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AFFINITY with CANDID RECORDS

February 2, 2006

Candid Records Philippines Corp., the Manila subsidiary of the independent jazz record label based in the UK, announces the addition of the Johnny Alegre AFFINITY to its prestigious roster of jazz artists, with a self-titled first album. The inclusion of the Johnny Alegre AFFINITY establishes Candid Records’ presence in Manila as the premiere jazz record exponent of the country and, perhaps, of the Far East.

Lauded by a Business World feature article as "Manila’s jazz superband", the AFFINITY, featuring alto saxophonist Tots Tolentino, pianist Elhmir Saison, bassist Colby de la Calazada, and drummer Koko Bermejo, is documented in a stellar collaboration. The Candid label originated in New York in the 1960s when Archie Bleyer, owner of the Cadence Label and producer/writer Nat Hentoff, indulged their passion for jazz music with their own jazz line, with recordings by Charles Mingus, Abbey Lincoln, Steve Lacy, Charlie Mariano, Max Roach and other jazz musicians regarded today as legends.

Alan Bates, the CEO of Candid-UK, observes "there is an amazing amount of wonderful talents to be heard far and wide in the jazz world." Candid’s contemporary artists in the UK include Stacey Kent, Jacqui Dankworth, Kyle Eastwood and Jamie Cullum.

Posted by affinity at 5:34 pm | permalink | comments[17]

Some personal tidbits from JA :)

Q. Some insights into your musical origins: How do you describe your style? Is it something you created deliberately, or did it just occur? How did you get started in music? What elements got you interested in the art form called jazz? Who were your mentors? What are your realizations now that you're in the thick of it?

A. This calls for an excerpt straight off of the Johnny A. website. Here goes!

I play improvisational guitar, the style where you deliberately step out of what you usually do, into a state where you discover problems, clues, pathways and new possibilities. I am constantly engaged with artistic issues, regarding time, articulation, the shaping of notes and harmonies and all the growing pains a creative artist must deal with. My childhood home had abundant amounts of vinyl strewn about, and I remember hearing exciting music as far back as I can remember, such as 50s Elvis Sun and RCA Records, Frank Sinatra in his Capitol years, and later being absorbed into the 60s milieu of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Cream and the advent of British Blues, Carlos Santana and Woodstock, and the venerable B.B. King. I also used to go to the Thomas Jefferson Library of the United States Information Service, where I borrowed records by Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. As my listening habits evolved, I discovered Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ella Fitzgerald, Claus Ogerman, Stan Getz, Stevie Wonder, Ravi Shankar, entire institutions of 70s jazz eclecticism like Circle, the early RTF, Weather Report, Lifetime and Mahavishnu, Keith Jarrett, Mwandishi, Headhunters, ECM, and so forth. A very large bag indeed, or so I imagined. But the most influential turning points happened sometime in my freshman year in college, when I "discovered" for myself the albums "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane and "In A Silent Way" by Miles Davis, which permanently changed the way I wanted to learn and play music. I'm constantly involved with all manner of musical searching; but those two main cats are enduring inspirations and guideposts.

Much of my jazz playing today is self-taught which I've learnt, as any language, by assimilation and iteration; by listening to recordings and live performances, being blown away, woodshedding, deriving personal conclusions. I've had the privilege of studying with jazz educators like Dr. Joseph Howard and the late Prof. Fred Robles in the University of the Philippines. There, I also attended workshops with visiting dignitaries such as Stephane Grappelli's guitarist, Ike Isaacs (he's also the guitarist on the original version of "Cry Me A River" by Julie London); as well as the musicologist Erhard Karkoshka from whom I learned the concept of group improvisation, and the composer-scholar Chou Wen-Chung (also the literary executor of the late, great Edgard Varese). And then, I derive a great deal from the gifted musicians in my country whom I work with. For me, each gig on stage and in the recording booth is a lesson that works towards my own growth as an artist. Every note I flub tells me I'm on to something, just as valuable as every inspired note taking me where I want to go. That's the mysticism and liberation of jazz, as profound as it can be.

Posted by affinity at 5:33 pm | permalink | comments[14]

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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.