“I met my colleagues here [in the Philippines] and I told them how exciting it is to do this musical experiment,” Dr. Petra Raymund, director of Goethe-Institut Philippines said.
She was talking about a similar project she did back in 2012 at the Jazz Fest Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where jazz guitarist Nguyen Le of France and jazz singer Michael Schiefel of Germany performed with two Bosnian jazz artists, Edvin Hadžić on doublebass, and Dr. Amar Češljar on drums. And since the German and French players know the jazz scene both in Europe and globally, they suggested to collaborate with Italian double bassist Furio di Castri, Spanish percussionist Tino di Geraldo, and Filipino saxophonist Tots Tolentino, who they handpicked for this event.
Thus, the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts came to be.
Five jazz masters are coming together for a week of music-making. Not only do they collaborate as musicians, but also as composers, as they are set to create new and original music. The culmination of which will be presented in a two-night concert on February 21 at the Arts in the City, Bonifacio Global City, and on February 22 at the historic Maestranza Plaza in Intramuros.
How will they do it? They have been communicating the past months online, and will gather together for a four-day collaborative workshop starting February 17, Monday, as they work toward a fresh repertoire for the concerts. Sounds interesting, especially that the five musicians are masters of their own instruments who will bring in a fusion of music, creative minds, and culture. Take, for instance, Nguyen Le, who will meld together traditional Vietnamese and Western music and, Tino di Geraldo, one of Spain’s leading percussionists, who will bring together classical, jazz, and flamenco styles.
The Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts is presented by the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Philippines together with the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Intramuros Administration, and Arts in the City.
EUNIC Philippines is composed of the Alliance Française de Manille, the Goethe-Institut Philippinen, the Instituto Cervantes, the Philippine Italian Association. The event is their first collaborative project.
Julian Vasallo, Political Counsellor of the European Delegation, said that they aim to attract lovers of this kind of music, and that they look forward to expanding this event in the future. He invites us to witness this “Jazz blind date” with these outstanding musicians.
(Admission to the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts is FREE but RSVP is required. For inquiries, call Sabrina Durand, Alliance Française Cultural Coordinator at (02) 895-7585, or visit the Euro-Pinoy Jazz Concerts Facebook page.)