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IslaMusik Focused on Jazz Saturday, July 2nd, on ABC 5
IslaMusik is to be applauded for its “Jazz Episode” aired last Saturday. Although I did not catch the very beginning of the hour, Mishka Adams’ music video featuring Billie Holiday’s classic, “God Bless the Child”, which is one of Mishka’s stronger vocal works, was appropriate for the program’s opening act. Although this article is anything but a review of the Candid music video or other performances, I thought some of the editing, at times, was disjointed, disturbingly off-tempo and unmotivated in an otherwise high-value video production.
Ala Paredes, as the attractive and enthusiastic host, brings a youthful, but hip ambiance to the program as a whole. In terms of IslaMusik’s visual style, it is lively yet informative in terms of supplying the text of questions or topics being discussed as was the case with Richie Quirino and Tots Tolentino. IslaMusik is to be commended for placing the Jazz Society of the Philippine’s web site URL on the screen.
Although very brief, Quirino’s interview helped explain what happened with jazz when Fusion hit the Philippines in the late 70s and/or early early 80s and the resulting confusion it created within the minds of audiences, with some of them abandoning jazz after that.
A very important point was made by Koko Bermejo, percussionist for Affinity, about how the academic jazz programs (at UST and UP) are stimulating the jazz scene here in the Philippines. Tots, in his segment, not only shared with the audience what it means to play within the art form of jazz as a means of improvisational personal expression, but treated viewers to a little impromptu blues solo on his tenor saxophone following his comments.
I was surprised at the amount of air-time devoted to Johnny Alegre’s Affinity; not that it didn’t deserve the space of being able to air both songs that appear on Affinity’s DVD-Video of their recent Upsilon-sponsored concert at UP. This was great exposure for jazz which was disseminated over ABC Channel 5’s network of stations nation-wide.
Last but not least were the vox populi (voice of the people) music listening tests and other interviews with ordinary folks about jazz. This is a very good feature as it revealed the extent of public knowledge about the jazz which, in some instances, is very scant while in others had a more than superficial acquaintance with the music.
QUAIL QUARTET SOUND and SALINDIWA were also featured.
JAZZPHIL looks forward to future episodes on jazz and hopes this isn’t just a token program or the-one-and-only program on jazz for the year! Please articulate what IslaMusik’s long-term view of how jazz will figure in future programming. Thank you.
Collis Davis
IslaMusik is hosted by Ala Paredes with a segment introduced by the Itchyworms.
IslaMusik is produced by CCi for abc 5.
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