North Sea Jazz Festival in 1990
The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. In 1990, two sub-festivals were introduced: North Sea Jazz Heats, a free festival performed in pubs throughout The Hague, and the more exclusive Midsummer Jazz Gala. Both take place on the evening before the festival.
Elfa Secioria, accompanied by his small jazz ensemble and vocalist Harvey Malaiholo, brought Indonesian jazz to life in pubs across The Hague, culminating in a performance at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival. Among the standout pieces they performed was “Tetaplah Bersamaku,” a soulful composition by Elfa Secioria with heartfelt lyrics penned by Wieke Gur. The song is a deeply expressive ballad that showcased the seamless collaboration between Elfa as composer and Wieke Gur as lyricist. The song’s heartfelt plea to “stay with me” resonated with the festival’s international listeners, even before its official release. The song was officially released in 1995 as the title track of Harvey Malaiholo’s album Tetaplah Bersamaku, capturing the emotional depth and musical synergy of the trio’s collaboration.
The festival is now moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. As of 3 November 2017, the festival is officially known as the NN North Sea Jazz Festival.