Sandra Viray & the future of Pinoy int’l jazz fests

Talk about jazz fests in the Philippines and Sandra Lim Viray’s name will come up. That Sandra loves Philippine music is a given. That she loves Philippine jazz is an understatement. She devotes much of her life to jazz music because “in this mission, we promote unity through music.”

As co-founder of the Philippine International Jazz Festival, a 19-year-old musical extravaganza,  Sandra, an exceptional jazz singer, is almost singlehandedly mounting  PIJazzFest 2025 on June 14, 4 p.m. onwards, at the auditorium of Asia Pacific College in Magallanes, Makati City.

“This year’s offering, albeit smaller, is by no means less in quality,” Sandra, fresh from attending the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, told The STAR.

The 400-seater auditorium of the Asia Pacific College will have on its stage Harvard scholar Jazzyphar as host of the PIJazzFest 2025. Performers include Awit awardee finger-style guitarist Jerome Rico, Argentinian tango singer Anibal Ansin with a world-class tango exhibition by Jang & Jenn, power world music band Anima Tierra,  Steely Dan tribute band Black Cows, and the sophisticated Velvet Jazz, with the special participation of Aliw awardee Henry Katindig and the country’s ‘prince of jazz,’ Richard Merk.

Flying in as part of their Asian tour is the nine-man a cappella group Straight No Chaser. Guitarist and educator Balawan Quartet will perform traditional Balinese music fused with other genres. He will also be giving a workshop wherein all interested guitarists may participate for free.

To keep one entertained between sets, the PIJazzLounge will have musical performances, sumptuous food and drinks from Aristocrat and Casa Trinidad, tattoo sessions by artist Janeea Miss Treat. There will also be a discussion on the traditional history of Philippine Jazz. Of course, an open jam is expected—and perhaps, dancing, too.

How can we make more Pinoys love jazz?

“It’s a mindset,” Sandra says. “I just got back from Indonesia (for the Java jazz fest) and the piped in music in the malls were The Brand New Heavies, Al Jarreau, etc.”

‘Music for the world’

“The annual jazz festival is now on its 19th year of promoting music, particularly jazz. Each year, we painstakingly, persistently seek out artists that may further our mission to promote unity through music,” Sandra says.

She adds, “This year, we have partnered with the Asia Pacific College, which is developing its auditorium to become a center for arts, in assembling some of the finest jazz and cultural artists in an event entitled ‘Beyond Borders: Music for the World’.”

“Since our audience’s ages range from teens to seniors, we made sure to have something for everyone—instrumentals, ethnic, percussion orchestra, bossa nova, big band jazz, vocal jazz and pop jazz. Even tango. We blur the lines between genres and just present good music,” she says.

How PIJazzFest came about

The Philippine International Jazz Festival, says Sandra, was born out of the lament that the Philippines had no jazz festival. Thus in 2006, a handful of musicians including Sandra, her late husband Jun Viray, a drummer, and the late jazz guitarist Edgar “Koyang” Avenir, used their own meager resources and launched the first PIJazzFest at CCP Harbor Square and Sofitel.

“Jun, Koyang and I belonged to a band (formerly with Bong Penera). I was the singer. Koyang was our musical director. Our band’s name was Jazz for Kicks. We would talk about the big festivals in other countries like the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands and the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta and lament that we did not have our own in Manila. So we decided to organize one in 2006,” Sandra recalls.

Leading the A-list of jazz performers at the first ever PIJazzFest were the legendary Brazilian jazz pianist Eumir Deodato, Kevin Lettau, 100 Pinoy bands and artists including Sitti and Jaqui Magno.

“We had no sponsors in our first jazz salvo. We just went ahead and did it,” says Sandra.

The succeeding jazz fests were both easy and hard to mount. “The following year, some of the volunteer artists and volunteer bands became expensive to afford already. But we were happy they made a connection to the public.”

“It was a dream come true to make jazz available for all. Present were the mainstream, Latin, smooth, fusion…all that jazz crowd. Never the massive, sweaty, frenzied, jostling crowds,” she says.

“The ones who sauntered in (during our first offering) were music lovers who settled in their seats and took deep breaths as if to imbibe every chord like a prized delicacy.  You would see expectant faces as they entered, and those same faces exit with a radiant smile. It was a sense of contentment, with some measure of delight, that the festival brought them,” Sandra says.

All these—and all that jazz—will be relived on June 14 at the Philippine International Jazz Festival 2025. *