Destination Unknown

At the time you’re reading this, I’m at the office and
I’m supposed to be working. A bulk of my job involves file transfers, and right
now the absence of internet connection has incapacitated my computer. The air
conditioners are down. The elevators are disabled. I had to climb 23 stories
just to sit idly in front of this computer.

I’m supposed to be annoyed. I’m supposed to whine. I’m
supposed to be cursing at how much of an idiot our country’s power suppliers
are. However, all of these are insignificant. The typhoon that started two days
ago has laid so many aftereffects that my predicaments pale in comparison.

Before I came to this office, I saw trees, columns,
roofs, signposts, and unidentifiable metals all lying in defeat from a stronger
force of nature. I saw animals at the roadside, wet and trembling while looking
for a shelter from the storm.

Before I arrived for work, I turned on the radio to hear
the DJ’s speak on how the typhoon had affected others: “A friend became hysterical when her car got struck four times by
galvanized irons”; “The papaya trees
that I’ve cultivated for years met an unfortunate collapse due to the wind”; “A
friend sent me text messages informing me that a person bearing the same name
as my coworker were found dead in the same place where the coworker lives.” These
were just a few narratives coming from the radio station’s (RX 93.1) avid
listeners.

Instincts tell me that these are just the
un-chilling, euphemized, and censored accounts of the typhoon’s ramifications.
As I sit here on this ergonomics chair, I wonder about the people who would no
longer be able to sit at all, with reasons such as losing the furnitures, losing
the money, or losing the health capabilities. With banks being closed, I wonder
about the families who need to undo all the damage as quickly as possible. With
floods still rendering many places unreachable, I wonder about the townsfolk
working in Manila who need to go back home to help their families. I wonder about the ones whose shelters have been extirpated by this debacle. I wonder not about who has lost everything; I wonder about how many has lost everything.

I’m sure that as of now, I’m joined by many who are also
lost in thought, wondering about the impact bought by the wrath of this menacing
monsoon. But in a few hours from now, many will stop reflecting. Electricity
will come back. Internet connection will be reestablished. Barhoppers will
continue their drinking and partying. Starbucks patrons will reenact their
social-status posturing. Politicians will resume in their politicking, scheming and squabbling.
Governments will use money in covering their own ass instead of donating. Those
who didn’t suffer much will stop caring for those who have suffered. It will be as if nothing has happened. Funny how easily these things become forgotten.

I sigh, for I am thankful that I am still breathing, but
can’t help but worry about those who have lost all hope, and ABOUT the
unwillingness of the many to help out.

You who have read this can, of course, start donating
money; or at least somehow contribute for the society’s welfare. That’s exactly what I’m hoping to achieve in writing this entry. In gratitude
of being left unharmed by the storm, let’s help out those that are not quite as
fortunate.

Because tomorrow, it might have been US who gets carried away by the wind.

It’s a rainy day. Work has been suspended. Power supply is fluctuating. Under normal circumstances, I would be dashing straightway towards my sanctuary - in other words, my home. But since I’m such a idiot for not bringing an umbrella, here I am at the office, updating this stupid blog, waiting for the rain to die down or even somehow mitigate.

Right now, I’m listening to this new album, and thus the purpose of this entry is to give impressions.

Hiromi: Brain

This is my first Hiromi album. I’ve heard many praises for her prior to the purchase; one that stood out the most was from another jazz pianist Marian McPartland, who commended "On a piano competition between the two of us, Hiromi would’ve won." That’s saying quite a lot, when you consider that Marian has made duets with the likes of Bill Evans, Norah Jones, Shirley Horn, and Alice Coltrane.

Hiromi Uehara - her full name - received a full scholarship at Berklee School of Music. She had the opportunity to play with Chick Corea, and Oscar Peterson; and she was under the tutelage of Ahmad Jamal. Yet, it’s not all of these credentials that made me interested in Hiromi. No. What made me notice her was that she is a Japanese. I’ve always been fascinated by Japan culture, but I’ve never had any prior ideas on how a Japanese would perform Jazz, even though I’m very much aware that Japan has a great appreciation to Jazz music, moreso that Philippines and Taiwan.

So how does the album fare? Well, frankly, I’m not done listening to it. I find it hard to get past the first track, which I keep rewinding over and over. The said track, "Kung Fu World Champion" is definitely one of the highlights. If you don’t find it weird that a jazz song have such a wacky name, then surely the psychedelic arrangements will make you leap. In essence, the song is a little bit of Asian, a little bit of Herbie Hancock, amalgamated with a lot of electro-fusion chords and resulting to a very energetic jazz song that would definitely earn Return to Forever’s approval.

[to be continued.]

Just wanted to share this particularly trenchant insight from one of my favorite bloggers. I figured that some of my friends could use this kind of advice.

"So, I’ve found it really helpful to remind myself that life isn’t about
vicariously re-living the same old memories by hanging on to relics of
the past, but creating new memories." -Mikebot

I don’t know how all of this happened. Few weeks ago, I
wrote a review that gives the first Sitti album a low rating. Then last week, I
wrote a comprehensive take on why the second album is better. Suddenly, I got
invited to join the Sitti fan club, and now I’m sucked into its yahoogroups
(the address of which I will not disclose here. Go figure it out yourself.)

Anyway, there’s been quite a discussion about me before I joined,
but since my life has been moving as rapidly as an Oscar Peterson [on steroid] song,
I didn’t bother reading much of it. I joined the group with a pinch of salt,
prepared to take quite a beating from people who believe I gave Sitti quite a
beating – now please calm down, I mean figuratively.

Turns out, the members of the Sitti fan club - who use the
catchy name SittiZens - are quite benign. They gave me quite a warm welcome. And while I’m not sure I’m thrilled at the
idea of receiving tons of emails, in this case I don’t mind at all. Most of
the members are having great times discussing about their admirations toward
Sitti and spreading their love for Bossa Nova. I’m not too involved, but it’s
fun seeing newly converted Bossa Nova crew diffusing the genre. And it’s fun
talking to them too, as they’re a nice and cheerful bunch.

But since I’m now a member of that group, I feel the need to
do the same task of spreading the Bossa Nova love. Although I’ve always
preferred Cool Jazz, Bops, and Swing Jazz, I do in fact have quite a fondness
for Bossa Nova music as well. And I believe that by appreciating Bossa Nova, it
wouldn’t be very hard to be converted into a jazz junkie. So while everyone is
telling stories about Sitti, Astrud, Joao, and Jobim, I present to you my
recommendation. But before that, make sure your eyes are not bleary, because I
will first post a picture.

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"Huh-what? Am I seeing things correctly? Are you
sure you’re not mistaken?"

Those are likely your reactions; but yes, I recommend the
official soundtrack of the cartoon special entitled A Boy Named Charlie
Brown. Now for those of you who have just tuned in, there are two things
that you should know about me: 1. I’ve posted an "impressions" entry
for this album more than half a year ago, back when I still wasn’t writing
about music; and 2. I’m one big Peanuts fanatic, and Snoopy will, hands
down, be my favorite cartoon character, ever. But since this isn’t one big
Peanuts-admiration article, let’s get back to speaking about the contents of
the album.

The album includes performances from a standard-format trio
- a pianist (Vince Guaraldi), a bassist (Monty Budwig), and a drummer/percussionist
(Colin Bailey). While it could’ve been like all other soundtracks, there are
many things that made this album VERY important. For one, Vince Guaraldi wasn’t
very well known, not until he composed the music and performed for this cartoon
special. While the choice of trio may appear insipid, Vince Guaraldi Trio was able to give the Peanuts characters and circumstances their genuine voice, making the songs quite a whimsical and delightful tour de force. During the time when the feature documentary was aired on CBS, it
introduced a lot of kids and adults to jazz. Lastly, it laid the
groundwork for which Snoopy music should sound like: joyous, lighthearted,
sophisticated and fun. For a sample of Snoopy music, go to the  Official Peanuts Website and explore the animated e-card
section (you need to have Flash player installed, blah blah blah).
While you’re at it, send some e-cards to your friends to brighten up their day.

So why am I recommending this to the Bossa Nova crowd? In some songs, the influence of Bossa
Nova is unmistakable. In fact, Pebble Beach sound like something that
would’ve delighted Jobim, and the same goes for Linus and Lucy - a remarkable
musical portrayal of the siblings. The song Linus and Lucy became such a
phenomenon that it became a standard, later covered by the likes of George
Winston. The remaining songs fall more on the territory of cool jazz, yet they’re
equally fun to listen to, especially since they play on such whimsical tunes, and that they give an accurate portrayal to
the Peanuts cast.

And while it may sound like I’m strictly speaking for one esoteric
crowd, the fact is that A Boy Named Charlie Brown is a very easily accessible
album. Whether or not you’re a jazz or bossa nova buff, and whether or not you
like Peanuts, there’s no reason to ignore this album, because it’s got
something to please everyone. And if you’re a Peanuts fanatic, it might
even reveal the kid in you. Score: 5 out of 5.

Let’s derail from the music discussion a little bit.

A while ago, I went out with a group, and we went to Greenbelt to shop (by the way, I got Chick Corea’s "Light as a Feather" and Charles Mingus "Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus" - God, I hate typing that - but this isn’t another one of those music discussion, so let’s leave it at that.)

One of my friends bought a copy of "Book of Answers". Now for those not in the know, book of answers is one faddish book. The purpose of the book is that with it closed, you ask something, then you leaf through a random page and what’s written there [purportedly] answers your question.

Now I totally think it’s junk, but fun. It’s stupid, but it’s stupid fun nonetheless. So anyway, I borrowed the Book of Answers for a short while to ask some questions. While the people around me have asked those typical puberty-ridden questions - they’re teenagers after all - most of what I’ve asked were pretty silly, such as "Am I superman?", "Will I rule the world?", "Will I grow wings some time in the future?", and "Do you think I’m much better looking than most celebrities?"

But the question that I remember most was "Will I ever become insane?"

The book gave me this answer: "You’d be happy when you do."

Ho-kay…

Hello all,

[Please pardon the unrefinement in the syntaxes. I'm a little tired, and am currently listening to some loud music while typing]

I’ve been a little too preoccupied with reviewing stuffs lately, but I have in fact been able to buy 3 new CD’s. One has been already reviewed (see last entry), and while I won’t be reviewing the remaining two (at least not now), let me give you an introduction.

I got The Girl from Ipanema: Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook (can someone tell me how his surname is pronounced? Is it HO-BIM or JOE-BIM?). For the uninformed, Jobim is one of the prime innovators of the Bossa Nova. He is considered by many as the Gershwin of Brazilian music (he’s not limited to Bossa Nova). And he also plays the guitar and the piano - the latter being one of my favorite instruments, EVER! This album pays tribute to some of his best known works by compiling performances of his songs from various artists. Of course, some choices are a no-brainer, such as: Astrud Gilberto, Joao Gilberto, Luis Bonfa, Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz, Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim (so far so typical). What’s more interesting though, is that it even includes interpretation of Jobim’s song by American (and one Canadian) Jazz artists, like: Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Wes Montgomery, Billy Eckstine, Shirley Horn and Oscar Peterson.

Most of the song are a pleasure to listen to. Mind you, some of them do not comprehend Jobim’s intricacies as well as intended, but they play on such a relaxing tunes that most of them are impossible to dislike. The instrumental One Note Samba - performed by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, stands out as one of my favorite tracks. Another one is Astrud Gilberto’s "Agua de Beber" where you can hear Jobim occasionally singing along. But overall, with the exception of the first track which I always skip (guess why), this album contains songs I can listen to over and over again. It’s not perfect, but it nearly is. While I’m not a fan of compilation albums, this one make sense since it has a coherent theme, so everything’s cool. They could really change the cover though. It’s so tacky!

I mentioned Oscar Peterson a while ago, right? He’s the canadian Jazz musician I’m referring to. I wrote few things about him in my Anita O’Day review, an album that features his quartet.

I’m getting mighty irritated. Oscar Peterson has never been my favorite artist. In fairness, he does rank somewhere on the bottom half of my top 10 list, but there are others that I prefer more to him. So how come I keep buying Oscar Peterson’s album? For the record, I already have FOUR! Argh!

But while it may sound like I’m grousing, I in no way regret having purchased Oscar Peterson Trio + One Clark Terry. Why did I end up buying this CD? First of all, because I read rave reviews about it. Second, there’s this Clark Terry, a flugelhornist I’m totally unfamiliar with. Third, I heard that some of the tracks are really funny. And lastly, the packaging is fantabulous - by far the best I’ve ever seen (too bad I don’t have the means to picture the liner notes and stuff)!

This CD is what I’m currently listening to while typing. Most of the songs are instrumental. I said most, because surprisingly you’d be hearing Clark Terry sing, and he made some damn hysterical performances by parodying Blues music (you know, the kind you hear from Ray Charles).

Who is Clark Terry anyway? I had no clue. But in the liner notes of this album, Oscar Peterson wrote an introduction saying that Clark’s one of the most underappreciated Jazz musicians of all time, and also one of the best flugelhornist he’s ever encountered. Clark’s also one of the funniest. Why is it that trumpeters are often also great comedians? There’s Louis Armstrong. There’s Dizzy Gillespie. And there’s Clark Terry. What’s the connection between "Horns" and "Humors" anyway?

Needless to say, Oscar was able to convince me that I need to do further researches on Clark Terry. See what good liner notes are capable of doing?

Actually, I haven’t given the entire album a run-through (unlike Jobim’s), but it’s sounding great, in my opinion better than Jobim! The songs are pretty easy to get into, as some of the songs are of Mainstream Jazz, but there are also Swings and Bops. The trio and the flugelhornist exhibit such a great compatibility, making this one of the best Oscar Peterson’s albums there ever is (and incidentally, that I own). While "Mack the Knife" has been done many times, I really like the rendition made by this entire ensemble, thanks largely to Clark Terry.

So there you have it, my two new albums. Admittedly, they’re quite expensive (at P500 apiece), but I don’t regret it one bit. Are they worth purchasing? Definitely, but you’d probably have a hard time finding the Oscar Peterson album, as I was the one who bought the ONLY copy in Fullybooked Greenhills. They might still have it on Greenbelt or Fullybooked Rockwell or Fullybooked Mall of Asia though, so be on the lookout.

I’ve got two confessions to make: 1. This will be one of my
longest reviews (so prepare for some lengthy read), and 2. I was overflowing
with ideas when I started writing, which is why I had a very hard time making
up my mind with regards to the composition.

Yes, that’s right, I had thought of quite a few angles to
start the review with, only to have spent a lot of time and energy mulling over
the one I want to develop. For instance, I wanted to start with a detailed
postmortem on why I’m so disappointed with her previous effort, but then I
thought that would’ve been redundant. I also thought of venting my distaste on
why every Bossa Nova albums need to have The Girl from Ipanema, a proclivity
I’ve grown sick of. (Side note: I could swear that song gets included or
covered in more albums than New Zealand’s population.)

But then, this album didn’t have that track, much to my
applause.

A week ago, I went to an underground record store with my
friend and, guess what, we saw Elizabeth Ramsey (Jaya’s mom). I could care less
about meeting a celebrity, but instincts tell me that a conversation wouldn’t
be so bad. Besides, I’ve done some interviews in my college years, so I might
still be able to adroitly break the silence.

Most of the topics became quite forgettable and
prosaic– like the what’s-up’s and the how-are-you’s. However, there was one interesting topic I had raised. Since she told me she performs jazz, I
asked her why that particular genre couldn’t thrive in our native soils. This
is the paraphrase of her reply:

"The main problem is that the great jazz musicians of yore
didn’t pass the legacy to their offsprings. The only way Jazz will resurge is
if someone of the current generation promotes it."

What’s Mrs. Ramsey’s opinion of Sitti? I don’t have a clue
(and I didn’t ask). The first time I read about Sitti Navarro was after I heard
her first endeavor and before the Ramsey conversation. She’s a UP graduate –
and a pretty one at that – who aspires to bring forth a renaissance of Jazz and
Bossa Nova. My guess is that she has, like me, become absorbed to the lure of
those genres’ cultures and creativities. As a trivia, one among her favorite
artists is Ella Fitzgerald, and one among my favorite artists is Louis
Armstrong. When the two of them got together, the result was magical.

And what happened when I first heard Sitti’s music? Well,
the review is in my archives, but long story short: I held a very high
expectation, and I got thrown off by some of her decisions. The tracks were
forgetful and the percussions were unwieldy. I could go on.

So in its conclusion, I overtly admitted that if that’s the
kind of jazz that would be made popular, then count me out. Looking back, that
was a little harsh – and I’m sure that’s quite an understatement, because a guy
by the name of Patch posted comments objecting to my review. Needless to say,
there was a small chunk of Intarwebs drama that unfolded.

While my views about the previous album are uncompromising
(sorry guys), Patch told me Sitti performs way better on live; and I considered it.
Today, I bought the album, and I’m going to be among the first to review it,
whether in print or in e-media.

So, I ended up telling a long story. That’s the angle I
chose.

Now here’s another two confessions: I think my previous
review was inadequate from a musical standpoint, because: 1. Had you no idea of
who Sitti is, you wouldn’t know what Sitti’s voice sound like before and after
you read that review. 2. I failed to tell you that percussion was the prime
culprit of why I didn’t like the album.

Sitti Live is the recording of her concert in…where exactly?
I couldn’t find it in the liner notes. Please enlighten me.

Speaking of liner notes, it was, like the cover, awful. Now
I’m not the most finicky when it comes to designs, but this album’s packaging
reeks of lazy marketing. Other jazz albums (that I own) have designs that could easily be exhibited in museums. And their liner notes contains stories
that are a joy to read. This album’s, though, only had acknowledgments. It didn’t
even give any explicit mention as to who the composers of the tracks are. There
aren’t any lyrics, and it’s not as if Sitti’s pictures were taken at her best
angle. Just because it’s live doesn’t automatically make it okay to have bad packaging! (Look at Duke Ellington at Newport, Waltz for Debby, Sunday at Village Vanguard, etc.) What is it exactly that the record company didn’t understand about jazz industry? If they think these things don’t matter, they’re seriously breaking my
heart.

To prove my point, here are some samples from my collection:
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Oh what the heck, I’m just going to let it slide. After all,
the cover isn’t everything (but still!) Remember what Patch said about Sitti’s
concerts? Since this album is a record of her doing live, it’s fair to raise
the burning question: is she better?

I said it before, but no doubt Sitti has talent. I’m now
going to add that I actually liked her voice. While she may not be able pull
off an alto very well – at least not like Norah Jones or Anita O’ Day – her
mezzo-soprano is plenty fine, and this is typically her vocal range, although
she sometimes also sings on falsetto. Aside from that, her vibrato is very
crisp, and sometimes very forceful. It actually enhances her songs (when
they’re actually good) by providing many emotions. If one should draw
comparisons, she sounds like a blend of Ella’s forceful voice and Astrud’s
honeydipped voice. It’s quite distinct, that you’d immediately recognize it
from miles away – the same way as with Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, etc.

But in the first album it’s either the percussions were
bogging down her voice, or that she was singing too much without leaving room
for the other instruments. It wouldn’t have mattered much in rock or hiphop,
but we’re talking about Bossa Nova or Jazz, which, as we all know, place
ALL instruments at high importance.

In Sitti Live, however, things are very different. I’d be
taking too much credit if I say that Sitti and her ensemble took my comment
into heart, but she really did improve. Right here, she shows to a greater
extent what she’s capable of, by sometimes using her voice as percussion
instead of the main melody. She also learned a few things on how to pause. They
do leave room for the instruments to improvise and rollick.

This is where I noticed that some among her band shows a
tremendous amount of skill, which again is not fleshed out previously. The guitarist, in
particular, sounds fantastic. He could develop into the next Wes Montgomery,
and that’s saying much.

There are many tracks in this album, and I would divide it
into four segments: One Note Samba-Fever, Para Sa Akin- I Didn’t Know I Was
Looking for Love, Waters of March – Lanca Perfume, and Pais Tropical – Mas Que
Nada. The first segment mostly deals with Bossa and Jazz standards, but the
rendition is loud. Some of the renditions, particularly Agua de Beber, reminds
me so much of Sonny Rollins’ Global Warming, also from his live album
(Without a Song). That’s a good thing. The second segment is mostly Bossa Nova version
of popular tracks. Frankly, it isn’t quite as well done as I would’ve liked
(that Tattooed in my Mind still sounds like RnB), but thankfully it’s
short-lived. The third segment follows the Bossa Nova format more closely. The
last segment builds up an upbeat, dramatic and lively finale, and the result works a lot
better than a Philippine traffic enforcer. Bad metaphors aside, I can say I liked the 1st, 3rd and 4th segment. They’re great.

So to answer Patch’s question: Yes, she’s better in live
performances. But while my praises have, so far, been gushing, there still are
a few flaws that I can’t overlook.

First, there’s the percussion. While the difference of the
last album to this one is that of near-nausea to near-euphoria, sometimes there
are crashes and booms at the most jarring times. I feel as though the drummer
is better off being on a rock band.

The rests are more nitpicky. There’s one instance in Fever where the bass,
typically a support instrument, got into the front line. Now the bassist is
good, and I was reaching a high state when, as if splashed by cold water, Sitti
said "Get a touch of the bass." Uh, yeah, he’s great. Scott LaFaro didn’t need
Bill Evans to tell the audience that the bass in Jade Vision is fantabulous.
Charles Mingus never said, "’Yo homey, pay attention! I’m the bassist and the leader of the
band!" It’s like me declaring "This is my best review yet". Leave it to the audience to decide, Sitti, we can listen plenty fine.

Lastly, people who expect this album to
be of the relaxing kind, prepare to be disappointed. If you find yourself falling asleep in listening to her songs from this album, you seriously need to diagnose for A.D.D. Most of tracks inside are
quite loud, definitely not the kind for lounging. I don’t see this as
a bad thing. (Dude, I have 5 John Coltrane albums!)

Yet, despite all those, there’s no denying that Sitti Live
is a huge improvement over the predecessor. And even when taken alone, it’s
still quite a solid outing. Is it perfect? No. Is it great nonetheless? Why,
yes. And at 290 pesos, you can’t go wrong especially since it’s one of the more
inexpensive jazz albums that aren’t junk. There’s a lot of personality. The
entire band indulges on improvisations, highlights on rollicking, and conduces
to swinging; and that’s what Jazz really is. Ok, so maybe some of her tracks sound more like Latin music, but isn’t that where (along with Jazz) Bossa traced its roots - please, do we need a lecture on this? The point is that she performed excellently. I’m glad Sitti got it right this
time. I’m now looking forward to more. Score: 4 out of 5.

So here’s to Mrs. Ramsey: Sitti might just be THAT person.

Track picks: Agua de Beber, Pais Tropical, and Mas Que Nada.

Wish list: Hire a pianist. Cover some non-bossa, Jazz standards, like Body and Soul, Work Song, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, I Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, Autum In New York, etc.

(Unrelated: By the way, if you ever want to buy great Jazz
CD’s, don’t go to Fullybooked Greenhills; because chances are, I’ve already
bought it.

They have two copies of John Coltrane’s Love Supreme:
Deluxe Edition though. Seeing as how I already own one, I won’t be buying
another, so feel free to spend your money away. It’s P600, but I can say it’s
absolutely worth it especially if you’re into hard bop jazz. And the packaging
is great, too. I’d give it a perfect rating. Heck, why even bother listening to me? It’s shortlisted in Time Magazine’s "Top 7 Best Jazz Album of All Time"

By the way, it would really help if someone can find me a copy of John Coltrane’s "Giant Steps".)

There’s this wish list I wrote last
February, and I declared that I would revisit it six months after.

While it’s long overdue - hey, nobody’s
a perfect mathematician! - I am going to revisit it (written in italics) and see whether
or not they have been achieved.

I want our politicians to stop being
so obnoxiously stupid and  every once in a while start doing
something that benefits mankind.

Don’t worry – they’re still
obnoxious. Some of them needs to be strapped on a rocketship and blasted
to the sun.

I want to have a moment when I can
be selfish. I’m tired of being tied at my "assumed by others"
responsibilities that I always have to serve others and live up to
their expectations. I love serving others, but I don’t get why people
see that it should be coupled with "pleasing others" as
well.

One of horror
movies’ most hackneyed tagline is: be careful what you wish for.
These days I’ve pretty much been selfish. I now want to start serving
other people again.

I want to go to New York again and
watch a broadway musical.

Sigh…

I want to watch a Jazz Concert in
New York. Sonny Rollins most preferred.

Double sigh…

I want to watch a show in Carnegie
Hall.

Argh!

I want the MTV to start playing
actual music and the radio to stop patronizing overwhelmingly bad
mainstream music. And I want MYMP to start singing something that’s
not a complete (and bastardized) imitation of yesterday’s love songs.

I haven’t heard
much of MYMP these days, but MTV still plays, you know, meh music.

I want to innovate a way where I can
grow wings on my back so I can fly anywhere I want without having to
worry about the freakin’ passport and visa.

It’s still
undergoing research.

I want all my family to spend a day
together. All five of them, including myself.

It’s a wish
granted, although the method was very undesirable.

I want a world where a man’s worth
is not based on his hue, clothes and haircut. For what it’s worth,
it’s mostly people in suits that brings anarchy by abusing
capitalism.

Racism has reduced
over time, but it’s not yet become extirpated. So, wish not granted
yet.

I want people to see that you don’t
need boozes, X, cars, and money to be happy. And smite me, because my
next want is…

Not exactly my very
own wishes, but people are still as superficial as ever before. Haha!

I want an iPOD, a Digicam, and a
Videocam.

I got an iPod, and
it’s the best gift I’ve ever received!

I want to let someone realize that
there’s no greater love to be found than the one I can offer to her.

Dude, I’m not even
sure who you’re talking about!

I want to have more energy.

It’s getting
better.

I want to pass GRE.

Still haven’t taken
the test.

I want to have just one day where I
can act bad without a dent in my reputation. That way, I can smack in
the face all the people I can’t stand. That’s like, two of them.

I stopped wanting
to smack other’s faces. I’ve practiced kicking.

I want to have an everything book:
that by reading it, all you ever need to know about everything will
be given to you. Then I’ll still keep quiet and giggle in silence
whenever a know-it-all tries to sound scholarly to curtail his real
lack of knowledge on everything.

Heh, I keep making
impossible wishes. But no, I haven’t found the book.

I can’t stand phonies, so I want
them to get their ass out of my life.

They still haven’t.

I want to have an afro ‘do.
Seriously! Then again, conservatives would ostracize me if I ever do
that.

I was never serious
about this wish. Haha! Although dreadlocks don’t sound so bad.

I want conservatives to stop having such a skewed perspective.
It pays to be liberal-minded over certain issues.

Unfortunately, they’re as pontificating
as ever. They’re still as prone as ever to indulging in moral
grandstanding and slamming bible quotes to preach about the sins of
others.

These days whenever I’m bored out of my
wits – and trust me, this happens often - I would surf the internet
to search for random Jazz artists. If reading their biographies
interest me enough, I would write them off in my list for my next
visit to the records store.

One such artist is Anita O’day.

My first impression was that she’s
another one of those Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald [albeit white]
divas, and as talented as they were, I’ve heard enough of them to
warrant a brief hiatus from their kind. So what was it about Anita that
caught my attention? It’s not her beauty [back in the days]. It’s not
her inspirational story of being able to kick the [coke] habit. But
when I read that “bop” - hard hitting jazz style -  is among her
forte, I jumped on my seat and exclaimed, “There’s bop in singing?
Wow! I sure would like to hear how that plays out!”

Last Saturday, I got her “Anita Sings
the Most” album, which was purportedly her best, ever. As my friend
saw the jewel case, he noticed that under the title is a caption “with
the Oscar Peterson Quintet”. And then he exclaimed. While I managed
to contain my amazement, I wondered how in heaven’s name would one be
able to sing with Oscar Peterson while keeping pace. Oscar is, after
all, notorious for his extreme high tempo and flamboyance. If
Anita would be able to sing well, contrary to being drowned in
Oscar’s playing-as-though-I-have-four-hands performances, then I
would really be impressed; and I wouldn’t have faulted her if she failed.

Now that I’m done listening to the
album, color me speechless.

Okay, so maybe that was an oxymoron.
After all, what am I doing here?

It wasn’t a mistake that Anita sings
bop. In some songs (such as “Them There Eyes” and “Love Me or
Leave Me”) she works at such a frenetic pace faster than I can
finish this sentence. There wasn’t any compromise between she and the
terrific quintet (which consist of prominent figures like Ray Brown)
that supported. Oscar plays as fast as he’s ever had and Anita shows
no signs of being left behind.

When things slow down a little, Anita
would also indulge in some crooning, and she does it equally well.
The quality of her [mostly alto] voice, so smoky and so exuberant, gives her such a wide range for singing what
are requisite of different Jazz styles, and she can even scat sing as
though her voice is merely a percussion. It’s very entertaining to listen to.

All things considered, the overall effort of Anita + the Quintet goes very far to flesh
out everyone’s talent. It’s not merely the voice. It’s not merely the piano. There’s a fair segment for everyone - be it Herb Ellis (guitarist), Ray Brown (bassist), and John Poole (drums) - to flaunt their skills. As a result, everyone seems to be having a lot of fun.

And lest we forget, that’s what collaborations
are all about. I can’t recommend this album enough. Score: 5 out of 5.

I look forward to hear more from Anita; to think that it all came from a little boredom and some looking around. If only all kinds of boredom would result to me finding stuffs that are really rewarding, it would’ve been "’S Wonderful".