Monday December 29, 2008 Playlist

Today on my show I highlighted some great Filipino jazz artists because I am still jazzed about the 4th Annual Fil-Am Jazz Festival that I attended on Saturday. It was such a good time but you can read more details in my previous blog post.

I am so happy that Bobby Enriquez was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award because he is one of my favorite jazz piano players! Besides "Spain" I played the little ditty that was the theme song from the old Nescafe Instant Coffee commercials. I used to like the song on the commercial even so hearing Bobby play it makes it that much better!

There is so much good jazz in the world and not enough time to play/hear them all. Searching out these CDs is fun for me but there is nothing like the magic of live music though.

Charmaine, Mon and Tateng play locally so if you keep your eye out you may find them at a club near you.

Keep jazz alive by listening to jazz, buying jazz CDs, and listening to jazz on KUCI 88.9 FM of course! Check out the program schedule at kuci.org and you will find some more jazz shows and a lot of other good listening.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year and thanks for listening. Jazz on!


4:00 AM

- Skylark. Mon David - My One And Only Love
- Spain. Bobby Enriquez - The Prodigious Piano Of Bobby Enriquez
- Nescafe Theme. Bobby Enriquez - In The City

- My Romance. Charmaine Clamor - Searching For The Soul
- For You. Ben Luis Collective - Serenade The Night
- Like Someone In Love. Tateng Katindig - Jaawe Lang

- My One And Only Love. Phillip Manuel - A Time For Love
- Sushi. Oscar Peterson - Oscar In Paris

- Todo Mundo Junto. Escola de Samba Mocidade - Fantastica Batucada


5:00 AM

- Resurgence. Carlos Garnett - Resurgence
- Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Karrin Allyson - Sweet Home Cookin'
- Harlem River Drive. Bobbi Humphrey - Jazz Superhits of the 70's and 80's

- Peace Belongs Everywhere. IBO - I Carry No Stick
- Beacon Call. Johnny Allgre - Eastern Skies
- Early Morn. Tots Tolentino - Color Real
- A New Day (Bossa Version). Parliament Syndicate - A New Day

- Lotus. Laszlo Gardony - Breakout

- Black Metropolis. Malachi Thompson - Delmark: 55 Years Of Jazz *

* New CD from KUCI Library

Sunday December 28, 2008, Fil-Am JazzFest

As I mentioned previously I was going to attend the 4th Annual Fil-AM Jazz Festival at The Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood this past Saturday. It was great!

What is the Fil-Am Jazz Festival you may ask. This is a one-night event that has been held for the past 4 years that features talented Filipino-American jazz artists. It was put on by The Jazz Society of the Philippines, USA (jazzPhil-USA) and presented by ABS-CBN, a Philippine broadcasting corporation.

Carlos Zialcita was the Master Of Ceremonies for the evening. He is the San Francisco American Jazz Festival Producer/Executive Director and a great harmonica player in his own right.

Along with a standard jazz trio of bass, drums and piano (that was used for the remainder of the festival sets) Bay Area denizen Bo Razon opened the festival playing conga and bongo drums but he is a multi-instrumentalist and composer too. Bo has a Cuban/Filipino connection and Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" and Dizzy's "Night In Tunisia "set the tone for the entire evening with his strong Latin percussion skills. This was going to be an exciting evening of jazz!

Next up was the world-class Filipino jazz singer Mon David (winner of the 2006 London International Vocal Jazz competition) who kicked off his set with Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and ended with Abbey Lincoln's "Throw It Away" which included some Tagalog lyrics! I don't speak Tagalog so I can't tell you what he sang but it was a beautiful song. Mon's 3 song set also gave us a taste of his scatting finesse and his fine guitar playing besides his obvious vocal talent.

Tateng Katindig took the stage next and captivated the audience with his mastery of the piano and in his 3 song set played the ballad "My One And Only Love" in a touching tribute to his wife. When you hear him play you know why he is known as the "Filipino Oscar Peterson"! It's too bad he didn't have any CDs for sale in the lobby but I am fortunate to have the "Jaawe Lang" CD to listen to when I need a "Tateng" fix.

Then it was Charmaine Clamor's (the inventor of "jazzipino") turn to wow the audience and wow she did! The beautiful and talented singer started with "Harana Sa Dilim", a song from her latest CD "My Harana" and also sang the jazzipino "My Funny Brown Pinay", which is an interpolation of the jazz standard "My Funny Valentine". "Pinay" is a term for a Filipino woman and this song instills pride in being a Filipina. An amazing singer and I'm not alone in that opinion based on this quote from Charmaine's Bio: Charmaine Clamor is America's leading Filipina jazz and world vocalist, achieving the rare feat of making the Top-5 on both JazzWeek's World (#2 ranking) and Traditional Jazz (#4) radio charts simultaneously.

Jon Irabagon followed Charmaine's performance with an outstanding set of alto-saxophone wizardry! Jon is 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. I loved Wayne Shorter's "Charcoal Blues" and Jon blew us all away with his solo on Billy Eckstine's ballad "I Just Want To Talk About You"!

Emcee Carlos Zialcita, on behalf of The Jazz Society of the Philippines, USA (jazzPhil-USA) then presented one of my favorite jazz piano players, the late Bobby Enriquez with a 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Eddie Coligado accepted the award for the Enriquez Family and played a special number (Malaguena) in honor of Bobby.

The last artist of the evening was The Ben Luis Collective from the Bay area. Bassist Ben Luis' set included a song from his upcoming CD that was inspired by Ben's recent trip to New Orleans where he saw firsthand the devastation that still exists after Hurricane Katrina. My favorite song was Luis' composition "For You" that included Carlos Zialcita (he's the Emcee, remember?) on harmonica. Great song!

Then the night was over all too soon. Everyone came out for one last song "Auld Lang Syne" and then it was time to buy CDs and meet the artists. The access to the artists was great! I got pictures and autographs and actually spent time talking with some of the artists after the show.
In a larger venue it is impossible for the normal guest to get this level of access.

The only complaint I had all night was one that only Father Time could resolve: the fact that there was so little time for each of the artists to share their music with us. Three songs each just barely touched the surface of the musical talent in the house and teased us just enough to make us want to go buy a CD from every artist. I could have stayed all night and I have no doubt that I would have been joined by the entire room!

All-in-all it was a great night of jazz and the fact that the artists were Filipino is important but takes a back seat to the fact that they were all talented musicians and in the end, jazz is jazz no matter who plays it.

The talent, the jazz, the venue, the friendliness, the camaraderie, and the love and support from the audience made this a night to remember.

Good jazz comes from around the world and Filipinos can play jazz with the best of them as was evident at this jazz festival.

I saw cameras recording the event so I hope they make this into a DVD at some point but even so I look forward to attending the 5th Annual Fil-Am Jazz Festival next year in 2009. Maybe I'll see you there!

Support live jazz and the venues that host live jazz. Jazz on!

http://www.jazzphil-usa.com/
http://www.catalinajazzclub.com/

Monday December 22, 2008 Playlist

As promised my show was a two hour extravaganza of Christmas Music! Except for the Brazilian Batucada of course. My favorite Christmas CD has got to be "Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night". This CD is so good and filled with Christmas songs done Latin-style, I play it all year 'round! I think my three favorite Christmas songs are The Christmas Waltz, I'll Home For Christmas, and The Christmas Song. These are classics and at the top of my list.

The holidays are a time of joy and celebration and music is a part of all holiday celebrations no matter if you celebrate Christmas or another special day. I hope you heard some songs during this show that are now your new favorites.

Happy Holidays!


4:00 AM

- What Child Is This. Oscar Peterson - An Oscar Peterson Christmas
- Silent Night. Nancy Wilson and Kimiko Itoh - Jazzy Wonderland (Various)
- Little Drummer Boy. Cassandra Wilson - Jazz To The World (Various)
- Some Children See Him. Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. - Jazzy Wonderland (Various)
- Baby It's Cold Outside. Dianne Reeves and Lou Rawls - Jazz To The World (Various)

- Les Anges Dans Nos Compagnes (Angels we have Heard On High). Papa Wemba and Mino Cinelu - World Christmas (Various)
- Christmas Waltz. Oscar Peterson - An Oscar Peterson Christmas
- No More Blue Christmas'. Natalie Cole - No More Blue Christmas' (Single)

- This Time Of Year. Etta James - 12 Songs Of Christmas
- This Christmas. Yutaka Yokokura - A GRP Christmas Collection (Various)
- Sai Da Frente. Escola de Samba Mocidade - Fantastico Batucada


5:00 AM

- O Holy Night. Martin Nievera - A Martin Nievera Christmas
- White Christmas. Ray Brown Trio - Christmas Songs With The Ray Brown Trio
- 'Twas The Night. Take 6 - He Is Christmas

- Winter Wonderland. Larry Carlton - Christmas At My House
- Jingle Bells. Ed Calle - Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night

- The Christmas Song. Dianne Reeves - Christmas Time Is Here
- Santa Baby. Sheila E. - Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night
- Feliz Navidad. Pete Escovedo and Ray Obiedo - Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night
- Navidad. Gypsy Kings - World Christmas (Various)
- I'll Be Home For Christmas. Herbie Hancock and Eliane Elias - Jazz To The World (Various)

- Rapido. Portinho - Batucada, The Sound Of The Favelas

Monday December 15, 2008 Playlist

The end of 2008 is fast approaching and the holiday season is upon us. Lots to do, people to see and food to eat. Live jazz is of course in the lineup. I played a nice set from The N.Y. Voices since I went to hear them on the weekend. They put on a great show and I ended buying their new CD "A Day Like This". They all autographed the CD for me and it is a valuable addition to my collection!

I also played a couple of sets of Christmas music as a prelude to next week when my show will be all Christmas music with a bit of batucada thrown in for good measure. I promise it won't be boring elevator Christmas music. It'll be fun and it will help to get you in the holiday spirit.

I'll be at the 4th Annual Fil-Am (Filipino-American) JazzFest at The Catalina Bar and Grill Jazz Club in Hollywood on the 27th. There will be some great jazz that night with Tateng Katindig, Charmaine Clamor (the creator of "jazzipino") and Mon David among other amazing Filipino musicians! I will be playing some of their music on future shows and I'm sure you will enjoy them.

Tell your friends and family to listen if you like the show and check out the other shows on kuci.org. Support live jazz and keep listening. Jazz on!

4:00 AM

- Here's That Rainy Day. Cedar Walton - Da Vida Bella: A Devotion To Jazz (Various)
- Love Makes The Changes. Freddy Cole - Le Grand Freddy
- Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. Mal Waldron - Jazz And Romance (Various)

- Stoned Soul Picnic. N.Y. Voices - A Day Like This
- Oh, Lady Be Good. N.Y. Voices - Collection (Compilation)
- The World Keeps You Waiting. N.Y. Voices - A Day Like This

- Route 66. Ann Hampton Callaway - N-Coded Music Presents Vol5: Vocal Jazz (Various)
- Summerplay. Freddie Ravel - Freddie Ravel
- Never Said (Chan's Song). Dianne Reeves - Blue Note 50th Anniversary Collection Vol.5

- Only Trust Your Heart. Atsuko Hashimoto - Introducing Atsuko Hashimoto
- Ozonio. Jadir de Castro and Dom Um - Batucada The Sound Of The Favelas

5:00 AM

- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Take 6 - He Is Christmas
- Sleigh Ride. Eddie Daniels - A GRP Christmas Collection (Various)
- The Christmas Song. Nancy Wilson - A Nancy Wilson Christmas

- Winter Wonderland. Etta James - 12 Songs Of Christmas
- Poets + Angels. Ottmar Liebert - Poets and Angels
- Silent Night. Carribean Jazz Project - Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night

- Pra Tocar Pandeiro. Katia Moraes and Sambaguru - Ginga
- Samba De Flora. Airto - Rainforest Cafe: Rhythms Of The Tropics
- Encontro. Art Popular - Pagode Brasil 2 (Various)
- Red Top. Jimmy Mcgriff/Hank Crawford - The Best Of Organ Trio Jazz (Various)

- Doctor Jazz. George Lewis - Delmark 55 Years Of Jazz *

* New CD from KUCI Library

Monday December 8, 2008 Playlist

Well Christmas is just around the corner so I played a couple of Christmas songs to get you in the mood. I'll play more Christmas Jazz in the coming weeks and look for my December 22nd show to be almost all Christmas music! Don't worry! No plain, traditional Christmas music but Jazzified, Bossafied, Salsafied, Bluesafied, Sambafied Christmas music!

I was fortunate enough to be able to see Diana Ross at The O.C. Performing Arts Center last night. I've always wanted to see her and I wasn't disappointed! She has always been such a amazing singer and the audience was very appreciative last night. So many great songs in her wonderful career. She had a bass, drums, guitar, piano, percussionist and two backup singers. She still looks (4 costume changes!) and sounds great!

This weekend I am going to see The N.Y. Voices at The Jazz Club at The O.C. Performing Arts Center for their Christmas show. The Jazz Club is a very nice venue (The Samueli Theater) to see and hear live music.

Thanks for listening and until next week - jazz on!

4:00 AM

- Memories Of You. Dick Hyman - Da Vida Bella: A Devotion To Jazz (Various)
- Cinema Paradiso. Regina Carter - Paginini: After A Dream
- Choro Tìpico. Toquinho and Paulinho Nogueira - Acoustic Guitar

- Every Day I Have The Blues. Count Basie (w/Joe Williams) - Playboy's 40th Anniverary: 4 Decades Of Jazz (Compilation)
- Skin Deep. Duke Ellington - Uptown
- I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart. Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz - Diz and Getz

- The Christmas Song. The Manhatten Transfer (w/Tony Bennett) - The Chrismas Album
- Have Yourself A Merry Christmas. Grover Washington Jr. - Breath Of Heaven
- Tradewinds. Ritchie Cole - Ritchie Cole

5:00 AM

- Too Damn Hot. Dr. Lonie Smith - Too Damn Hot
- The Way You Look Tonight. Gerry Wiggins and Friends - Celebrating Wig's 80th At The Jazz Bakery

- It's Over. Chris Beard - Born To Play The Blues
- On Broadway. Tito Puente - Party At Puente's Place

- Bellarosa. Clifford Brown - Memorial Album
- Love For Sale. The Turtle Island String Quartet - On The Town
- Giant Steps. N.Y. Voices - Collection (Compilation)
- Gotcha (The Theme From Starsky And Hutch). Hubert Laws - Contemporary Jazz Masters Sampler (Various)
- The Honeydripper. Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train

- It's Crazy. Francine Griffin - Delmark: 55 Years Of Jazz *


* New CD from KUCI Library

Monday December 1, 2008 Playlist

I hope you ate a lot of nice Thanksgiving food last week. It's hard to get going after having four days off but it's the start of another week and I hope the songs I played made Monday morning a little bit easier to contend with. It always seem to be a little harder to be enthused on Mondays mornings when you know you have a full week of work ahead of you, especially after a long weekend. Some good music in the morning makes it all a little easier. Though I did have to play a blues set to help me cope.

Christmas is fast approaching so I will be playing some Christmas music in the coming weeks. Don't worry! It won't be like the songs that every radio station, store and elevator will be playing. This is The World Of Jazz after all.

See you next week!


4:00 AM

- Night Mist Blues. Gerry Wiggins - Live At Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 8
- My Funny Valentine. Sarah Vaughn - The Devine One
- Dansez Sur Moi (Girl Talk). Dee Dee Bridgewater - J'ai Deux Amours

- La Belle Vie. Dee Dee Bridgewater - J'ai Deux Amours
- The Blues Machine. Sammy Nestico - This Is The Moment
- Cante Minero. Carlos Montoya - The Art Of Flamenco
- Journey. Nova Menco - Gypsy Fusion

- Entre Dos Montanas. Ruben Romero and Wayne Wesley Johnson - Flamenco Festival
-Redimar. Jadir de Castro and Dom Um - Batucada: The Sound Of The Favelas


5:00 AM

- Kindness Of Strangers. Terra Sul - Kindness Of Strangers
- El Acalde/The Mayor. Cachao - Master Sessions, Vol 1
- La Costa. Franscisco Aguabella - Cubacan

- The Thrill Is Gone. B.B. King - The Greatest Blues Of All Time (Various)
- Tantalizing With The Blues. John Lee Hooker - The Greatest Blues Of All Time (Various)
- Say What!. Stevie Ray Vaughn - Soul To Soul

- On Green Dolphin Street. Joe Pass - The Best Of Joe Pass
- Impressions. Pat Martino - Timeless
- Going Out Of My Head. Wes Montgomery - Finest Hour (Compilation)

- Equinox. Curtis Fuller - Delmark: 55 Years Of Jazz *

* New CD from KUCI Library