{"id":6599,"date":"2012-09-14T06:49:53","date_gmt":"2012-09-14T03:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patnubay.org\/?p=6599"},"modified":"2019-06-18T22:55:03","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T19:55:03","slug":"usa-all-that-jazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/?p=6599","title":{"rendered":"USA: All that jazz!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Words and photos by Dionesio C. Grava
\nFirst posted in  pinoywatchdog.com<\/a><\/p>\n

For a while those Anglo features fooled me. But Mitch Franco has a Filipina mother, the former recording artist Gemma Franco, and that makes him Filipino. Good-looking and tall for his 19 years, Mitch is a crooner who would not be out of place in any kind of musical programs. His \u201cFly Me to the Moon,\u201d for example, made the ladies and the gays in the audience swoon.<\/p>\n

Mitch was among the young artists featured in the first half of the two-part 2012 edition of \u201cJAZZMOPOLITAN ALL STARS: An Evening of Jazz Collaboration with Filipino American Performers\u201d held in the famous Ford Amphitheater just off the 101 freeway in Hollywood August 25.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The evening event opened with a ukelele performance by Abe Lagrimas, Jr. He is adept with the mini guitar as he is with drums and vibraphone, it is said. He was followed to the stage by Jaclyn Rose, whose singing style also includes funk, soul and Afrobeat. Jaclyn also pitched in her other advocacy, the Rose Movement, a campaign with a goal to keep dreams alive.<\/p>\n

Krystle Tugadi\u2019s interpretation of The Beatle\u2019s \u201cCome Together\u201d displayed her expertise in mixing jazz and pop and r&b of which she is well known of. Ditto with VJ Rosales, an alumni of CSU Long Beach\u2019s Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, who is also versatile in infusing jazz into pop, funk and rhythm & blues. He had his own band consisting of Sean Fitzpatrick, Nicole Vanderpart, Anthony Lopez, Andy Waddell and Dan Kaneyuri.<\/p>\n

The singers did a second round of performances that included the pairing of Mitch and Ms. Tugadi and Abraham and VJ.<\/p>\n

It was already 8:15 p.m. when the second group \u2014 they were tagged the pros \u2014 took over after intermission. Mon David was his impish best with a kind of scat singing that didn\u2019t fail to draw guffaws. Even with serious songs such as \u201cImagine\u201d and \u201cNasaan Ako Naroroon\u201d he managed to modify them in a way that pleased many. His range of voice and wit made easy work of songs even as he sometimes randomly inserted words of his own that created havoc on the lyrics. A graduate of the UP College of Music, Mon won the London International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2006.<\/p>\n

Obviously Mon\u2019s favorite musical partner for the evening was Michael Paulo, a most amazing saxophonist if ever I had seen or heard one. He moved, joked and performed with such a finesse that betrays international quality. Michael grew up in a musical family (his Filipino father is a pianist, his Japanese mother a singer and his siblings all play instruments). He owns the Apaulo Music Productions that produces and manages entertainment events. He was assisted by his band consisting of Kimo Cornwell, Dave Inamine, Sergio Gonzalez and Fred Schreuders.<\/p>\n

Also a whiz with the saxophone is Ner De Leon. I had seen De Leon\u2019s first performances many years ago and glad that he had maintained the edge that never disappoints. He is a graduate of the Berkeley College of Music.<\/p>\n

Becca Godinez is the accomplished performer who had done the full gamut of entertainment genres (television, film, theater, music and performance). More than jazz, however, Christian music is closest to her heart. I think. Her ability to speak, write and sing in several languages has contributed to her crossover appeal. She rendered a couple of Portuguese songs during the event.<\/p>\n

Hailed as Queen of Philippine Jazz is Louie Reyes and so, do we need to say more? She used to be with the popular New Minstrels and is reportedly conducting voice lessons for \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d wannabes.<\/p>\n

Then there was Alma Silos, a veteran singer who is celebrating a return to live performance. And, not the least, Eduardo \u201cTateng\u201d Katindig, Jr. of the keyboard fame. Tateng had been in the U.S. since 2000 and had played with many great artists. A much applauded number was a medley by Alma, Becca and Louie. Then Louie and Michael and Tateng also did a number together.<\/p>\n

\u201cJAZZMOPOLITAN\u201d ALL STARS\u201d was presented by PAE Live! The Saturday event was the conclusion of the yearly jazz presentation that began in 2010. Producers were Ted I. Benito and Rex A. Sampaga. The latter also directed. The show was hosted by Giselle Tongi.<\/p>\n

A portion of the show\u2019s proceeds will be donated to the ABS-CBN Foundation International\u2019s \u201cBantay Bata\u201d welfare program, it was said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words and photos by Dionesio C. Grava First posted in  pinoywatchdog.com For a while those Anglo features fooled me. But Mitch Franco has a Filipina mother, the former recording artist Gemma Franco, and that makes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":3189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,25,16,19,17],"tags":[84,101],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6599"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12010,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6599\/revisions\/12010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patnubay.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}