(Thirteenth of a series) Between his sets more than a year ago at our favorite jazz bar in Cubao, Quezon City, bassist Dave Harder and I fell into a conversation about the creative life and how best to live it under imperfect circumstances. We agreed that while the creatives’ wish list was long and often...
Author: Jocelyn de Jesus (Jocelyn de Jesus)
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Portraits in Jazz: Simon Tan’s season of grace
(Twelfth of a series) A good harvest seems to be on the horizon for original music particularly in the jazz corner, heralded early last year by new releases headlined by bassist-composer Simon Tan’s 11-track Walotao album. Walotao is also the name of the band comprising eight of our finest musicians, including Simon: Isla Antinero (trombone), Joey de Guzman (alto...
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Portraits in Jazz: Isla Antinero tunes up with the best life
(Eleventh of a series) Something about trombonist Jose Aris “Isla” Antinero immediately suggests a solidity of spirit that goes deep beyond the full smile and firm handshake. His is a restful presence; with remarkable economy of movement, he holds the serene, thoughtful gaze of an apsara while waiting for his turn on stage. Off stage,...
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Portraits in Jazz: For Mel Villena, the swing’s the thing
(Tenth of a series) To be around Mel Villena—musical director, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and raconteur nonpareil—is to check your worries at the door. No day is too dreary that he cannot save the rest of it from crumbling, unmendable, at your feet. At least that’s what it feels like every time he’s at the baton...
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Portraits in Jazz: Lorna Cifra will jazz till she drops
(Ninth of a series) Singer Lorna Cifra’s surname may have sealed her fate, but as any musician that’s ever had to make their own way in the gnarly terrain of music-making quickly finds out, a sound musical career is built on good and bad choices, a smidge of luck, and diligence of the sort that...
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Portraits in Jazz: At play with Lynn Sherman
(Eighth of a series) “…Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply…” To those lines of Huxley’s poetry from his novel Island, one readily conjures up the image of Lynn Sherman—singer, actor, animal rights activist, and, in her words, “frustrated model”—seamlessly gliding into any of those incarnations. She always...
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Portraits in Jazz: Everybody loves Rey Vinoya
(Seventh of a series) When this series started in March, drummer Rey Vinoya put himself at a distance from deadline in a mix of hesitation and bemusement. Without declining outright to be profiled, he proposed what he believed was the farthest possible date from March: “September!” he said, beaming, when I asked him in April...
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Portraits in Jazz: Tago is Nelson Gonzales’ happy madness
Little surprise that the confluence of Ghost Month and Mercury retrograde dredges up the unlikeliest memories. It was typhoon season in 2012 when we found ourselves at the newly opened Tago waiting for the downpour to subside after an ill-timed meetup with a handful of friends ran well into the night. Two things stood out...
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Portraits in Jazz: Quiet nights with Jeannie and Henry
(Fifth in a series) Fresh off the heady excitement of the Philippine International Jazz Festival (PI Jazzfest), which was revived in May after a six-year pause, and in which partners Jeannie Tiongco and Henry Katindig shared the stage with PI Jazz All Stars headliners and foreign jazz artists, the couple have returned to the dim...
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Portraits in Jazz: Faye and Bergan in Project Yazz
(Fourth in a series) At the height of the lockdown in 2021, while some were getting cozy with isolation and others were champing at the bit, popspoken.com, an independent online media outlet for art, music, and lifestyle in Southeast Asia, flagged Project Yazz as among the five “underground Filipino musicians” to check out asap. Online...