(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 until their turn comes up.

Keyboardist Chuck Joson is one such self-effacing musician, always wearing a smile, who doesn’t occupy space offstage but commands it onstage. And then he makes it look so easy, whatever it is he’s playing, whether it’s funk or straight-ahead jazz, all the while never once losing variations on that smile.

He is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s word made flesh: “In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” 

But he’s a solid jazz cat, swears Nelson Gonzales, drummer and Tago owner, who has played with Chuck on several occasions. “One day he just walked into the old Tago,” Nelson recalls. “Then he started hanging out quite regularly, and jamming, together with his mates Chuck Menor, Paolo Cortez, and Gabe Cabonce.”

Chuck has always loved Tago. “I am able to play everything I want to play there. And there’s where you can jam with the best players,” he says.

By “everything,” he means pretty much the entire range of jazz—from standards and swing, to fusion, Latin, bossa nova, neo-soul and modern jazz: “Audiences appreciate these sounds, I feel. They have become more receptive to both the old and new.”

Schooled early

Then one day Chuck walked into the ABS-CBN studio where he shortly found himself musical director for “Tawag ng Tanghalan” (a segment of the noontime show It’s Showtime) and the series The Voice Teens. He played keyboards in the official lyric video and live performance of the song “Shot Puno” by Cianne, produced by ABS-CBN Music-Star Pop (2025). 

It was his mentor, composer/arranger/keyboardist Elhmir Saison, who opened the doors for him in ABS-CBN, where he launched his career as musical arranger for “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in 2016. 

He is currently the ABS-CBN musical director/arranger for TV and concerts, doing the musical heavy lifting for popular shows like ASAP, Pinoy Big Brother, and Little Big Shots Philippines.

“I just love everything about music, whatever that music is,” says Chuck, who adds that he owes everyone he has ever worked with a debt of gratitude for enriching his knowledge.

This state of grace may be the key to Chuck’s smile and easy manner. As, surely, is his early exposure to the best music teachers. 

“I started playing classical piano pieces at age seven,” he says. “In college at Centro Escolar University, from 2005 to 2009, I was a Conservatory of Music major in guitar and minor in piano.” 

Sometime in 2007 he caught a show of Akasha, drummer Mar Dizon’s supergroup that included keyboardist Henry Katindig; saxophonist Dix Lucero; bassists Simon Tan, Dave Harder, and Rommel de la Cruz; and guitarists Richie Gonzaga and Janno Queyquep.   

Chuck had made sure to catch the group where they were performing, and he recalls how Henry would run him through the paces before their set started. 

Over time he would walk into the bar and find himself playing alongside musicians he admired deeply, among them Elhmir, saxophonist Tots Tolentino, Janno, and Rommel.

It had always been his dream to play in a band with his “idols”: This came true when he, Elhmir, Tots, Janno, Rommel, and drummer Otep Concepcion formed Loop, which plays jazz fusion that’s heavy on the sound of Weather Report and Jaco Pastorius.

Musical variety

Besides Loop, Chuck plays regularly with Baihana, a delightful vocal jazz quartet with a distinct vintage swing/doo-wop influence, filtered through a contemporary OPM (Original Pilipino Music) sensibility. 

He also sits occasionally with the Tago Jazz Collective (the umbrella term for the group of resident, rotating, and core musicians who regularly perform, collaborate, and jam at Tago), as well as with the Pete Canzon Group and Jr Oca Experience (both purveyors of funk, soul, and jazz).

“Chuck is highly reliable,” says Dave Harder. “He is always well prepared, and is meticulous in his approach to a tune—its chords, solos, and accompaniments.” 

“I love the improvisation,” says Chuck. “I’m also very open to the ways in which technology can enhance and expand the genre’s core elements—improvisation, composition, and sound texture. For me, playing will always be for the love of jazz, wherever that takes me.”

Read more: Portraits in Jazz: Butch Saulog’s flow and order