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Concert History (2002-2005)

January 31, 2006

2002, October 20
The "Adobo Jazz" Album Launch

2002, November 23
San Mig Pub Jazz Night

2002, December 7
Greenbelt Blues & Jazz Festival

2003, June 21
Fete de la Musique 2003

2003, March 20
Eurotiles Dixie Night At Federal

2003, November 28
"Jazz In Time" Concert & TV Special (U.P. Theatre)

2004, April 3
Acoustic Nights At The Corte de las Palmas

2004, December 13
Philippine Association Of The Recpording Industry Advocacy Concert Series

2004, June 10
2nd Manila Jazz Festival (Jewelmer/Air-France)

2004, June 19
Fete de la Musique 2004

2004, May 21
1st Makati Jazz Festival

2004, October 17
2004 Candid Jazz International Festival (Manila)

2005, April 2005
Wednesday Jazz Night At The Ayala Museum

2005, May 8
Johnny Alegre AFFINITY & Oranyan Coltrane (back-to-back): 19 East Bar

2005, June 18
Fete de la Musique 2005

2005, June 24
Crossover Live Party (Eastwood City Walk)

2005, June 25 & July 2
"Affinity: Manila's Jazz Superband" Concert (Alabang Town Center)

2005, June 3
3rd Manila Jazz Festival (Jewelmer/Air-France)

2005, March 19
Soft Launch at The Grand Atrium (Shangri-La Plaza)

2005, May 14
2005 RJ Guitar Festival

2005, September 23 & 24
Candid Jazz Festival Week (PizzaExpress Club, London)

2005, October 5
2005 Candid Jazz International Festival (Manila)

2005, November 12
La Mesa Dam Wellness Festival

2005, November 6
2005 Audiophile Hi-Fi Show

2005, December 12
Philippine Association Of The Recording Industry Advocacy Concert Series

2006, January 21-23
1st Philippine International Jazz Festival (Harbour View, Manila)

Posted by affinity at 12:27 pm | permalink | comments[6]

Liner Notes from the UK Edition of AFFINITY’s album, “Jazzhound”

The Philippines is not automatically thought of as being a hotbed of jazz –young or old. Indeed one cannot think of any Filipino artist (with the possible exception of pianist Bobby Enriquez) who has enjoyed the benefit of exposure in the West. That there is a jazz scene at all in Manila might surprise more than a few. The fact is however, that due to the long political and cultural association between the Philippines and the USA, many musicians have studied in the US jazz colleges such as the University of Texas, University of California and Berklee and there has long been an interaction between visiting American and native Filipino musicians and singers.

Johnny Alegre’s AFFINITY is described as “high energy interaction”, “jazz on the fringe of danger”, and “Manila’s jazz superband” and a growing pool of ardent listeners are eager to follow the latest tales of this sonically and visually engaging jazz group. The Manila superband began as an ensemble that gathered in the city’s Pink Noise Studios to perform guitarist Johnny Alegre’s composition, “Stones of Intramuros”, in early May of 2002. The opus was a blend of musical, technical and communal creativity between the composer and his allies, bassist Colby de la Calzada, drummer Koko Bermejo, pianist Elhmir Saison and saxophonist Tots Tolentino.

Guitarist/leader John Alegre himself had studied at the University of the Philippines College of Music and was a founding member of the UP Jazz Ensemble. He brings to AFFINITY more than twenty years of experience, having participated in countless live bands and record sessions. Messrs. Bermejo, de la Calzada and Saison are also all seasoned professionals with innumerable appearances and recording credits to their names whilst saxophonist Tots Tolentino is at the very summit of the Asia-Pacific pantheon of jazz players. Tolentino has progressed through his days at Berklee to collaborations with Japan’s Terumasa Hino and Hongkong’s Eugene Pao among others.

Since its inception, AFFINITY’s activities have been ongoing; and on the live front, Alegre, de la Calzada and Bermejo have brought AFFINITY to the forefront of Manila’s live jazz scene. Their gigs span Manila’s high profile club and concert venues in modular formats: as an atmospheric guitar trio, as a hard-hitting quartet with Saison; and as the quintet par excellence with Tolentino and the hard-bop bassist, Simon Tan. The group’s prodigious concert activities include the annual French Spring event, the Fete de la Musique, the Jewelmer Jazz Festival and the Candid Records International Jazz Festival. They drew raves for their stellar performance in the Upsilon Jazz Concert XII at the University of the Philippines Theatre, which was aired on national television over RPN-9. Many of the group’s club dates are enhanced with appearances by the blues vocalist extraordinaire Cooky Chua and the young chanteuse Mishka Adams.

The groovy guitar/saxophone unison line in East Indies kicks off this engaging CD, leading into lyrical and forceful blowing by the internationally renowned sax master Tots Tolentino and featuring in turn the smooth and sensuous guitar of the leader and flowing lines of pianist Elhmir Saison. The empathy these musicians enjoy is evident throughout the set and in particular in the super relaxed interplay on Wind and Water. With the exception of Groove by bassist de la Calzada, all the compositions are by Johnny Alegre and feature the same satisfying mix of unison themes and standout solo statements by the participants.

This rare international release by Filipino artists gives the rest of the world a fascinating insight into what is a rapidly burgeoning Manila jazz scene.

Alan Bates
London,
September 2005

Posted by affinity at 12:22 pm | permalink | comments[12]

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Profile

Guitarist-composer Johnny Alegre, jazz journeyman and recording artist from the Philippines. His pioneering projects are contributing progressively towards bringing an emergent Southeast Asian milieu to the attention of musical audiences local and foreign; defying barriers of genre, demographics and cultural stereotypes. Alegre’s involvement in the Philippine scene encompasses scores of bands and recording projects, spanning more than three decades of history and discography in seminal “pinoy rock”, his early sorties into his country’s popular OPM (Original Pilipino Music) genre, and his an epiphany in modern jazz. In various capacities as composer-arranger, record producer and performing musician, his protean roles have been none short of groundbreaking.

In 2002, Johnny Alegre formed what effectively became Manila’s premier jazz collective, the "Johnny Alegre AFFINITY" (with bassist Colby de la Calzada, drummer Koko Bermejo, pianist Elhmir Saison and saxophonist Tots Tolentino as co-founding members), which initiated a series of musical chairs that continue until the present. His performances with AFFINITY spanned the breadth of Manila’s high profile clubs and concert venues in modular formats of trios, quartets and quintets. Their first recorded work, “Stones Of Intramuros”, written by Alegre, was included in a limited edition Philippine jazz anthology CD, Adobo Jazz Vol.1, that caught the attention of the London-based jazz specialty label, Candid Records.

Subsequently, the eponymous first album, “Johnny Alegre AFFINITY” was released in the Philippines in mid-2005, described by the local press as “a blend of musical, technical and communal creativity between the composer and his allies”. The opus was subsequently re-released in the U.K. as “Jazzhound”, with notices in British jazz publications, and capped by two sold-out engagements (with guest saxophonist, Dimitri Vassilakis) in London’s PizzaExpress Jazz Club. In 2008, Alegre unfolded “Eastern Skies”, an album set to the framework of an orchestral backdrop by the Global Studio Orchestra (conducted by Gerard Salonga, as arranged by Ria Villena-Osorio). It was his response to the clamor for even more innovative music from “Manila’s jazz superband”. Alegre’s introduction to a mainstream American jazz audience in Hollywood’s Catalina Bar in December 2007 earned him a favorable notice in the Los Angeles Times, particularly some kind words from journalist Don Heckman and the music historian Ashley Kahn.

In pursuit of these encouragements, 2009 is the year of “3”, Alegre’s third outing: a U.S. trio recording of the guitarist-composer joined by Billy Hart (drums) and Ron McClure (bass). “3” is his follow through to what promises to be a new global breakthrough effort for the Philippine jazz artist. This third release also marks his migration to his new home and record label, MCA MUSIC (Philippines) of the Universal Music Group.

Johnny Alegre is presently at work with HUMANFOLK, a suite of recordings and the subsequent concept band he undertook with the New York based avant-garde percussionist and indigenous music advocate, Susie Ibarra, together with her husband, drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez, and with innovative Philippine-based musical artists and collaborators, singer-composer Cynthia Alexander and the sound designer, Malek Lopez.

Juan Bautista H. Alegre (III) attended the University of the Philippines College of Music in the latter 1970s, studied composition and was a founding member of the U.P. Jazz Ensemble. Under the tutelage of jazz educator Dr. Joseph Howard and pianist Fred Robles, he further participated in creative workshops conducted by visiting professors such as musicologist-composer Dr. Erhard Karkoschka from the Stuttgart Musikschule, British guitarist Ike Isaacs and composer-scholar Chou Wen-chung from Columbia University. This is an exciting time for those to hear the musical stories of Johnny Alegre, who had emerged as a compleat musician and exponent of a distinctive and very personal musical statement that is both Philippine, Asian and Global.