In Malaysia, I’ve been invited to TV3’s

Anugerah Juara Lagu, Astro’s Gegar Vaganza and

RTM’s own programmes such as Bintang RTM.

Who are some figures in the music world

that you admire and what do you admire

about them?

I am a great fan of modern jazz pianist Bill

Evans and the greatest pianist of all time,

Oscar Peterson. I admire Bill and Oscar’s

artistry. Listening to them creates ideas in my

playing, pushing me to practise more. I would

listen to the record, try to absorb its essence and

then apply it to my playing. I do listen to other

genres of good music as well, not forgetting

classical masters such as Bach, Beethoven,

Debussy and Brahms.

What inspires you in your music and your life?

My main inspiration would have to be my

family. They have always been there throughout

my career for all of its ups and downs. Also,

not to forget, my followers who have always

appreciated my music.

You regularly post videos of yourself playing

the piano on Facebook. What are you working

on at the moment?

Apart from being RTM Orchestra’s music director,

I travel to China frequently as Hagspiel’s brand

ambassador. Facebook is how I stay in touch

with my followers, wherever I may be. I will be

leaving RTM in a few years and I hope to leave

behind a legacy to inspire young musicians in

Malaysia. My hope is that my successors can

bring RTM Orchestra to even greater heights

in the future.

What is the local music industry like for

classical and jazz musicians?

Unlike in America or Europe, the small Malaysian

music scene doesn’t allow musicians or singers

to focus on a single genre. Only the versatile can

succeed here. You can’t force people to change

their musical tastes, but over time, you can

educate them to choose good music.

What do you think of the pool of musical

talent available now in Malaysia?

We have a lot of young talent locally, but the

music scene is small and the chances for

them to move forward are limited by the

number of platforms available for them to

portray their talents. ■

Dato' Mokhzani Ismail's solo piano album The Great Wall Comes Alive is playing onboard. Check the

audio section in your in-flight entertainment system for channel information.

Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Kampung Alor Lancang, Jejawi,

Perlis in 1962 as the second and youngest child

to a pair of teachers. I was a real kampung

(village) boy, growing up surrounded by paddy

fields and a serene environment. Today, I am

a husband and a father of two. My son just

graduated from flying school and my daughter

is entering her fourth year of medical school in

Dublin, Ireland.

How did your career in music begin?

My father played the violin in his younger days,

and when I was eight, he bought a piano for

himself to learn and asked me to take up violin.

After a few months, I gave up and tried the piano

instead, discovering that I could play any melody

I heard on my father’s turntable by ear and

memory – anything from joget and asli zapin to

Latin repertoires, rhumba, mambo and cha-cha.

Upon entering the Specialist Teacher Training

College in 1980, I realised I could not progress

much without being able to read music notes, so

I was sent for a crash course on playing the piano

professionally and reading music notes while

working as a music teacher until 1986.

I received a MARA scholarship to study at Berklee

College of Music, Boston in 1987. This was where I

learned jazz piano from some of the world’s best

teachers like Prof. Ray Santisi (who taught Keith

Jarrett and Diana Krall), Prof. Bob Winter and

Prof. Laszlo Gardony. I also studied orchestral

arrangement under Prof. Bob Freeman, who

produced Wynton Marsalis’ album.

Returning to Malaysia in 1990, I performed in

hotels for a few months before being invited

to be RTM Orchestra’s pianist in 1991. I had the

honour of conducting RTM Orchestra at Konsert

Senada Seirama in Indonesia in 1993 and the

Bangkok International Jazz Festival in 1996.

By 1998, at the age of 36, I was appointed RTM

Orchestra’s youngest music director.

The RTM Orchestra is Malaysia’s oldest

music orchestra. Having led them for 20

years now, what are some of the biggest

changes you have observed?

In the old days, RTM was undoubtedly popular,

being the only broadcasting station in the

country. Things were much easier then. Now,

there are many new private broadcasting

stations coming up with fresh content.

In order to compete and stay relevant, we

produced albums and hosted mega concerts.

We also participated in prestigious music

festivals such as the KL International Jazz

Festival, Bangkok International Jazz Festival,

Jakarta Jazz Festival and Java International

Jazz Festival. Having celebrated its 50th

anniversary in 2011, RTM Orchestra is the oldest

orchestra in Malaysia.

What are some of the most memorable

moments of your career?

Apart from leading the RTM Orchestra, I

conducted the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

for Chris Botti’s world tour in 2011. I was also a

speaker at the International Music Conference in

Glasgow, Scotland and Lyon, France in 2014.

The following year, I was appointed International

Piano Ambassador for German piano brand

Hagspiel and got to perform live at the Great

Wall of China. I travelled to many cities across

China to conduct talks and masterclasses in

jazz improvisation, and also managed to record

Composer, arranger,

conductor and talented

jazz pianist Dato’

Mokhzani Ismail had the

honour of being appointed

the youngest Music

Director of RTM Orchestra,

the longest-running

orchestra in Malaysia,

just over 30 years ago.

This month, Going

Places shines a spotlight

on where his long and

illustrious career has taken

him, and his views on the

local music industry.

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