When discussing Malaysian jazz, the name most people would associate with it would be pianist, Michael Veerapen. Even before graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music with Summa Cum Laude in 1982, he has made a name for himself as an upcoming pianist, having worked with some of the more popular bands who were at the forefront of the 70s era.

Michael has traveled around the world performing at jazz festival and concerts. Let’s see him strut his stuff on NBT’s Fazioli with Chewan on bass, Adam Osmianski on drums and also featuring Dasha Logan on vocals.

Rozz
Rozz is no stranger to No Black Tie and is a performer who is bold and a far cry from being generic. The major influences on his singing comprise of an eclectic mix: from the likes of Barbra Streisand, Joan Sutherland and Freddie Mercury to Grace Jones and Diamanda Galas. One has to witness ROZZ perform live to truly comprehend the phenomenon of his fascinating and commanding presence, complemented by his amazing vocal prowess.

Meilin Hii
Meilin has performed in piano masterclass with world-renowned pianist-teachers such as Leon Fleisher, Byron Janis, Nina Svetlanova and the late Shura Cherkassky. She also received many valuable lessons from Russian pianist Alexis Golovine. As the winner of 1995 Artists International Competition in New York, Mei Lin made her New York debut recital at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall to a dazzled audience. In the following year, she was awarded the R. Rubinstein Award for Outstanding Woman Pianist in New York among others.

“Doing Justice To The Blues, Laying Down The Law Of The Boogie, Upholding The Rule Of Rock & Roll”
Not just the blues but the whole rainbow of musical colours. Mixing and matching blues, rock, country, reggae and Asian elements, with some of the improvisational approach of jazz, you won’t be hearing the same song played the same way night after night.

JULIAN MOKHTAR – Guitar & vocalist, band leader.
Julian is a well-known and respected name in the Malaysian music scene since his days as lead guitarist for The Blues Gang, beginning in 1980. He recorded 10 albums with them and had a hand in creating some of their hit songs, including the signature intro of “Apo Nak Di Kato”.
Julian left Blues gang in 1993 and has performed both as a solo singer/guitarist and with other musicians. He recorded a self-produced and released solo album “About Time” in 2000.
He has also appeared as a session player on albums by Amir Yussof and Karen Nunis Blackstone, with whom he also played a number of gigs in Akita and Niigata, Japan. A highlight was jamming with blues legend Buddy Guy at Hard Rock Cafe KL in 1993.

SHAH – Bass, vocals
Shah has over 20 years of experience as a professional musician in live performance as well as studio work and composition. His composition experience includes being theme song writer/composer/music director for TV dramas and feature films with Pesona Pictures Sdn. Bhd, under director Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba. The feature films include “Selubung” (1990), “Ringgit Kasorga” (1994) and “Mimpi Moon” (1999/2000).
He has recorded 2 albums with the band Urgent, produced by Datuk M. Nasir. From the year 2000 until 2008 he performed as a member of the band Purple Haze, which was formed by Shaik Karim, drummer and vocalist of the Blues Gang.
Shah currently performs with Julian Mokhtar as a member of his band, The Magistrates.

HASHIM – Drums & percussion, vocals
Hashim has been a full-time musician since 1973, playing a variety of genres – pop, disco, jazz, blues, rock & dangdut, and performing in hotels such as Federal Hotel (Sky Room), KL International Hotel, Shangri-La (Penang & KL), Impiana Hotel and several others.
He has played with several bands – The Upsetters, Fokus Band, Retrax Band, Nature Ground, Silver Strings, The Corn Cake Kings (Julian Mokhtar’s other band) and currently Julian Mokhtar &The Magistrates.