Timeless Bert

With songs like Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin, The Promise and What Kind of Fool Am I in the evening’s program, the show could have easily been mistaken for Martin Nievera’s. By the languid grace that came with Brazil, the easy charm of It Had to be You and the confident caress of Nature Boy could have only come from a performer of sophistication. The man of the moment was not Martin, although he comes very, very close. It was Martin’s father Bert Nievera on centerstage last Wednesday evening in the seventh edition of his Timeless concert series.

Timeless, he said, is usually a grand event held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. But since the CCP and other similar venues happened to be booked for other things last Oct. 17, Bert decided to invite his guests to his own "living room" and do the show right there. The "living room" in this case is the Greenhills branch of his Country Waffles. The place is famous for mouth-watering varieties of waffles and bottomless glasses of iced tea. Thanks though to the superior acoustics in the second floor room and an excellent sound engineer in Willy Munji, the homey ambience of the place did not stop Bert from turning his show into a presentation worthy of the best concert halls in the world.

Clad in elegant black, Bert performed with the 30-piece Timeless Orchestra. He wanted more musicians but the place can only take that much. Besides the playing of the guys present with conductor and musical director Danny Tan, sounded like they were more than 30, so why have more. The Opera made up of Sushi, Manolo, Cecille and Zebedee sang up a storm in the background plus a sweet medley of Gershwin songs. Emy Munji brought in a touch of the electronic when he became a one-man orchestra for Bert’s Nat "King" Cole number. And then there was Dessa of the powerful vocals whose singing surprisingly complimented Bert’s.

Dessa singing with Bert. Duets by these two initially seemed unlikely. The Bert that I recall listening to was a smooth, laid back performer while the diminutive Dessa is all force from the top of her lungs. The Bert Nievera though of Timeless VII turned out to be vastly different. He wasn’t just It Had to be You or The Very Thought of You. He was a powerful and passionate Being Alive and Piece of Sky. To top it all, the man was also celebrating his 65th birthday that evening and I couldn’t help but think of much younger singers who only show off their inadequacies whenever they attempt such difficult fare.

Thankfully, his son Martin is not one of them. But whenever I listen to the younger Nievera, I cannot help but think that long before Martin, there was Bert. And all those watching Bert that night surely realized that the impeccable phrasing, the respect for standard materials and the total dedication towards pleasing an audience are qualities that are without doubt inherited.

Nice things about Awit Awards

Heard nice things about this year’s Awit Awards. I’ve been staying away from these presentations since one Awit Awards night which had producers who didn’t know what they were doing and wherein the agonizing wait between trophies and numbers turned out to be longer than the entire show. Not this one though which was brief, well-attended and well-produced. I hope the changes stay.

Congratulations to the winners: Best Female – Regine Velasquez, Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw; Best Male – Gary Valenciano, Lupa; Best Group –True Faith, Kung OK Lang Sa ‘yo; Child Artist – Dindin Llarena, Ang Panginoon; Best Duet – Regine Velasquez and Jaya Habang May Buhay; New Female Artist – Kayla Hanggang Ngayon; New Male Artist –Cesar Montano Sa Pagpatak ng Ulan; New Duo or Group – Teenhearts, Di Ko Kaya; Album of the Year – This Time by Freestyle; Song of the Year – Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw by Ogie Alcasid; Best Produced Recording-Iingatan Ka by Carol Banawa; Best Pop Recording – This Time by Freestyle;

Best Ballad – Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw by Regine Velasquez; Best Country Ballad – Kahapong Nagdaan by April "Boy" Regino; Best Rock Recording – I Like by Popfilter; Best Alternative Recording –Matter of Time by Wolfgang; Best Dance Recording-Somewhere in Between by Passage; Best Jazz Recording – You’ve Been There All Along by Mulatto; Best R&B Recording– Bring It On by Kyla; Video of the Year –Hanggang Ngayon by Kayla; Best Video Producers – Chito Ilacad and Willie Monzon; Best Video Performance – Kayla, Hanggang Ngayon; Best Video Director — Lyle Sacris, Hanggang Ngayon.