(Twenty-fifth of a series) After weeks of debating the best way to (re)introduce Winston Raval, Filipino jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, to 21st-century readers and jazz fans, I settled on this fun bit of history from writer and music critic Eric Caruncho in a piece he wrote for the Inquirer in February 2019. Eric rightly...
Author: Jocelyn de Jesus (Jocelyn de Jesus)
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Portraits in Jazz: Charito Vergara makes music happen
(Twenty-fourth of a series) I was obviously late to the Charito Vergara party, having caught her on stage only earlier this year when she was in Manila for a visit. But there’d been quite the buzz about the shows and workshops she held in Manila, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro over the last several years....
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Portraits in Jazz: Bobby Basa, guitar soloist and conversationalist
Twenty-third of a series Summer’s here, and with it the tautening grip of Fernweh — the German “farsickness” that describes a bone-deep yearning for exploring places elsewhere. Unfortunately, the war triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran has stranded many of us at the “weh” station: that uniquely Filipino intersection of disbelief and skepticism and,...
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Portraits in Jazz: One Night with the Lisa Sung Trio
Twenty-second of a series It was a night unlike many others in the city’s jazz haven at Tago. Headlining the Valentine weekend was a visiting Korean American pianist—a slight gentlewoman who brimmed more with the energy of a college senior than a mother of six. The Lisa Sung Trio—featuring Lisa on keys, Andrew Bishop on...
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Portraits in Jazz: Michael Mark Guevarra keeps it real
(Twenty-first of a series) If the end of the pandemic lockdown had a face, it was—at least for me—that of Michael Mark “Pikong” Guevarra. It was April 2022, the first night Tago Jazz Café opened its doors after nearly two years of silence. Setting up on stage that night were guitarist Riki Gonzales and Balooze,...
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Portraits in Jazz: Riki Gonzales returns to the blues
(Twentieth of a series) On a dreary November evening last year, I sent a message to composer-guitarist Riki Gonzales, who was then performing aboard a cruise ship. I asked him to send me a short video clip of wherever he was at that moment, hoping that a glimpse of the world beyond my walls—whether night...
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Portraits in Jazz: Color her Skarlet
(Nineteenth of a series) I’ve known Skarlet Brown longer than almost any other jazz artist featured in this section. That’s probably why it took me so long to tell her story: I was too close, knew too much, and wasn’t quite sure how to frame her wild and magnificent mess. In fact, my first piece...
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Portraits in Jazz: And in walked Chuck Joson
(Eighteenth of a series) There’s always something disarming about young musicians who play jazz like they were born sitting at a baby grand, striking silken chords long before they could say their names. It’s not even about sass either; if anything, these guys are those that tuck themselves in a quiet corner of the bar...
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Portraits in Jazz: Butch Saulog’s flow and order
(Seventeenth of a series) For the record, I informed this month’s Portraits in Jazz subject of my intention to borrow the first lines from a 1983 Dave Frishberg song, “My Attorney Bernie,” as the title of this piece for two rather in-your-face reasons: First, because Butch Saulog’s given name is “Bernard” (usually shortened to “Bernie”),...
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Portraits in Jazz: Keeping up with Colby de la Calzada
(Sixteenth of a series) Age is a wonderful thing when it happens to people who embrace it as fully as they have lived their lives. Some even laugh about the exigencies of aging, admitting that the attendant forgetfulness has compelled them to keep the good ole’ CV in ship-shape. Colby de la Calzada—bassist, composer, arranger,...