By IAN YEE
alltherage@thestar.com.my

IN a few years, Putrajaya will be the youth jazz capital of the world. Well, at least that’s the plan of Datuk Nik A. Azmi, founder of the World Youth Jazz Fest (WYJF).

“It’s an ambitious plan, we know, but we will keep working at it whether it happens or not,” said Nik at the press conference to launch WYJF 2014.

The festival at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on May 2-4 will see young jazz musicians from around the world performing at our shores alongside some of Malaysia’s best, including Lokman Aslam, Melissa Indot, Imran Aiman and Atilia, who will be singing with her mother, Salamiah Hassan.

The mother and daughter duo of Salamiah Hassan and Atilia will also be performing.

And the best part? The show will be free for online casino dgfev everyone.

Nik has been working hard to find sponsors to create this platform for top young jazz musicians around the world to showcase their talents, and it hasn’t been easy. According to Nik, last year’s festival only received funding at the very last minute.

“We’re doing this out of our love for jazz,” he said. “If we wanted to make money, we would have held a rock concert.”

This will be the third WYJF since the inaugural edition in 2012, which was also held in Putrajaya. Last year’s festival had to be moved from Putrajaya to Kuala Lumpur due to renovations to Dataran Gemilang, where it was supposed to be held.

But come May 2, WYJF will be going back to its spiritual home.

WYJF secretary and Putrajaya Music Community president Eizaz Azhar, 27, hopes the event will show young people that jazz is not an elitist genre.

“The festival is free because we want to ‘merakyatkan’ jazz,” said Eizaz, a saxophonist who performed at the very first WYJF. “We want it to be the music of the people. It’s not something people should only be able to listen to at fancy places where drinks cost RM50.”

For more information on the World Youth Jazz Festival, go to worldyouthjazzfest.com.