All that jazz
Like classical music, it took a while before I really came to love and embrace jazz. I got hooked on the genre at the height of the popularity of fusion artists such as Earl Klugh, Bob James and Dave Grusin.
Ella Fitzgerald and the genre she represents became a fixture in our album rack much later. Her re-mastered CD came as a gift from my wife, and I fell in love with her music the moment I heard her croon.
Unlike pop or even rock music, jazz really takes some warming up to before you get a kick out of it. But once you’re captivated, there’s no turning back.
It was in the ’80s that Filipino jazz musicians really had their fill, and when all that jazz was in vogue. Nightly gigs seemed to have no end as these artists — to name a few, Jacqui Magno, Eddie Katindig, Louie Reyes, and Bong Peñera and the Batukada — showcased their music at the Papillon Bar in Makati, Birds of the Same Feather (before the infamous Ozone Disco) on Morato, the Ship on West Avenue, among other favorite Metro Manila jazz nightspots.
In that era, Pinoy jazz rose alongside Pinoy rock. Sadly, the former was not able to retain its glitter. There are those who believe that Pinoy jazz failed to evolve because it lacks originality. While Filipino rockers have successfully woven the local music fabric into the genre, they say that Pinoy jazz has remained a mere copycat.
I remember the late, great saxophonist Lito Molina, founder and bandleader of the Jazz Friends and known as the “Father of Philippine Jazz,” telling me once that jazz should remain “unadulterated.” Like other purists, Lito believed that the genre should be preserved as is because it would no longer be jazz if it were assimilated and given a Filipino flavor.
Would Pinoy jazz artists have succeeded had they followed the same route taken by their rock counterparts? We will never know. But, at least now, efforts are being done to rekindle the Filipinos’ love affair with jazz music.
Skarlet (formerly Myra Ruaro, front woman of Put3ska and Brownbeat Allstars) is taking the first step. She’s invited me and all jazz lovers and musicians to the first Jazz Workshop/Enthusiasts Eyeball at Ten 02 Restobar in Scout Ybardolaza, QC.
By the time this column goes to print, the workshop would have run its course last night (March 14). If not for a prior commitment, I would have loved to go. According to Skarlet, the workshop is designed for young musicians who want to have a grasp of the genre and later learn the ropes. She also wants the workshop to serve as a venue for the sale on consignment basis of recorded original jazz compositions that have never been commercially released.
Pinoy jazz icon Joey Valenciano has also been invited to talk about the current state of Philippine jazz. The workshop also hopes to get as much input from young and old musicians and enthusiasts on how best to encourage the creation of new, original jazz material.
Why Eyeball? “You can achieve a lot of things when you sit down and talk issues face to face. Unlike on Internet forums, you’d only end up arguing,” Skarlet says, adding that the atmosphere in the workshop itself would be conducive to productive endeavors, what with drinks at hand and nonstop music after all the issues have been put to rest.
I’m not really sure how Skarlet’s efforts square off with jazz purists. Will this be a case of assimilation or resistance?
Personally, I am convinced that, since our country teems with musical talent, we Pinoys can always find ways to give a distinct, local flavor to the genre. Hopefully, these efforts will bring Philippine jazz up to par with, if not better than, the world’s best.
Early on, Filipino jazz musicians had actually carved out local character in composition and arrangement by cultivating time-honored Filipino songs and folk sources during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Think maestro Angel Peña, the esteemed classical and jazz composer, arranger and bass player.
Also remember that Pinoy jazz musicians came to learn of the African-American roots of jazz from 1898 onward, mastering the music by simply listening to imported 78-rpm jazz records, surviving the prohibitions on jazz performances during the Japanese Occupation and weathering the juggernaut of rock music from the 1960s onward. These factors, plus the initiative put forth by Skarlet, fill me with optimism that, just like rock, jazz will evolve into our very own.
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