Second of a series “I just want to play,” says Ronald Tomas, band leader, arranger, composer, singer, and saxophonist—arguably one of the busiest musicians today who cross over jazz, R&B/ funk/rock/soul, and pop jazz stages with enviable ease, the sort for whom music is air and water. Ronald grew up in Pangasinan swaddled by music:...
Category: Music
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James Taylor in my mind and live in Manila
When I told my research team of millennials at the University of the Philippines that Tesa and I were going to watch a concert by James Taylor, I was met with blank stares and polite smiles that seemed to say, “James who?” So, I asked Janus Nolasco to accompany me on guitar while I sang...
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Portraits in Jazz: Tots Tolentino in the cool of the moment
(First of a series) EDITOR’S NOTE: With this piece, Jocelyn de Jesus starts a series of portraits resulting from conversations with stellar Filipino jazz practitioners—“in full bloom in their 60s and 70s,” she says, and “changing the game one gig at a time.” Mario “Tots” Tolentino’s household-name status in contemporary Philippine music is undisputed, having...
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‘Don Pasquale’ comes to life in CCP’s 39th concert season
The main building of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) remains closed due to its ongoing rehabilitation, but its opera programming continues with the presentation of the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” as part of its 39th concert season. For its seventh concert, to be staged on March 8 at Samsung Performing Arts...
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Cooky Chua and Joaquin Ignacio on making music and the changing times
For some time it was a familiar scene: Wherever the singer Cooky Chua and Color It Red performed, her young son Joaquin Ignacio would be doodling backstage. At one point, during a break, he strode onto the stage, strumming his small guitar. Not surprisingly, Joaquin would heed the same calling years later: He picked up...
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All that Jazz: The music lives here
Second of two parts Perhaps the most resolute of the bar owners is Nelson Gonzales, drummer and owner of Tago Jazz on Main Avenue in Cubao, Quezon City, which is turning out to be jazz’s permanent home address. Open from Friday to Sunday for evening shows, Tago is the stage to be for jazz musicians...
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All that Jazz: The wow in the now
First of two parts On a cool Sunday afternoon in late January, they gathered at the rooftop of the nondescript NCC Building in Mandaluyong City: keyboardists Elhmir Saison and Butch Saulog, guitarists Riki Gonzales and Rey Infante, drummer Rey Vinoya, and bassist Dave Harder. It was clear from the jazz supergroup lineup—first-call musicians all—that there’d...
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PPO wows audiences from all walks of life in Iloilo, Capiz
ILOILO CITY—The concert’s surprise came in mid-performance, sweeping through the audience, the spark lit when the musicians played the “Mission Impossible” theme song (Lalo Schifrin) and Voltes V (Kobayashi Aso). Then followed Mike Hanopol’s “Laki sa Layaw (Jeproks)” to start a medley of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) songs. By the time the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra...
The Beatles: (From left) John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison —JOOINN.COM PHOTO
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The Beatles, now and then
The Beatles never broke up; they’ve always been together in the collective memory of diehard fans like me. I’m now 71 and I still spend my weekends watching their videos or singing what’s appropriate for the moment with a guitar (the ’60s on Sundays and the ’70s on Saturdays). Sixty years ago, I was a...
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SB19 is on the ‘P-Pop’ road to stardom
The sudden rise of the male pop group SB19 in the music charts, dance showdowns, bigger and wider media outlets like free TV, FM stations, concerts, and social media, has proven one significant thing: Star-making is not the monopoly of private talent management agencies, giant movie outfits, individual discoverers, talent scouts and managers, or big...