Jazz, In The Present Tense

Jazz was never meant to stand still.

Born as a response to its time, jazz has always moved with the world: absorbing tension, technology, politics, and emotion. When the world shifts, the sound must shift with it. Nostalgia has its place, but it cannot be the destination.

We live in a moment defined by acceleration and uncertainty. Culture moves at the speed of light. Anxiety is ambient. The need for sound that reflects now, that confronts complexity rather than escaping into the past, is no longer optional.

Chaotic Diversity, 2025.

Seken exists for this reason. To bring jazz, in the present tense.

We believe jazz belongs in the present tense. Our sound draws from contemporary jazz fusion, urban textures, and modern improvisational language. It speaks to today’s listeners without diluting the rigor, intelligence, or depth that define the genre.

Offscript event at Seken Bali, when jazz becomes an ever-evolving audio phenomenon, 6 Feb 2026. Photo by Anjas Maulana.

This is not a rejection of jazz history.

It is a refusal to let history become a cage.

Seken is built as a platform for a new generation of jazz artists—musicians who are fluent in tradition but unafraid to challenge it, reshape it, and extend it forward. Originality, risk, and vitality are not accessories here; they are the core.

Jazz must remain alive. Alive means responsive. Alive means evolving. Alive means relevant.

Seken stands for the future of jazz: heard, felt, and lived in the present.

Stay jazzy and be true,

Seken Bali.