Jazzing up Manila: the CCP way

PHOTO: BENJAMIN LAYUG

by Benjamin Layug posted on August 30, 2013

For the second time around, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will gather more than 100 jazz artists and 15 bands from the Philippines and all over the world (U.S.A., Europe and Asia) as they perform jazz music, in all its styles (from the big band, swing, blues, fusion and experimental) from September 17-22, 2013. 

The first edition of the international jazz festival, billed The Story of Jazz: 1st CCP International Jazz Festival, was held last August 2011. The 2nd CCP International Jazz Festival will be held at two venues of the CCP. This year’s edition will also feature workshops and lectures on various jazz genres.

In addition, partnerships with some hotels (Bayview Hotel, Diamond Hotel, Manila Hotel, Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila and Traders Hotel) will enable some of the festival performers to provide a sampling of their expertise in these venues. 

In a recent lunchtime press conference held at the Millennium Hall of the Manila Hotel, members of the press (including PEP.ph) were treated to a sampler of what to expect as some of the Filipino festival participants performed a number of jazz pieces.  

Humanfolk, with Mr. Johhny Alegre (guitar), Jay Ronquillo (bass) and Mr. Jun Viray (drums), performed the Herbie Hancock-composed jazz fusion standard “Cantaloupe Island.”  This was followed up by a solo piano performance by Mr. Emy Munji who performed “Laura,” adapted from the theme of the 1944 movie with the same name. Finally, The Anything Goes Jazz Group, with Mr. Michael Puyat (vocals), Mr. Bobbet Bernadas (bass) and Mr. Archie Lacorte (saxophone), rendered their version of “The Lady is a Tramp,” a Richard Rodgers swing anthem from the 1937 Broadway musical Babes in Arms.

According to Mr. Raul Sunico, CCP President and an internationally-known pianist himself, the festival is “a recognition of the jazz genre as a major style of musical creativity through improvisation as well as the distinct theories in its harmonic, scalar, and rhythmic components that are both appealing and inviting to the listener.”  

He pointed out that “the global attraction of jazz 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."

Read more: http://www.pep.ph/guide/music/12463/jazzing-up-manila-the-ccp-way