It’s a Friday evening and you’re invited to have dinner with the Saskia Laroo Band, just hours before SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS were scheduled to go on stage.

After the SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS gig, keyboardist Josei and drummer Midorin, musicians from the Japanese jazz group, will jam with the Saskia Laroo Band, as part of the All Stars Jam programme.

It was surreal sitting in Harry’s Steakhouse Restaurant at the Esplanade. Perhaps, with just the band, press, and Heineken Green Room members, it was an intimate setting with about 12 people. But it definitely wasn’t just the exclusivity of the entire event; you are also sitting between rap vocalist Andy Ninvalle (who goes by stage name Stewlocks) and keyboardist Warren Byrd, and sitting one seat away from you is Saskia Laroo, who is described as a “Jazz Goddess” by All About Jazz, a popular jazz website.

“I think you’re supposed to wait for everyone,” Saskia chides Warren gently, as the keyboardist start to peel his prawn, pushing his scallop aside.

Saskia Laroo is one of few renowned women trumpeters in the world. It could possibly be attributed to the fact that starting out as a professional trumpet player is very difficult. “A problem with getting gigs was that nobody wanted to play with someone as unknown as me. Often the rejection sounded as follows: you can’t play a whole concert, you will get tired halfway because you aren’t strong enough,” she lamented in the Mosaic press release. She explains that the trumpet player is the most important person in a band, because the trumpet player plays the lead, offering cues to the other musicians.

Undeterred by a rocky start more than 30 years ago, she went on to gain the trust of her fellow musicians and to rock the music scene as she created her own sound by combining genres of jazz, hiphop and rap.

Right now, UrbanWire is holding on to Saskia’s latest album Really Jazz, and asking her for an autograph. She obliges willingly, signing her name on the cover, with slow deliberate strokes, using a silver marker.

You notice that Warren didn’t drink a drop of beer, despite Heineken having organised the event. Curious, you ask if he’s a rare musician who’s also a teetotaller. “There are a lot of good things out there, and I have the freedom to choose them. I’m just sick of all that fast food and coke, y’know?” He explains, before delving deep into his life experiences.

After that, he goes on to talk to you about music, and about how his nephew wants to pursue a professional musical career in a rock band – a music genre he hasn’t yet learn how to appreciate.

Occasionally, Andy interjects with his opinions and shares his own experiences. Later, he’d discuss with you the ridiculous things he heard about Singapore (yes, the caning horror stories and chewing gum laws precedes our geographical location for many foreigners), and the culture in Singapore, comparing and contrasting it with his global perspectives and liberal upbringing in Holland.

Saskia Laroo herself shares her adventures in various countries. She tells you confidently that Japan is very westernised and is “almost identical to America”. She adds, “Singapore is more cosmopolitan. You can tell how cosmopolitan a country is by the food and the variety of restaurants a country has.”

After a while, with Andy talking candidly about prostitution in Holland, Warren relating his experiences with drugs, and Saskia regaling you with her tales of travel, it’s difficult to imagine that you’re not actually meeting a bunch of long-distance pen pals, but having dinner with international celebrities.

In fact, when this UrbanWire editor dropped an email to Andy a few days after the event to verify some details for this story, he not only gave a comprehensive reply, he also said, “Hope I was able to assist you, my man. I had a fantastic time in your country!”

It was definitely great having you, and the rest of Saskia Laroo Band, in Singapore too, Andy.

Photos courtesy Of Heineken Music.