The smile that is across his solos, the sometimes pugilistic attack, the open-heartedness, never afraid to play pretty but also never afraid to drop a dissonance, sweet-and-sour ….
— John Hardaker, Australian Jazz.net
One of ishs’s greatest strengths is his ability to improvise his way around the kind of harmonic intricacies …
— Mandy Stefanakis, Loud Mouth
With over ten albums/EPs bearing his name, Indonesia-born ade ishs celebrates stylistic diversity as reflected in his eclectic repertoire. His music has been described as “strong … and beautiful” (Ivan Lloyd, ABC Jazz, November 2013), “very uplifting” (Jazzwise, UK, March 2015), and “incredibly evocative” (Loudmouth, Australia, May 2021). More recently, “the pianist radiates as he stretches along the harmonic progressions” (Jazz and Beyond, Australia, July 2021) and “ishs’s compositions stand out as well-constructed and tuneful” (Dingo Australian Jazz Journal, October 2021).
After living his formative years in Indonesia, ade migrated to Melbourne, Australia. He has performed and recorded with a number of notable Australian musicians Spike Mason, Geoff Kluke, David Galea, Elly Hoyt, Lachlan Davidson, Jack Pantazis, Craig Newman, and Darryn Farrugia to name a few, as well as Daigo Nakai (Germany), Benny Likumahuwa (Indonesia), and many other musicians in Australia and Indonesia. Since mid-2021, ade now lives in the Australian island state of Tasmania’s north-western rural area.
He has been invited to play at such prestigious festivals as Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Ubud Village Jazz Festival, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues, and St Kilda Festival. In 2024, the Dingo Australian Jazz Journal inducted him into the list of influential Australian artists. The Australian Jazz Museum considered him to be instrumental in “ensuring that contemporary Australian jazz is preserved for future generations” (AJAZZ, February 2025).
In addition to his recordings, his compositional works have been documented in two books, ade ishs Compact Tunebook and Four Seasons Suite: The Official Lead Sheet with some tunes included in the Australian Jazz Real Book. In 2026, he was included in the Clarence Composers Collective with his music featured at the 30th Clarence Jazz Festival in Hobart, recognising him as one of the top Tasmanian composers.
His current projects include leading eMotion Band and being part of the GrooVe Congress collective’s creative engine.
ade ishs is one of the most engaging live jazz performers I have encountered. There is no distance between ade and his audience. Everyone is invited in and embraced by the charm of his personality, the accessibility and richness of his music and the fluidity of his improvisation which seems to respond not only to what is happening in ade’s mind and heart but to what is happening in the audience’s heart.
— Simon Williams, Inner FM Melbourne
… I have become a great admirer of his approach and desire to succeed as a contemporary jazz pianist.
— Steve Sedergreen