Dr. Gugum Gumbira Tirasondjaja (April 4, 1945 – January 4, 2020), often known just as Gugum Gumbira, was a

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

leader,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

from

Bandung, West Java Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, maki ...

, Indonesia.

Jaipongan

In 1961, Indonesian President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

prohibited

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and other

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

genres of music, and challenged Indonesian musicians to revive the indigenous arts. Gugum Gumbira took up the challenge, and studied rural dance and festival music for twelve years.

Jaipongan Jaipongan (), also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people from Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and pencak silat movements. Background In 1961, I ...

, or Jaipong, was the most popular result of his study, derived from the updating of a village ritual music called ketuk tilu, with moves from Pencak Silat, the Indonesian martial art, and music from the masked theater dance,

Topeng Banjet ''Topeng'' (from ban, ᬢᭀᬧᬾᬂ, su, ᮒᮧᮕᮨᮔᮌ, and jv, ꦠꦺꦴꦥꦺꦁ, topeng, mask) is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance in which one or more mask-wearing, ornately costumed performers interpret traditional narratives c ...

, and the

Wayang Golek ''Wayang golek'' ( Sundanese: ) is one of the traditional Sundanese puppet arts from West Java, Indonesia. in contrast to the wayang art on other area of Java island that use leather in the production of wayang, wayang golek is a wayang art m ...

puppet theater. In the original ketuk tilu, the group typically consists of the ketuk tilu pot-gong, other small gongs, a

rebab The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...

(spike fiddle), barrel drums, and a female singer-dancer (

ronggeng Ronggeng ( jv, ꦫꦺꦴꦁꦒꦺꦁ, translit=ronggèng) is a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong. Ronggeng might have originated from Java in Indonesia. Ro ...

) who is often also a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

, who invites men to dance with her sensually. Gugum expanded the drum section as part of an urban

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

orchestra, sped up the music, redefined the singer as just a singer ( Pesindhèn), and came up with the catchy onomatopoeic name. Many listeners consider the music very complex, with the dynamic rhythm liable to change seemingly randomly. Jaipongan debuted in 1974 when Pak Gugum and his gamelan and dancers first performed in public. Sporadic government attempts to suppress it due to its perceived immorality (it inherited some of the sensuality of ketuk tilu) just made it more popular. It survived even after the official Indonesian ban on foreign pop music was lifted after a few years, and became a craze in the 1980s. Since the mid-1980s Jaipongan's importance as a social dance has waned, but it remained popular as a stage dance, performed by women, mixed couples or as a solo. The most widely available album of Jaipongan outside Indonesia is ''Tonggeret'' by

Idjah Hadidjah Jaipongan (), also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people from Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and pencak silat movements. Background In 1961, I ...

and Gugum Gumbira's Jugala orchestra, released in 1987, and re-released as ''West Java: Sundanese Jaipong and other Popular Music'' by

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

Jugala

Gugum Gumbira's Jugala Studios in Bandung served as the base for his own Jugala orchestra and dance troupe, and hosted and recorded many other musicians, including Sabah Habas Mustapha, and

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

. The Jugala orchestra includes Sundanese

instruments, drums, rebab and suling flute, and plays Jaipongan and contemporary

degung ''Gamelan degung'' is a form of Sundanese musical ensemble that uses a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of '' degung'' scale. The instruments are manufactured under local conditions in towns in West Java such as ...

music.

Personal life

Gugum Gumbira was born in Bandung on April 4, 1945. In 1968, he married Euis Komariah (September 9, 1949 – August 11, 2011), who sang for the Jugala Orchestra. Their daughter, Mira Tejaningrum (born March 4, 1969), is a dancer and choreographer for the Jugala dance troupe. Gugum died on January 4, 2020, at Santosa Hospital in Bandung.

Notes

References

* Manuel, Peter (1988). ''Popular Musics of the Non-Western World: An Introductory Survey''. New York: Oxford University Press. .
Jaipongan
Description and history, from th
Harsanari Indonesian Dance Company
website.

From "The Power of Music" website

Short MOV video from a Jean Hellwig film on popular dancing in West Java (1989)

Overview at the Indonesian Music Shop

Album reviews

Glorious Gamelan and Jaipongan Jive: They got the beat, Indonesians
Rock Paper Scissors review of the Nonesuch Explorer Series album

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumbira, Gugum Indonesian composers Gamelan musicians 1945 births 2020 deaths People from Bandung Sundanese culture Sundanese people Music of West Java Musicians from West Java