MANILA, Philippines—Balloons and flowers adorned Merk’s Bar & Bistro Monday night, as the owner led an intimate group of well-wishers in greeting his mother, RP jazz queen Annie Brazil, on her 75th birthday.
Annie, who flew in from her home base in New York, hardly looked her age. Hair in a short bob and wearing a sequined white top with a black blazer over pinstriped pants, she cut a relaxed figure as she sang both rarely heard and oft-covered classics.
With Romy Posadas on electric piano, the first half of Annie’s set included “Nature Boy” (1947, famously covered by Nat King Cole), “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (1929, title track of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical) and “What’s New” (1939, originally an instrumental piece written with a trumpet solo).
The rest were more familiar— “Send in the Clowns,” “Day by Day,” “Night and Day,” “The Nearness of You”... Imee Marcos came to our rescue over a tune we couldn’t name: “Simple Life!”
As her presence was acknowledged, Imee joked that she was representing her sister Irene, who had taken voice lessons from Annie.
At Imee’s table, there was enthusiastic talk of a plan to revive the Metro Pop Music Festival songwriting competition.
“I’m recommending myself to help out,” Richard Merck blurted. “Metro Pop is the mother of all modern local music contests!”
Onstage, Annie was demonstrating how a true jazz singer remains ageless and unpredictable. She made old songs sound new, bending the notes not to show off, but rather to let mood color the music.
“‘Marvelous,’ that one’s titled, ‘Marvelous,’” Imee said again when Annie diverted from the set. After a Christmas medley, Richard joined her in closing the program with a spirited version of “It Had to Be You.”
When the house band, an acoustic trio called Silk & Steel started playing, covers of Carly Simon, America, Simon & Garfunkel and The Eagles came on. The atmosphere exuded nostalgia and, better than that, a feeling that there is, indeed, a certain grace that comes with aging.
Mingling with her guests, Annie Brazil radiated that feeling.
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