FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ. Tokyo-Manila Jazz and Arts Festival band performs during the concert that concludes the two-day event held in Cagayan de Oro City from January 21 to 22, 2019. Supplied photo. 

By Angelo Lorenzo

“Life is a beautiful thing if I hold the string,” sang Jazz singer and artist Charito in one segment during the concert at the Lourdes College Auditorium on Tuesday evening (January 22).

The Filipino musician jammed with jazz pianist Yuki Arimasa, cellist Kengo Nakamura, saxophonist Michael Guevarra, and drummer Karlo Soriano as the band culminated the first part of their annual Tokyo-Manila Jazz and Arts Festival which they held in Cagayan de Oro City.

The lyrics of her song, a piece which was one of the evening’s main highlights, resonated optimism which only music can bring to people from all walks of life.

The concert amplified this message as it presented a variety of performances by aspiring and established musicians that joined the two-day workshop and were trained by the TMJAF band.

The festival, which was introduced to CDO by the Japan Foundation - Manila (Japan’s international agency based in the Philippines for intercultural exchange and education) opened at the Xavier University Little Theater the day before the concert. This was followed by a series of workshops held at venues within the university and at Lourdes College. It concluded with the concert where talents that had been honed during the workshops heightened the glee of those who witnessed it.

With jazz beating the heart of the festival, the mentors taught that this music genre can be heard by the collaboration and improvisation of keys, strings, drums, pipes, and voice.

Unlike rehearsed hymns, jazz relishes in spontaneity which made the concert, a rare kind for such genre in CDO. It was a momentous occasion that defied expectations.

BEST FEELING. Jazz pianist Yuki Arimasa (left) says that music gives the best feeling. As a genre, jazz music provides this sense to listeners and music players. To Arimasa's left right is saxophonist Michael Guevarra. Supplied photo.

Improvisation is key

“Improvisation is not just chaos,” saxophonist Michael Guevarra explained before performing a rendition of Miles Davis’ “So What” with the musicians he trained. “There is organization also.”

Besides the song performances, each musician playing an instrument was given a solo turn accompanied by the vibrating rhythm of Nakamura’s cello and the steady beating of the drummer. Songs and musical pieces streamed from one title to another, and one improvised segment to the next.

Like a recital, the concert consisted of the participants integrating their own style with the strategy that they had been taught.

Nakamura’s “Summertime” piece which the cellist from Japan explicitly defined as a resonance of his desire for a warm climate, streamed with the soulful strings of the guitarists he trained — one of which was a student from Lapasan National High School.

Swaying to the rhythm of Sitti Navarro’s “Para sa Akin,” a chorus of singers trained by Charito sang with soothing vocals which made some of the audience softly sing along.

When the concert reached the segment where another set of singers sang solo, accompanied by Nakamura’s double bass, Soriano’s drums, and Roy Cosin’s keys, the applause erupted following one singer’s version of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.”

But as jazz crescendoed, classical music also claimed its harmony, especially when it preluded the concert with Lourdes College Strings’ rendition of “Allegro” and “Divertimento,” in the orchestration of Ana Marie de la Fuente.

WINDING MUSIC. Saxophonist Michael Guevarra (leftmost) performs with a set of wind instrument players whom he has trained during the two-day festival. Supplied photo.

Best feeling

The concert was meant to celebrate unity which Charito stated when she shared how the festival began. “It began with a dream of mine to bring Filipino and Japanese musicians together.”

Now based in Japan, Charito continues to introduce the genre for the community’s appreciation and to provide an avenue where musicians of the genre can find their place in music.

But underlying this tune is the opportunity for people to complement each other with their abilities just as jazz is composed through spontaneous performances.

“Music bonds us together,” Lourdes College VP for academic affairs Judith Chavez said when she welcomed the guests prior to the concert. This set in tune with Japan Foundation - Manila’s thrust and advocacy to establish diplomatic relations with other countries by spreading ideas and awareness through cultural education and art.

With music as its foundation, TMJAF aims to raise optimism for people. Pianist Yuki Arimasa couldn’t agree more when he said before he performed with the TMJAF band that evening: “Feeling is an important thing in music.”

Under the direction of Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts director Hobart Savior, TMJAF’s concert in CDO was the first among two musical events. The second concert was held in Bacolod City on January 25.∎

WORLD IN STRINGS. Cellist Kengo Nakamura strums his cello along with local guitarists who participated in the workshop. Supplied photo. 

ROOTED IN CLASSIC. Lourdes College Strings, orchestrated by conductor Ana Maria de la Fuente, performs classical pieces as concert preludes. Supplied photo.