After the superb success of last year’s iteration, the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival returns on 10 August 2025 at the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. This year, there will be 19 acts, four stages, and shows from 10am until 11pm, as well as jam sessions, film screenings, rare vinyl records booths, photo booths, F&B trucks, and plenty more excitement and entertainment for all ages. Last year’s festival saw tickets sell out quickly, so act fast and get your tickets for this year’s edition soon so that you can experience the performances of Junji Delfino, Kirana Kay, David Gomes Sextet, the WVC ensemble, the JSY band, Fazz, Bonahop, and more.
One of the performers is also its music director, Tay Cher Siang, a respected and acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and producer in not only Malaysia, but also all of Southeast Asia. Tay initially trained in classical music but soon found his calling in jazz, and honed his skillsets in the United States. He is now based in Malaysia, where he is actively involved in jazz education through master classes and universities, as well as operating a private studio. Ahead of the festival, Robb Report Malaysia asked Tay about what to expect during the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival 2025, the relationship between jazz and classical music, and why you should buy tickets to the festival.
How does it feel to be the Music Director of this year’s Royal Selangor Jazz Festival?
It’s definitely a great honour to be granted this role—to curate the programmes and invite the musicians and bands to be a part of this festival. But, with great power comes great responsibility towards the audience, the organisers, and the music community.
What was your favourite thing about last year’s festival?
The audience’s participation and interactions. As a performer myself, I’ve always cherished the feel and emotions of live music. There’s so much music out there on streaming platforms, so why even bother to come out to listen to music if it’s not a magical experience? Live music is really about participating in the moment together with others—to feel the emotions together, to laugh and cry, to dance to the lilting rhythms and imagine the words in the lyrics. My observations of last year’s festival—how the audience really had fun with the various performances—touched me deeply.
As Music Director, how are you curating and directing this year’s festival to have its own unique persona, while also maintaining everything fans love about the festival that debuted last year?
We’re glad that the 2024 edition of the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival was well received, thanks to the many artists who performed their best and really interacted with the audience. So, we’ll usher in the 2025 edition that’s built on top of that success. I think that’s the unique point of the Royal Selangor Jazz Festival: the settings are so intimate that audiences feel like they’re part of the performance. This helps to make the performers feel good and give even more—it’s a positive feedback loop. We’re welcoming back the many acts that made the 2024 festival a success, such as FAZZ, BonaHop, and JSY, while also inviting a few new faces to join in the fun—May Mow, Ida Mariana, and David Gomes Sextet, just to name a few.
Who are you most looking forward to watching as a fan?
I look forward to the ultimate act of the festival: David Gomes Sextet, as I’ve been a fan for decades. I’m always amazed, entertained, and moved by David’s suaveness and musicality. Also, it’s worth mentioning that David had taken a hiatus from live music, so it’s an honour to be able to persuade him to come out to perform together with his sextet—some original music, and all of them great arrangements from his creative mind. In the sextet, we’re also going to hear great performances by saxophonist Julian Chan and trumpeter Eddie Wen. What a way to close up the festival with this act.
You trained in America for a while before returning to Malaysia. What are the things you had to adapt to suit Malaysian audiences of jazz, compared to American listeners?
Music is about communication, conversations, and interactions. Thus, it helps to speak to the audience with language that they might resonate with. With the various singers I’ve been working with over the years, we’ve tried to fuse Asian-flavoured music with jazz, and come up with sub-genres such as Shanghai Jazz, Nanyang Jazz, Kebaya Jazz, and more.
Compared to the major jazz cities such as New York, London, Paris, or Tokyo, jazz is relatively new to the Malaysian audience. So, we also try to share more information about jazz, how to appreciate this art form, what to listen to, and so forth.
You’ve also trained in classical music. What are the similarities and differences between classical music and jazz?
The skillsets it takes to perform jazz and classical music can be quite different. Jazz requires a lot of skill for improvisations, lightspeed reactions to the twists and turns of music, and instantaneous creation. Meanwhile, classical musicians are very disciplined in executing the intentions of composers: they’re required to decode and interpret the music that is written down on paper. It is forbidden to change any notes on the page.
The similarities between the two genres: they’re both acquired tastes, but once you’re into these genres, the world of music just opens up, and they can take a lifetime to discover. The journey is going to be very rewarding.
Jazz, classical music, and the arts seem to be growing in popularity recently in Malaysia. What do you think it will take to continue to grow this love of these genres and art forms?
From my own observations, it’s due to the many musicians and educators who are working tirelessly to spread the good news of jazz and classical music in Malaysia. We’ve seen the emergence of young, capable as well as passionate musicians, who’ve studied locally and abroad, contributing to the music scene. Most of them bring back expertise, know-how, and their experience from other countries, and share them with audiences here. There are many interesting groups doing many things: Malaysian Jazz Piano Festivals, Bachfest Malaysia, Wicked Music People, Young KL Singers, and so many more. These groups have been in existence for such a long time, and they’ve been pushing the boundaries of outreach.
Of course, it takes two hands to clap, so to see all of these efforts grow, it will take the audience’s participation and support to grow the seeds. Public and private sectors’ financial support could also help to grow the scene.
What are some hidden gems that this year’s Royal Selangor Jazz Festival attendees should look out for?
There will be a forum conducted by my partner-in-crime: jazz guitarist, educator, and online communicator Az Samad. Last year, we talked about the relevance of jazz in Malaysian music. This year, we will expand on the topic and talk more in-depth about the development of Malaysian jazz, from our respective viewpoints and experience. This forum will mix conversations with performances, so for anyone who is curious about music, please come and check this out.
Time to make your sales pitch: why should we attend this year’s Royal Selangor Jazz Festival?
This is a fully homegrown festival that features the many talents we have, and we should be proud of all these artists. If you’ve not heard of them, this will be the best place to hear them, all in one day, as there will be 19 acts from 10am to 11pm. You will be blown away by the diversity of the acts and the flourishing of the creative minds—at the affordable price of RM150 for the entire day. On top of that, I heard there will be food trucks and beverage stands that will serve great food and drinks.
Finally, which musician, alive or dead, do you wish you could perform with and learn from?
It would be very cool to perform with and learn from the legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis—to see how he directs his ensemble, and to learn firsthand how he manages and runs his music business.
