Mabuhay Jazz

                                                                          Introduction

Richie Quirino is a conjurer with his book Mabuhay Jazz: Jazz in Postwar Philippines. Wondrous and sonorous names, places, sounds, and images are paraded before us in this extended tribute to the great moments of postwar Philippine jazz. The late 1940s and '50s witnessed not just the true socio-political emancipation of the Philippines , it also marked the transition of native cultural art and traditions from mere apprenticeship to incorporation and fusion of Filipino expressions and sensibilities with world culture. Jazz in the Philippines was no exception and soon folk songs and indigenous rhythms collided with the musical idioms of Latin and African-American jazz. This period was characterized by a continued call-and-response as hundreds of world musicians and American servicemen interacted with local music makers. Mabuhay Jazz: Jazz in Postwar Philippines takes us on a magical journey which sweeps through the Filipino-American dance halls of Stockton, California; Tirso Cruz at the Shanghai Club of Binondo; locally stationed American soldiers (GI Joes) at the great cabarets of Santa Ana; the raging Latin dance crazes (mambo, bolero, cha-cha, rumba) of the '50s and '60s; the glamorous nights of the Tirso Cruz Orchestra at Manila Hotel's Winter Garden; and the jam sessions at throbbing late-night jazz club Cafi Indonesia, hangout of so many legends including Angel Peña, the Executives Band, Tony Velarde, Lito Molina, Bobby Enriquez, Vestre Roxas, and Romy Katindig. Against the background of big band, bebop, and swing music, the late '50s saw the rise of a distinctive Filipino jazz sound, which was the fusion of native percussion and instruments with jazz registers. Its landmark work was Angel Peña's jazz fantasy "Bagbagtulambing," composed in 1956. Filipino musicians continued this trend by using traditional folk songs as a medium in arrangements for modern progressive jazz. Simultaneous to this was the emergence of Latin-influenced jazz in the country. The music of Cal Tjader, Machito, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie and Mongo Santamaria invaded the airwaves, leading to the rise of a new breed of Filipino jazz musicians, including the Romy and Eddie Katindig group, the Romy Posadas Quartet, Emil Mijares, and vocalist Dulce Din. By the early '60s, Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa nova rhythms and Astrud Gilberto's songs swept over the country. Even with the rise of rock and roll in the '60s and '70s, Filipino jazz kept pace with experimental sounds. The year 1977 marked a watershed in the country's musical history with a University of the Philippines concert called "Jazz on the Rocks, Jazz Concert XI." That event signaled the rise of a new fusion sound, one based on the intimate engagement of rock and jazz. This book is not only the summoning of lost memories from the past but a retelling of 13 musicians' personal stories which the author has assiduously collected from 1999 to 2007. And what reminiscences they are! As Richie explores the diaspora of world-class Filipino jazz musicians, he captures moving and personal memories from an eclectic roster of notables: Rudy Regalado from a well-known musical family made a name for himself in Los Angeles with his big band; Nestor Tiangco, another big band drummer, who toured incessantly in Guam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Dubai and jammed with Dakota Staton, Tony Scott, and the Lionel Hampton Band; and the multi-talented Marlene del Rosario, a singer, pianist, and arranger-composer. Through the same skillful mixture of journalistic interview and gently evoked reminiscence, the author succeeds in getting Filipino jazz personalities to tell their personal stories in their own words: vocalist and radio/TV personality Nelda Lopez-Navarro, mother of singer Leah Navarro, on her varied career in radio and television programs;power jazz drummer Mar Dizon who jammed with international greats Kenny Loggins, David Benoit, Eddie Henderson, Ellis Marsalis and Tom Scott; Edmund Fortuno, author of international hit "Sonata of Love and fusion and progressive groover, a rare rock drummer who crossed over to jazz; Nestor Tiangco, one of the top-five drummers of the golden years of Philippine jazz; vocalist Josie Quizon Andico, Dolphy's sister, a true pioneer of the Filipino musical diaspora, with her many international engagements in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong; musical conductor and director Gerard Salonga now busy producing and arranging our distinct music heritage for the CD series Musika Natin; vocalist Sandra Lim Viray, now a tireless advocate of Filipino jazz and organizer of international jazz festivals; and young jazz guitarist Aya M. Yuson, son of Krip Yuson and Sylvia Mayuga, whose first album Ground Zero was recorded shortly after September 11, 2001. The author has also included two very precious interviews that signal the incursion of Filipino jazz on the global scene. The first interview profiles Mon David, winner of the First International London jazz competition, on the eve of his emigration to California . Mon takes us on a behind-the-scenes recreation of his London experience. He also speaks of his hope to "become a better citizen of the world by being a good Filipino." The second interview features newly emergent Filipino-American vocalist Charmaine Clamor, who with her happy blend of the Filipino language and American-based soul and swing has created "jazzipino." Her politically feisty and pointed remake of the standard "My Funny Valentine" into "My Funny Brown Pinay" has taken mainstream America by storm. This collection of hugely enriching interviews is topped by Richie's meticulous collection of numerous rare and surprising images from our great jazz moments: Filipino-American jazz musicians in 1930s New Orleans; Priscilla Aristorenas's recording at radio station KZRM in 1937; Turing del Valle with singer Josie Quizon at China Emporium, Hong Kong in 1949; Bimbo Danao at the Crown Club in Ginza, Tokyo in 1962; Charlie Byrd Trio's concert with the Jazz Friends in 1970; the Executives Band with King Bhumibol of Thailand in 1963 and Duke Ellington in 1972; Bong Peñera and the Batucada 5 at Calesa Bar in the mid-'70s; the Philippine Jazz All Stars, including Romy Posadas, Roger Herrera Jr., Picoy Villapando, and Rudy Sucgang at the 1982 Monterey Jazz Festival in California; and Eileen Sison with Brazilian sensation Ivan Lins in Brazil in 2002. To complete the recreation of our musical past the author has assiduously collected and thoughtfully included Mike Velarde's score of "Binabakas Kita" from 1940, along with posters, concert programs, record labels, and even a 1926 cartoon foretelling the death of Spanish and the rise of jazz in the Philippines. Even though it appears to be dormant in the early 21st century, Philippine jazz is still very much alive. It is a well-known fact, for example, that behind our successful popular musicians, such as Lea Salonga, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Kuh Ledesma, Sharon Cuneta, and Gary Valenciano are jazz-grounded arrangers, conductors and session musicians. At a recent Philippine International Jazz festival, I personally witnessed the tour-de-force interaction of the blind jazz pianist Diane Schuur with the spontaneous whooping and scatting of Mon David and Gary Valenciano. I was moved by the impromptu world-class jamming of Latin musical legends Flora Purim and Airto Moreira with Sandra Viray, Ignacio Roxas Moran, Eileen Sison, and the author himself. My good friend, Filipino-American Victor Noriega is an emerging international jazz pianist whose second album Alay featured extended piano meditations on Filipino folk melodies, such as "Pandangguhan," "Saan Ka Man Naroroon," and "Bayan Ko." The album's unconventional interpretations, complex harmonies, and intricate rhythms garnered the 2006 Northwest Recording of the Year from the Golden Ear Awards in Seattle , Washington . Mabuhay Jazz: Jazz in Postwar Philippines is not just a story of the incursion of an American art form; it documents the Filipino adaptation and reappropriation of its rhythms, tone, and color. Situated in the global and intercultural context of the Philippine diaspora, the book ably makes the case for the Filipino's lively and significant contribution to world music. I am very privileged to be part of the author's retelling, remembrance, and advocacy of something that is personally close to my heart. In reconstructing our musical past, Richie Quirino is giving us a musical future. Through mining our artists' memories, he has helped restore the richness of an overlooked art form, inspiring our glorious movement into the world cultural scene. For as long as we listen to our own stories, voices, rhythms and are true to our Filipino soul, as Lito Molina puts it, I have no doubt that jazz will live forever on our shores. Mabuhay ang jazz sa Pilipinas!

GUS VIBAL

• OUR SPONSOR

Jazzphil is proud to announce that Vibal Publishing through its pet project, Filipiniana.net is now sponsoring our website through the kindness of Gaspar Vibal, himself a jazz lover and New Yorker. Gus sponsored the Berlin based trio that graced our international jazz fest held last February.