CCP int'l festival aims to put PHL on the global jazz map

Metro Manila may not have a venue similar to the venerated Blue Note Tokyo, the best and most expensive joint to enjoy live jazz and other musical performances every weekend in the Japanese capital.

Blue Note Tokyo is where only the premium foreign acts perform before flying to Manila, if they decide to make it to the Philippines at all. Think of the likes of Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Sergio Mendes, Michel Legrand, Chick Corea, Bob James, David Sanborn, The Count Basie Orchestra, Gregory Porter and Chucho Valdes.

But for six days, from Sept. 17 to Sept. 22, local and foreign jazz groups and performers will transform various venues of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) into a giant jazz bar.

More than 100 Filipino and foreign artists and 24 bands from the Philippines, the US, Europe, and Asia will perform every night in shows, either at the CCP’s Main Theater (Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo) at 7:30 p.m., and at the Silangan Hall at 9:30 p.m. The shows offer jazz music from the big band era, swing, blues, fusion, and the experimental genres.

Slated to perform during the six-day event are: Tokyo-based jazz vocalist Charito, Filipina jazz singer and recording artist Sandra Lim Viray, Bob Aves, Johnny Alegre, Argentine-born guitarist Neris Gonzalez, US performers Royal Hartigan and the Blood Drum Spirit, Malaysian acoustic guitar player Roger Wang, Indonesian guitarist Wayan Balawan, Brown Fix, Sitti, Brass Munkey, Camerata Jazz, Low-Cal Jazz Ensemble, Japanese guitarist Shun Kikuta, New Musicians Guild and Anything Goes Jazz Group, Archie Lacorte and the Red Catz, Emi Munji and his orchestra, chamber jazz trio Majam, Italian accordionist, pianist and guitarist Fabio Turchetti, Indonesia's Bandung Blues Project, Human Folk, Joyful Jazz. A.M.P. Big Band, jazz band Akasha, PYSB Jazz Big Band, the Dutch quartet The Buzz Bros Band, Blue Sub, Hidden Nikki, UST Jazz Band, and the UP Jazz Ensemble.

Linking artists, genres

CCP president and internationally acclaimed pianist Dr. Raul M. Sunico said that the 2nd CCP International Jazz Festival aims to further strengthen the linkages and camaraderie among various jazz groups in the Philippines and to connect them more closely with their counterparts all over the world.

“The festival also hopes to put the Philippines in the global map of jazz. And to show that the Philippines is a viable jazz destination in this part of the world,” Sunico told GMA News Online. “The 2nd CCP International Jazz Festival is a veritable jazz buffet. There is jazz music for every jazz fan. We want to promote our local jazz artists and musicians to the world."

Sunico added that the number of jazz aficionados in the Philippines is growing. "Jazz in the Philippines is as strong as ever. With all the performers in the festival of high caliber and of excellent quality, we can show the world that we can attract a sizeable jazz audience," he said.

Jazz is different from other musical genres, says Sunico, in that it has its own style, its own following, its own attraction. "Jazz is highly improvisatory. But jazz is an effective link between classical and pop music genres. Even though, jazz is highly improvisatory, the foundation of jazz is highly classical," he said.

In a separate interview, jazz pianist Munji said "kundiman" as a Filipino musical genre is also "a very good source of materials for jazz music."

And while jazz is a complex genre, the basics can be picked up, sometimes even unconsciously. "It may surprise all of you that if you listen carefully to very young children, you will notice that without them understanding blues and jazz, they are performing rudimentary jazz and blues," Munji said.

Sunico said an important section of the CCP's upcoming festival is the educational component for "students of jazz," who can learn the history, development, and practical aspects of jazz through various workshops and lectures.

Repeat performance

In August 2011, the CCP hosted the “The Story of Jazz: The CCP International Jazz Festival," which showcased the talents of more than 150 jazz musicians from all over the world in a series of performances, lecture, master classes, and workshops.

During the closing ceremonies, amid ultra-exuberant weather conditions which totally soaked the metropolis, Tokyo-based Charito genuinely knocked out the audience with her then-recently-cut album in Paris, together with the great Michel Legrand, of songs by the late Michael Jackson.

The audience was the first to hear samples of cuts from the album "From Michel to Michael. In “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and “Route 66," Charito showed her wide and powerful vocal range that has captivated the likes of singer Nancy Wilson.

The audience, most of them in casual get-up with just a handful in formal attire, broke protocol by shouting bravos and engaging in extended applause even in the middle of a number – actions that would normally be greeted with stern stares and the conferment of social outcast status during classical performances at the CCP Main Theater.

This year's festival, with its line-up, promises more of the same excellent performances. The 7:30 p.m. shows at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo feature performers and groups whose production numbers and equipment set-up demand larger stage and expected audience size, while the Silangan Hall shows cater to jazz aficionados who prefer a more intimate setting.

"To those not familiar with jazz, go and see the performances in the festival at the CCP. Please do not be afraid of jazz. Filipino artists make good jazz music. To classical music followers, jazz and classical music can be together. They can co-exist," singer Viray said.

Sunico also said the CCP jazz festival is a recognition of "the global attraction of jazz, which has reached a wide spectrum of enthusiasts including Asia, where its own brand of Eastern and ethnic music seems to fuse well with its style." — BM, GMA News

For more information, call the Cultural Center of the Philippines Box Office at 832-1125 local 1409 and direct line 832-3704 or visit the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.

Photos courtesy of the CCP.