(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 for the AMP Big Band, AMP being the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino, and the band comprising 18 of the country’s finest (and multigenerational) session and recording artists. The lusciously layered sound of eminently danceable music crackling with energy and precision delivers a double-shot of dopamine: The audience is fired up to sing or move along, in situ, transported either way to a happier time and place.

Between songs Mel will talk a bit about the piece they just played or are about to, making sure to pack the spiel with information for the benefit of the younger people in the audience. Eight times out of ten this would send these younger people Googling links to the song, and Mel and the band will have sparked a fresh musical connection across generations.

“The challenge [had been] to reintroduce to the entertainment scene the real big-band sound, repertoire, and show that people my age were so used to listening to and watching on [the former] Dewey Boulevard, TV, radio, and the so-called Extravaganza Concerts that were available in vinyl format [33/45 rpm] that were for sale in our favorite local record outlets,” Mel says, adding with a laugh: “[Which] also doubled as musical instruments and sporting goods shops.”

Burnishing a golden age

At around the time the AMP Big Band was formed in 2008 and officially launched in 2009, not too many people were familiar with the sound of a traditional big band. “I talked to some young bands and production people [who] thought that ‘big band’ meant more guitars and synthesizers,” says Mel. “Big horn bands were simply no longer uso—and that’s understandable. Producers and network productions were not too keen on hiring such bands because of the obvious economic implications.”

So, yes, the struggle in the early days was real, but the AMP Big Band was poised to ride the crest of the resurgence on local radio of younger and jazz-oriented, if suave, crooners like Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr., who were usually backed by big bands. The old had become new again, in keeping with the cyclical nature of things, and younger audiences cared to dip their toes in their elders’ music.

Fifteen years hence, the AMP Big Band, collapsible to the AMP Dektet when necessary, is arguably among the busiest acts on the live music stage (with a regular monthly schedule at 19 East in Sucat) and in private and corporate events. Says Mel: “The feature shows we do at 19 East are where we get to play the music that we love doing, which is the Big Band jazz repertoire. This means traditional [1930s-‘60s] and contemporary stuff, and everything else in between and beyond. It’s most fulfilling for us.”

On the other hand, the AMP Big Band’s “magical, bombastic, and humbling” moments include playing at a dinner during then US President Barack Obama’s state visit to Manila, and performing for the Asean Summit with then US President Donald Trump as main guest. They were also the backup band for the 2015 concert of the American jazz singer Diane Schuur at the Theater at Solaire.

Mel is hopeful that audiences are busy recalibrating their listening compasses. “[They] are starting to be more exploratory again,” he says, “which I believe is due to what the internet makes available.” While there’s certainly a downside to that, Mel prefers to give credence to the constructive possibilities that technology offers to music and its performance.

“More people today are hearing [and seeing] prodigious talent and music performances globally,” he observes. “They are exposed to the good, the excellent, [and the bad] out there. That freedom keeps the business on its toes. That freedom is important for both musicians and audiences.”

Sense of community

It was a corner sari-sari store in the San Juan community in which Mel grew up that kindled his fascination with music as an eight-year-old. A bunch of teenagers hung out there, one of whom expertly coaxed Beatles songs out of a hollow body guitar. Mel kept coming back for more: “I just had to be the annoying small boy who tried to get him to teach me at least one tune on his guitar,” he recalls.

The music never left him, and he never let it go. In high school at La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) he was the arranger and bandleader of the renowned music ministry Kundirana. The LSGH Marching Band room became his second home as he tried out every musical instrument he could get his hands on. He eventually enrolled at the University of the Philippines’ College of Music where he would major in composition.

Moving about the live entertainment circuit before graduation he met his future wife, Nori Perez, at a gig in Wells Fargo on Roxas Boulevard. At the time Nori was a backup singer, along with Cecile Azarcon and Elise Cortez, while Mel was in a boy band called Haraya. The latter opened the show of the singer that Nori and company were backing up. Later that night Mel and Nori found out that they were both enrolled at the UP College of Music. They have never spent longer than a week apart since then.

Mel’s remarkable four-decade-long career as musical director for television and concert stages of the best Filipino singers and artists has won him a slew of prestigious awards. But his most cherished memories and moments are those that continue to bring him joy at the thought or as they unfold, even if for the nth time, as he and the band play their music. 

He will never forget the night of their inaugural performance as AMP Big Band at Ten 02, a small jazz bar on Scout Ybardolaza owned by singer Skarlet Brown (who was also then the band’s vocalist): After their first song the audience broke into wild cheer and applause. “To me that meant we were on to something important and exciting,” says Mel.

From 2013 until the pandemic shut down businesses in 2020, the AMP Big Band played on Monday nights at Balete@Kamias, a sprawling art-deco house turned live music venue.

For Mel, nothing compares to “the camaraderie, friendship, professional interaction, exchange of technical expertise, ideological conversations, community [akin to family] bonding, the joy of music, love, and respect… Almost fifteen years of that and I still feel as excited as when we first started.”

Most important, and without irony, Mel declares that if Nori pronounces him good, so it is: “Pag sinabi ni Nori ang galing ko raw…’yun na mismo!”

Broader social values

The sense of togetherness and shared endeavor within the big band—beyond the sheer musical possibilities—is highly appealing to Mel, who is also chair and president of AMP, the musicians’ guild. The AMP addresses session musicians’ concerns, establishes protocols to safeguard their workplace rights, and sets minimum rates for them and backup singers.

“We also extend medical and financial assistance to our members or their families,” he says. “Likewise, we conduct community music workshops every now and then.”

The use of big band in education is particularly effective because it teaches a musician to be a team player, and compels students to socialize and communicate with each other. For Mel, the big band is more than just an ensemble; it is a reflection of broader social values. When it’s working correctly, everyone feels like they play an important role, and they feel good about others’ success.

AMP Big Band, take a bow for jobs exceptionally done: Michael Guevarra (tenor sax 1/flute/clarinet), Nicole Reluya (alto sax 2/clarinet/flute), Ronald Tomas (tenor sax 1/flute), Joey de Guzman (tenor sax 2/clarinet), Roxy Modesto (baritone sax/bass clarinet), Lester Sorilla (trumpet 2), James Ryan Mixto (trumpet 3), EJ Celestial (trumpet 1), Glenn Lucero (trumpet 4), Ronnie Marqueses (trombone 1), Isla Antinero (trombone 2), Vanessa Celestial (trombone 3), Chok Dela Cruz (bass trombone), Joey Quirino (piano), Noel Santiago (guitar), Simon Tan (bass), Jun Austria Jr. (drums), and Jojo Luz (percussion), with Gail Blanco-Viduya (vocals).

Read more: All that Jazz: The music lives here