In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 5 March 1993
- Birthplace
- Brunei Darussalam
- Country
- Brunei
- Nationality
- Bruneian
- Known for
- Dari Mata, Teman Bahagia and the albums Sinergi and Transisi
- Birth name
- Aziz Hayat
- Recording name
- Jaz
- Breakthrough single
- Dari Mata, released in 2016
- First album
- Sinergi, released in June 2021
- Second album
- Transisi, released in 2022
Why this life matters
His career connects Brunei’s musicians with Indonesia’s recording industry through Indonesian-language pop, R&B influences and collaborations across the region.
Timeline
Key moments
Born in Brunei
Born on 5 March; consulted reporting identifies Brunei Darussalam without establishing a specific town.
A regional performance opportunity
In a later interview, he traced the start of his Indonesian career to an Anugerah Planet Muzik opportunity and meeting Sony Music.
Dari Mata
The single brought him recognition in Indonesia’s music industry.
Sinergi and Lucky Ones
Released his first album in June and the English-language Lucky Ones in October.
Transisi
His second album involved collaborators including Ari Lesmana, Andy Armand and Eka Gustiwana.
From Brunei to a regional career
Aziz Hayat, known professionally as Jaz, was born in Brunei Darussalam on 5 March 1993. Sony Music Indonesia explicitly identifies him as Bruneian. In a 2023 interview, he described growing up in Brunei and taking an Anugerah Planet Muzik performance opportunity in 2013 that helped him meet Sony Music.
That connection led to a recording career in Indonesia. Recalling the move, Jaz described adjusting to daily language differences through conversations with friends and becoming accustomed to Jakarta’s traffic. His account locates the early challenge in learning to work within a different music industry and everyday environment.
Dari Mata and a changing repertoire
The 2016 single Dari Mata established Jaz with Indonesian listeners. Songs including Kasmaran and Teman Bahagia extended his catalogue of romantic pop. Those early releases provided the musical identity that he later began to vary, introducing different moods and working with writers and arrangers beyond his own songwriting.
For Penipu Cinta in 2020, he worked with lyrics by Gerry Anake and an arrangement by Andi Rianto. In an interview with IDN Times, he discussed the difficulty of writing sad songs despite enjoying them. The project introduced a more sorrowful tone after earlier songs associated with happier feelings.
Sinergi and an English-language experiment
Jaz released Sinergi, a collection of his songs, in June 2021. That October he introduced Lucky Ones, his first single with English lyrics and his first collaboration with composer Eka Gustiwana. He described the song as encouragement to face difficult situations while remaining grateful for the opportunity to live.
The recording brought additional collaborators into the process: Bowo directed the vocals and Nessie Judge helped with pronunciation. Jaz explained that the language change was an experiment rather than an announced international expansion. Its video and the following Aku Butuh Kamu video were filmed in Malang as connected stories during the pandemic.
Sources for this section: [4]
Collaboration on Transisi
His second album, Transisi, followed in 2022. Jaz explained its title through changes in his life and an industry increasingly shaped by digital listening platforms. Sony’s announcement described his intention to move beyond familiar working habits, with contributions from musicians including Asta RAN, Handy Soulvibe, Bona Pascal and Lalahuta.
Cause You’re My Schatzi involved Ari Lesmana and Andy Armand of Fourtwnty. Jaz said its vocals had been recorded in 2020 and recalled a demanding overnight session under Ari’s direction. Such collaborations show a singer building his repertoire through other musicians’ compositions and production methods while retaining connections with collaborators from Brunei.
Sources for this section: [5]
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Jaz Hayat
- What is Jaz Hayat’s real name?
- His name is Aziz Hayat, and he records professionally as Jaz.
- Is Jaz Hayat Bruneian?
- Yes. Sony Music Indonesia’s official artist profile explicitly identifies him as a Bruneian singer, although he developed his recording career in Indonesia.
- Which song brought Jaz recognition?
- Sony Music identifies Dari Mata, released in 2016, as the single that brought him prominence in Indonesia’s music industry.
- What are Jaz Hayat’s first two albums?
- His first album was Sinergi in 2021, followed by Transisi in 2022.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Aziz Harun
Explore another Bruneian singer’s path into the regional recording industry.
- Isyana Sarasvati
Read about an Indonesian singer and musician working across pop and a broader range of musical forms.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Sony Music IndonesiaJaz — official artist profile
Nationality is explicit in the official label’s description of a Bruneian singer, not inferred from residence or archive placement. Undated monthly listener totals, certification totals and streaming counters are omitted.
- 2. Kompas.com · 15 June 2023Perjalanan Karier Jaz Hayat, Penyanyi Brunei Darussalam yang Berkarya di Indonesia
This reports the outlet’s own 14 June 2023 interview. Jaz expressly says he was not nominated at the 2013 Anugerah Planet Muzik opportunity; the biography claims a performance opportunity only, not an award or nomination. He retrospectively dates the move to 2013; the 2020 IDN interview remembers first hearing a song on arriving in Jakarta in 2014, so no precise relocation date or Sony contract year is asserted.
- 3. IDN Times · 8 April 2020Pernah Alami Patah Hati, Cerita Jaz dari Lagu Penipu Cinta
- 4. ANTARA · 27 October 2021Jaz ajak bersyukur lewat single baru Lucky Ones
ANTARA expressly gives 5 March 1993; its report reproduces the artist’s release statement. The birth date is independently stated by IDN Times in its own interview report. Brunei birth is stated by Kompas; the birthplace is retained at country level because no city is established. The album and single dates are historical releases, not a claim that these remain his latest work.
- 5. Sony Music Indonesia · 14 June 2022Nuansa Baru Jaz Di Album Keduanya, Transisi
Sony’s page is dated 14 June 2022 while its text says the album is coming in May 2022. This biography uses only the well-supported year, without inventing an exact release day. Cause You’re My Schatzi is described as composed by Ari and Andy and recorded vocally in 2020; release and recording years are kept distinct.
- 6. Wikimedia Commons · NetmediatamaAziz Jaz Hayat at Indonesian Choice Awards 2017 — CC BY 3.0 video frame and licence review
Commons imageinfo API confirms the supplied 720 × 1080 JPEG, attribution to Netmediatama and CC BY 3.0. The file is an existing crop from the source video at 0:16, uploaded by Dimma21 on 27 March 2021. Commons reviewer Lymantria confirmed the source’s stated licence on 28 March 2021. The complete supplied Commons frame is proposed without further crop or enlargement. Main visual review confirmed the identified subject in the complete adopted 720 × 1080 file. Proportionally converted to 720 × 1080 WebP without new cropping or enlargement; source and output are fully opaque.
- 7. Netmediatama / MDTV OFFICIAL · YouTubeJaz — Dari Mata — LIVE from NET 4.0 presents Indonesian Choice Awards 2017
Original source checked through public watch-page HTML and an in-app browser with the description expanded in October 2026. It confirms the same performance title, upload date 14 June 2017 and original channel ID UCrmgXElfpFPD9LDc_0aUfew, now displayed as MDTV OFFICIAL. No current Creative Commons licence row was visible in the expanded description or returned page text. The permission evidence is the dated Commons source-licence review, not a claim of a current visible YouTube licence label. No parent still-image file was linked, and no new frame was extracted.
