Erwin Gutawa

Erwin Gutawa Sumapraja
Erwin Gutawa in 2004
Background information
Born	(1962-05-16) 16 May 1962 (age 54) Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupation(s)	Bassist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer
Years active	1985 – present

Erwin Gutawa Sumapraja (born 16 May 1962) is an Indonesian composer and father of Gita Gutawa. 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.

Erwin Gutawa was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 16 May 1962. As a child, he enjoyed playing basketball and association football; during this period he also played music on Bina Musika under the direction of Agus Rusli on Televisi Republik Indonesia. As a teen he continued playing music with his friends. After graduating high school, Gutawa earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Indonesia.

In the early 1980s Gutawa worked as sound arranger for the TVRI series Telerama. 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.

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.

On 3 November 2000, Gutawa presented Rockestra, a rock concert featuring Slank, Gigi, and Dewa. Involving an orchestra of 85 musicians, the concert was held at the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center. Guest musicians included Ahmad Albar, Roni Harahap, Jockie Soerjoprajogo, and Nicky Astria.