If It's Too Good, Then It Must Be

The 3rd Bacolod Jazz Festival, L'Fisher Chalet Roofdeck, February 18, 2012

It's called the saturation point - that certain point when an input no longer has an obvious effect on the subject. For instance, one can only dilute so much sugar to reach a certain sweetness, after which it can no longer increase the level of sweetness. Say, sweeter than sweet is a misnomer, much like bluer than blue.

How much can an average pair of ears really take in before everything dissolves into a mishmash and is dismissed as meaningless bleeps and blurts of noise?

At first glance, the line up on paper was too good to be true: West Negros University Jazz Band, Akasha, Johnny Alegre and Absolute Zero, Kiss the Bride, Abe Lagrimas Jr., Johaness Radianto, Hard Hat Area, and performances from solo artists such as Mar Dizon, and Henry Katindig in one evening. February 18th, 2012 - the 3rd Bacolod Jazz Festival, turns to be the evening where every serious fan from various points of origin discovers how big an event can be. 

It sounds too good to be true.

West Negros University Jazz Band under the leadership of Michael John Tambasen opened the festival at sundown, without any jitters and in full bravura. The members are all under band scholarship and ironically, none of them are music majors.  Technically, the WNUJB is a civic military parade band, and its recent evolution into jazz has got to be one of the best things to witness. Tambasen Is a veteran of the cruise ship circuit, and has more than served as inspiration for the college students.  Three guitar players and three vocalists all take turns in a set that surprised and impressed the crowd, covering the fusion of Luc Ponty and Metheny to the juggernaut big band sound of Henry Mancini. These are kids, all below 25, playing music written before they were even born. While others are busy perfecting guitar spins and piercing their bodies, these students are immersing themselves on Zawinul and Pastorius. (click here for a separate article of WNUJB)

Johnny Alegre's Absolute Zero featuring Mia Tengco on vocals followed, with a set list that highlighted the rock side of the blues. Playing fluid and confident, Alegre led the musical trek wielding his lone axe of choice, a Stratocaster.  A meaty cover of Joni Mitchell's Help Me with an introspective take on The Nearness of You on the same set surely gave a preview of how wide the palette would be at that evening. Anchored by bass  wunderkind Yuna Reguera and drummer Paolo Manuel, Alegre plays over with harmonies and solos on a tastefully overdriven tone with just a tad of delay for space.

Abe Lagrimas, Jr. and Johannes Radianto were up next, with Mar Dizon (drums), Henry Katindig (keyboards), and Dave Harder (bass).  It was one of those great dream teams in jazz, boasting of internationally acclaimed artists. Lagrimas on ukelele and drums is a Filipino multi-instrumentalist based in the US, while guitarist Radianto hails from Indonesia. The interplay was a crash course on taste and technique: Lagrimas' ukele at  times sounding like a gut string, even approaching proximity with Earl Klugh's touch and tone while Radianto on solid body jazz guitar boasts of precision and Berklee approved complexity. The dizzying bebop lines were complemented by the band's dynamics. Think of it like being run down by a bull and you stand up smiling asking "That was great. What was that?". And speaking of dynamics, Lagrimas'  tribute to the late king of Pop, a solo take on Michael Jackson's Human Nature moved with so much groove that it was impossible not to be moved. 

The third band is no stranger to the City of Smiles, as they have promoted their album, Stories (click here for the album review) the previous year (which I sorely missed). Kiss the Bride is another team worthy to be jazz' dream team as it is a roster of Philippine Jazz' best.  Mike Guevara filled in for saxophonist Vince Lahorra, and as KTB played their originals, it was obviously a notch above the studio takes. With keyboardist Tony Razon's written material, solos were long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to highlight the interesting parts. Bacolod's own Kingsley De Los Santos (bass), Uly Avante (percussions), Cecile Santiago Rodgers (keyboards) and Otep Concepcion (drums) provide the backdrop, while Joey Puyat (guitars), Razon and Guevara converse.

Minutes away from midnight and it is clear - this is too good, but again, it is happening. It is another jazz experience that defies, and much more is expected with one more band to go.

Enter Hard Hat Area. Much anticipated (for reasons musical and otherwise), the group never disappoints. The Guevara- led horn section lays down sick spurts in bursts of staccato, while Bea Lao (drums) and again, Reguera (bass) provide a rock solid backbone - literally. Nikki Cabardo supplies the vintage grease oozing with Rhodes and B3 patches. Their arrangements sound like a renegade runaway brass band, at times touching the beautifully absurd and twisted world of RASP (Radioactive Sago Project).  One moment, it is a (mis)match of Coldplay and Tower of Power, and at a wink morphs into a grandiose orchestra.  Human Nature gets its second reading for the night, this time, the Hard Hat Way.

It is early morning and The 3rd Bacolod Jazz Festival again filled aural cravings, and undoubtedly, converted even the agnostics to the gospel according to jazz and its power that were.

For one, it was a rare ladies' night. Not the Kool and the Gang classic, but literally, the ladies of jazz have arrived. Where the past two festivals were graced by the beauties and voices of Kat Agarrado and Mishka Adams, that night the ladies took the stage, donning instruments. Lucy Santibañez of the WNJB on violin, Yuna Reguerra on bass with Absolute Zero and Hard Hat Area, Bea Lao on drums with the Hard Hat Area, Cecille Santiago Rodgers on keyboards with Kiss the Bride, and even a surprise appearance from Bacolod-based Louise Joachimowski on keyboards and vocals, all swinging a full turn from the singing duties. The ladies added their unique voices to the rich sonic tapestries of their respective bands.

Saxophonist Raul Banzon hosted the evening, as he had since the festival's inception.   Donning his horn, he calls for the jam. From the crowd rose Louise Joachimowski , who joined Banzon  on solo keyboards and vocals, a perfect cooling down as she channels singer/songwriters in the vein of Tori Amos . Banzon obliges with an elegant outro solo on soprano sax. WNUJB returns on stage, with a reprise of Luc Ponty's Rhythms of Hope and Metheny's Have You Heard. While young guitarist Gelo De Oro wallows in the zone, seeing the masters simply enjoying downstage was priceless. Some were closing their eyes, intently appreciating and giving respect to what the kids had to offer. Sans egos, age, bands, bull, and as they would say - It's all about the music, mon.  Now, this, is really good. 

 

Tiano BM 2012

Blogger's Note: Much thanks to the Bob Coscolluela and the Jazz Society of Negros, PIJazz for the event. Photos by Bob Coscolluela and Jojo Montinola.