INTERVIEW WITH ASTRID SULAIMAN, PIANIST & VICE CHAIRMAN OF UBUD VILLAGE JAZZ FESTIVAL

When did you start playing the piano and who introduced you to music?

I started to play when I was 4 yo. I often watched my mother got a piano lesson at our house in Jakarta and was curious about piano then. So my mother put me in a music school called, Yayasan Pendidikan Musik at Jl. Manggarai (it’s still exist up until now). So I was studying music for 14 years there until I graduated.

Tell us about your most memorable gig or tour?

Every gig/tour always has its own memory. Our last tour to Castlemaine Jazz Festival, Australia last month was great, because we can meet new friends, musicians and see different cultures and set ups.

Who has musically inspired/influenced you the most?

My husband, Yuri Mahatma.

If you could pick one place anywhere in the world to be your dream destination, where would it be?

Kyoto

What is your biggest weakness?

Not careful enough with numbers

What do you do in your leisure time?

Reading and sleeping

If you could master one skill that you don’t have right now, what would it be?

Play double bass

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Wife and mother of 1 son, just start entering primary school, and will still be a jazz musician, traveling around the world