HE may be a little drummer boy but 12-year-old Arthur Kam is one mean cat on the drums, having played with likes of Jackie Cheung and Sadao Watanabe.
And his talents were "discovered" when his musically-inclined family were practising for a Chinese wedding at their home in Petaling Jaya.
Their regular drummer called to say he couldn't make it so they decided to use the drum machine instead.
When the song ended, they were surprised to hear drums beats from the other room.
"We were very surprised to see that Arthur, who had no training, was happily bashing away at the drums," said Penny, a piano teacher.
"I immediately thought `Oh no, not another one'."
Penny has spent more than 15 years helping her daughter, Genervie, fulfil her dreams as a professional pianist and violinist.
Genervie is today an international musician in her own right.
"Most of my spare time, effort, energy and a lot of money was spent on Genervie. Just when I thought it was nearly over, Arthur started on his drums," said Penny.
So Penny did the needful.
She took Arthur to an audition to see if his dream was worth pursuing. It was.
Arthur, at the age of nine, passed Grade 8 of drums with distinction under Rockschool's Pro Zone (Performer's Certificate). He was the youngest candidate in his grade.
The Royal Commonwealth Society (Malaysia) awarded him a Certificate of Merit acknowledging his achievement, and the Malaysia Book of Records listed him as `Youngest Person to Complete a Professional Drum Course' in the country.
With mom, sister and brother Nigel giving him all the support, Arthur "graduated" to playing at live performances with professionals.
In December 1999, Arthur was invited to play as a guest drummer with jazz group CFace First', playing alongside Shawn Kelly, Greg Lyons, David Yee and Farid Ali. It was here that he first met rhythm ace Steve Thornton, his future mentor.
After playing with Japanese jazz singer Keiko Lee's `Live in Kuala Lumpur' concert at the Embassy Club, Arthur joined Steve's "Afroasia", a group of about 15 members on various hand drums such as bongos, congas, djembes and various percussion instruments.
They played at the Emporium Grand Cafe for a `Brazilian Carnival', the `Miss Malaysia/Miss World 2000' pageant and at the launching of `Rentak Asia' to name a few.
Then, he performed personally for Martin Cohen, founder and chairman of Latin Percussion (LP). Cohen is also a talent scout for his endorsement on his instruments worldwide and Arthur was chosen as the youngest Malaysian to endorse LP.
Then came the jam session with the world-renowned Watanabe, thanks to Steve who made it happen.
In April 2001, Arthur made his solo debut at the grand opening of the club Flux (now Atmosphere) playing a fusion of live percussions and house music with resident disc jockey Jungle Jerry.
He went on to perform with Hattan during the `Anugerah Industri Muzik 2001' and with Afroasia for pop princess Siti Nurhaliza during the `Juara Lagu 2001', live on TV3.
"Then, in March 2002, Arthur was invited to perform as a guest artiste for the `Jacky Cheung Music Odyssey 2002' where he played the djembe for two songs entitled Hide & Seek and Not So Cold Winter.
"He was the only guest artist for Jacky's entire tour. We were so proud of him," said his mother.
Last March was a special month for Arthur.
He performed on drums and djembe for the Malaysia Book of Records Awards Nite, where he received an award for the second time for his achievement from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Arthur has also worked in the recording studio, playing djembe on triple AIM award winner Reshmonu's Day By Day and the conga on It's You That Matters from his Monumental album, as well as the djembe on Byu's Ilham.
Currently, Arthur is pursuing Grade 5 Piano and the hand drums with world class percussionist Alonso Gonzalez of Colombia.
Check Arthur's talent when he joins singer-songwriter Pete Teo and others at the Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia Hotel & Club Artistes Division's Karyawan Musicfest today.
The show starts at 3pm at Planet Hollywood Kuala Lumpur. A RM15 donation at the door will gain you entrance and a drink. - NST 06/06/2004
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