Azmi

One of the most diverse, in demand sax players in all of contemporary jazz, Azmi Hairudin finds pure joy at the heart of his increasingly fast-paced touring schedule by reminding himself, every time he gets on stage, that he’s there to do one thing: Play!
Azmi first expressed his interest in music on the drums, switching to saxophone in Jr. High School when he was "impressed" with the shininess of the sax. Azmi began playing local functions and clubs while still in high school.
Having built a steady following as a sideman in some of KL’s top jazz clubs, 1990 saw Azmi stepping out in faith and starting his own band.
KL was such a cool music town in the early ‘80s. There were so many live music venues then..everybody came through KL. I was like a sponge – just sitting there with these giants and absorbing everything they threw my way." It worked. His musical reputation as well as his local following grew. Soon Azmi became "the" opening act for jazz shows that came to Kuala Lumpur and in 1995 he caught the ear of jazz pianist Boy Katindig, who was so impressed with the young Azmi that two weeks later Azmi found himself in Manhattan with Boy Katindig.
In 1997 Azmi received a serendipitous phone call from jazz Keyboardist Idang Rasyidi (Trigonia) Idang had heard this warm, passionate sax on Sheila Majid Cd’s and traced it to its creator, Azmi. "Idang had never heard of me, didn’t know who I was or where I was, but managed to track me down in Kuala Lumpur. Next thing I know, I’m headed to Indonesia to play with him. It was during that concerts that I decided to move to Jakarta.
Over the last few years, I’ve been doing just that to the tune of almost 100 performances annually, bringing the trademark exuberance to gigs with Lewis Pragasam longtime band Asiabeat, shows across the country with The Sax Pack (featuring John Kaizan). Touring with Malaysian Philharmonic and RTM Orchestra. Appearing at Asian Jazz Festival, Singapore Arts Fez, Australia Arts Fez, Jakarta Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Penang Jazz Festival, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan Arts & Cultural Festival, Jakjaz Festival, Java Jazz Festival and many more.
" Azmi soon became an "in demand" session player. The late 80’s and early 2000’s saw Azmi recording and performing with Lewis Pragasam, Steve Thornton, Lica Cicato, Boy Katindig, Angelita Lee, Jacky, Siti Norhaliza, Ning Baizura, Anita Sarawak, Sheila Majid, Idang Rasjidi, Emmy Kulit, Shaharani, Ireng Maulana, Mus Mudjono, Tompi. Victoria Newton, Denise Minefield, Khadijah Ibrahim, Willy & Maria and countless local and International artists.

One Heart is also the definitive, one word answer that came in mind when he thought about what he truly wanted to do on his first Cd.

“I asked myself, what am I trying to say, and how do I feel? “I think I’m simply conveying that I’m beyond playing it safe and keeping the spectrum limited to one color. I don’t want to hold my breath and be so polite. I wanted more of a group vibe and to go back to just having fun. The songs cover a lot of stylistic territory, from funky pop to more classic traditional jazz. They’re all part of my new definition of Play: To be free. To engage in joyful activity. We just got in the studio and said, let’s play. Let’s really play!"

- John Li