Erwin Gutawa Sumapraja (born 16 May 1962) is an Indonesian composer. In 1985, he started his professional music career by joining the jazz band Karimata, later becoming an independent composer in 1991. As a composer, he won the 1992 Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland, together with Ruth Sahanaya. In 2001, he won the Anugerah Musik Indonesia award for best music arranger for his concert Rockestra.
In the early 1980s Gutawa worked as sound arranger for the TVRI series Telerama.[1] However, his professional career began in the 1985 when he joined the jazz band Karimata as a bassist, playing along with Candra Darusman, Aminoto Kosin, Denny T.R. and Uce Hariono. Together with Karimata, he performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague that same year.[3]
During that period, he also worked as an arranger and producer for other singers. After Karimata disbanded in 1991, Gutawa formed his own orchestra and worked as a composer. Besides composing, Gutawa also organised concerts for other artists.[3]
On 16 May 2002, Gutawa celebrated his 40th birthday by holding his first solo concert, Konser EG. It took place at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center and also featured Chrisye, Ruth Sahanaya, Krisdayanti, Sheila on 7, and Slank.[3][5] Since then, he has held numerous concerts, including the Islamic-themed The Spirit of Ramadhan (2008)[6] and a farewell concert for his daughter Gita Gutawa entitled A Masterpiece of Erwin Gutawa (2011).[7]
In 1992, Erwin Gutawa and Ruth Sahanaya's song "Kaulah Segalanya" (English: "You are Everything") won the 5th Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland.[1][3] In 2001 he won the Anugerah Musik Indonesia award for best music arranger for his album Rockestra.[5]
Gutawa has been described as having "a Midas touch" for music, with a sharp intuition.[3]
^ abcdefghJodhi Yudono (19 February 2011). "Rekomendasi Musik Erwin Gutawa" [Erwin Gutawa's Music Recommendations] (in Indonesian). Kompas. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
