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 Saturday, 20 March 2010 |
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4th Annual Filipino American Jazz Festival in Los Angeles |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 26 December 2008 |
 Charmaine Clamor
The 4th Annual Filipino American Jazz Festival is at the Catalina Bar and Grill this Saturday, December 28th. These have been pretty damn great over the years, similar only in their first- or second-generation roots in the Philippines and their passion and inventiveness. Local hero Charmaine Clamor tops the bill, with her exciting and intensely personal “jazzapino” blend of classic jazz standards, with hints of funk & soul and gorgeous takes on tagalog tunes from her My Harana: A Filipino Serenade. Also appearing is the brilliant vocalist Mon David, who combines standards, bossa and originals wtih innovative scatting to create an especially effective mix (and there’s finally a new album on the way, we’re told). One of our favorite pianists Tateng Katindig is at the keys behind him; and he’s always a joy to hear. Two Bay-area bands, Bo Razon’s outfit and the Ben Luis Collective, are on the bill, but the most anticipated guest is the Brooklyn-based winner of this year’s Thelonious Monk sax competition: altoist Jon Irabagon. The kid’s a startling player, his rippling Bird riffs and jagged Ornette edges are intensely personal and plenty deep. Looks to be another good night of jazz from the other side of the world.
America’s leading Filipina jazz and world vocalist, Charmaine Clamor, is the creator of “jazzipino,” the blending of American jazz with Filipino languages, melodies and native instruments. In 2007, Charmaine made Filipino history when her jazzipino CD, Flippin’ Out, reached the Top-5 on both the World Music (#2) and Traditional Jazz (#4) radio charts. Critics hail her as “quite simply one of the finest vocalists to come around in a long time” (All About Jazz) and “a dynamic new compass point in World Music who has put Filipino music on the cultural map” (Jazz Times).
With a music video on the MYX TV channel and her three Freeham Records albums heard locally on KKJZ, KCRW and KPFK, Charmaine performs at jazz festivals and concert halls around the globe, most recently in Malaysia. She is scheduled in 2009 to return to the Manila International Jazz Festival, where she has headlined twice previously. Charmaine’s sultry “bedroom eyers” voice and original artistry has been profiled on NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” “ABS-CBN’s “Balitang Amerika,” and GMA-7’s “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.” Thanks to her trailblazing cultural accomplishments, in 2007 Charmaine Clamor was honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States.
Mon David is a multi-talented artist, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as of the Philippine’s most respected singers and jazz vocalists. A product of the University of the Philippines College of Music, Mon is known for his wide vocal range, rich tone, mellifluous style and eclectic musicality. He has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as David Benoit, Eric Mariethal, Boney James and guitarist Peter White.
He has performed at various festivals and events internationally such as the Philippines International Jazz & Arts Festival in Manila where jazz icons Dianne Schuur, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira graced the stage and locally in Los Angeles such as headlining the annual Filipino-American Jazz Festival in 2006 & 2007 held at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood. With his latest outing “My One & Only Love,” First London International Jazz Competition for Vocalist 2006 Grand Prize Winner Mon David is all set to share with the whole world his unique artistry and his philosophy that indeed music that comes from the heart can heal, build, inspire and unite.
Jon Irabagon made history by being the first Filipino-American to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition is the most prestigious jazz competition in the world. It has launched the careers of a number of major jazz greats including Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit, and Joey DeFrancesco. In addition to a $20,000 scholarship, Irabagon was also awarded a recording contract with Concord Music Group. The label plans to release Jon’s album in mid-2009.
Jon Irabagon grew up in Chicago and began playing the saxophone at age eight. He received his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. He received two Downbeat awards and has participated in Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead and the Henry Mancini Institute. Since moving to New York, he has performed with Billy Joel, Wynton Marsalis, Lou Reed and Debbie Gibson. But tonight this illustrious list expanded: he shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, George Duke, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, The Edge and Bono of U2, and the legendary B.B. King.
Eduardo Katindig Jr. known to his family, friends and the music circle as “Tateng” is making waves at a jazz pianist in the Los Angeles area. He was born in the Philippines and did his schooling at the University of the Philippines majoring in composition and keyboard concentration. Music is the core foundation of his family. Tateng is the son of Eddie Katindig who is one of the Philippines record holders in the instrumental category (saxophone). He started piano lessons at an early age of 7. His passion grew for jazz when he started school. He toured with Kevyn Lettau in the Philippines and did a show with Eric Mariental.
Jazz brought Tateng to the U.S. in the year of 2000. He plays regularly at Charlie O’s, Spazio’s, Vibrato Jazz Club, Zentro Bistro, Catalina Bar & Grill and Jazz Bakery. He has played with mnay greats such as Earl Palmer, Lou Rawls, Ritchie Cole, Alphonse Mounzon, Bill Henderson, the late Teddy Edwards, Sam Most, Eloise Laws and Carl Saunders to name a few. Tateng is the first call for musical director for Filipino concerts in Los Angeles and some of his projects include concerts of Jasmin Trias, Vernie Varga/David Pomeranz, and Jeff Timmons of 90 degrees.
Born in the Philippines and raised state-side, Ben Luis was introduced to the bass in 1962 when he joined the Intruders, an all Filipino band in San Francisco and forerunner of local Asian bands. He was influenced by rhythm & blues, top-40 pop hits, latin, soul and a bit of jazz heard on the radio. In the 70's, he was in the cover bands Mundo, Pearl and MaxB. They played at clubs like the Peppermint Tree and Orphan Annie's (San Francisco) and in the south bay circuit and were featured on a TV show hosted by Rev. Cecil Williams. They opened for Cal Tjader (Great American Music Hall), Mongo Santa Maria (Dolores Park), Malo, and Bette Midler (Embarcadero Center). He was also a member of Kamikazi, one of the first Asian Jazz Fusion bands in San Francisco along with Makoto, Eddie Marshall, and Eiji Tsuchiya.
Currently, Ben Luis performs with several bands in the Bay Area, including Little Brown Brother, Lily Alunan and After Hours, the Carlos Zialcita Jazztet, and the Ben Luis Quintet.
He recently headlined the First Filipino-American Jazz Festival in SF in August 2008 where he received a standing ovation. He will bring his contemporary sounds to the 4th Annual JazzPhil-USA Jazz fest along with his very talented band, including special guests Carlos Zialcita on harmonica & vocals and son Paolo on spoken word.
Multi-instrumentalist,composer,writer,TV director and educator, Roberto 'Bo' Razon has been on a transcontinental musical/cultural voyage for over three decades now. Born in Manila, Philippines, he started playing guitar and bass as a teenager with bands that did Stones & Beatles covers. He got into playing blues guitar while in high school in Baltimore,Maryland. It was here that his early musical influences were cultivated. In the early 70's, Bo moved to San Francisco.Initially playing blues and rock in the City by the Bay, he ventured into new musical territory after moving into a house full of jazz musicians. From jazz, it was a logical step into Latin, Caribbean, African and the world. While in the Bay Area, he had the opportunity to play with many musicians from various world cultures. From the mid-70's to the mid-80's, Bo did many gigs,descargas and recording projects with members of his musical milieu John Santos, Mario Abruzzo, Eddy Soleta, Michael Spiro, Rebecca Mauleon, John Calloway, Chuck Sher,Karl Perrazo, Jeff Narell, Dan Regan, Anthony Blea, Andy Narrel, Chalo Eduardo, Paul von Wageningen, Gary Brown, Vicki Randle, Richie Kermode, Benny Rietveld, Jesus Diaz, Harold Muniz...and many others. During this time, he was also an original member of the renowned Cuban son group Conjunto Cespedes, playing tres Cubano and contributing an original composition "Taal" in their first album. He was also an original core member of Jose Lorenzo's Afro-Brazilian troupe Batucaje', playing cavaquinho, guitar & percussion. In 1980, Bo did a PBS segment with Batucaje' which featured Airto, Flora Purim & Alex Acuña. Concurrently, Bo worked with African artists Soleiman Rowgie (Sierra Leone),OJ Ekemode (Nigeria), Malonga Casquelord (Congo) and gigged extensively with the Caribbean All-Stars. He played a concert backing up Earl Zero, playing with Tony Chin & George 'Fully' Fullwood of Soul SYndicate (Jamaica).
On a subsequent trip to Matanzas under the auspices of the Anthropological Society of Cuba, Bo did research and field work exploring the Congo/Palo/Bantu and Arara traditions of rural Cuba. Throughout the 90's and early years of the new millennium, Bo lived in Manila and had the opportunity to perform with the following artists when they came into town: Patti Austin, Julia Fordham, Kevyn Lettau, Pauline Wilson, Joyce Cooling, Jim Chappell, Michael Shapiro. While back in the Philippines, he also studied forms of indigenous Philippine music of the islands and furthered his research by traveling all over the archipelago filming & documenting some of its vanishing tribal cultures, in particular the mountain "gong" cultures in the northern Cordilleras and the gong/boat-lute/drum cultures in the southern islands. In 1998, he released his own album, "Biyahero", of all-original material co-produced with Bob Aves on BMG Records(Phils). In 2003, he was musical director and co-producer of an award-winning cd of ethnic Philippine lullabies for artist and environmental activist Chin Chin Gutierrez. Over the last few years, he has performed in World Music concerts in Paris, Barcelona and Madrid with:Altamira artists Boris Lelong & Joon Claudio /Philippine artists Joey Ayala,Grace Nono, Bob Aves & Chin Chin Gutierrez. From 1998 to 2006, Bo Razon taught Afro-Latin rhythms and the music of the African diaspora in the Americas at the College of Music at the University of the Philippines. Aside from his musical endeavors, Bo has been involved in the production of technical and documentary-style videos. He has also worked with the Goethe Institute and the British Council on noteworthy musical projects and has published several magazine articles on travel destinations around the world.
Bio info for the artists is adapted from www.jazzphil-usa.com
Catalina's Jazz Club is located at 6725 West Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood (one block EAST of Highland Ave.) - Phone: (323) 466-2210. For tickets and more information visit The Jazz Society of the Philippines, U.S.A. Chapter's website: www.jazzphil-usa.com |
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