MANILA, Philippines?The term sessionista refers to musicians who are so good in their craft that they?re always hired to play in recording ?sessions? for other artists? albums. Locally it?s often heard in the jazz scene. For example, saxophonist Tots Tolentino and bass player Simon Tan are sought-after sessionistas. On ABS-CBN?s Sunday TV show ?ASAP,? it has been adopted as the collective name of six individual pop acts ? MYMP, Nina, Richard Poon, Aiza Seguerra, Sitti and Duncan Ramos ? who perform together in a fixed segment. On Friday night, they held a concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

Viewers love the group?s TV stint. But how good were they on a huge stage? It was hard to tell in the early part of the show, since each artist sang only short verses in the production numbers. It was a bit of a shock to see Poon?hyped as ?the country?s number one big band crooner? ?doing Guns N? Roses? ?Sweet Child O? Mine.? Not that he couldn?t hack it, but if the purpose was to prove his versatility, the impression made was superficial.

Nina and Sitti delivered very well with their power ballads ? Nina with her soaring soprano in Heart?s ?Alone,? Sitti with her gutsy take on 4 Non Blondes? ?What?s Up??

The crowd cheered lustily in another segment where Nina again stood out on a slow version of Lady Gaga?s ?Poker Face,? while Poon cruised along to Jason Mraz?s ?Love Bug,? after which he stole a kiss from Seguerra. The kiss, done in the spirit of fun, was wholesome compared to the cheap jokes that the others, in their spiels, cracked about Seguerra?s sexual orientation.

Most talented

In the solo spots, Seguerra emerged as the most talented ? displaying intensity on acoustic guitar while covering the Eraserheads and Googoo Dolls with real sessionistas: guitarist Mike Villegas (formerly of Color It Red and Rizal Underground), percussionist Buddeths Casinto (Kalayo) and violinist Jonathan Urbano (Mirahel).

Poon was interesting when he explained his style (?I sing standards with big band music?) and proceeded to weave a story line in his jazzed-up Engelbert Humperdinck medley. Still, it?s too early to tell whether he can rise beyond mimicking Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble.

Humorous bent

As for the others: Were it not for Juris Fernandez?s perky Miley Cyrus impression on ?7 Things I Hate About You? and Chin Alcantara?s wailing guitar on Teeth?s ?Laklak,? MYMP would?ve been boring. And for Ramos to live up to his ?R&B master? billing, he would need more than just dance and sing falsetto like a black dude.

Though Sitti sported a slightly revised tag??bossa nova diva? instead of the previous ?queen??it was still hard for her to cope with the show?s energy. She flubbed a line in her OPM duet with Seguerra, but she was more effective when singing bossa nova with Tagalog lyrics.

At best, the Sessionistas of TV fame could likewise distinguish themselves as an act with a humorous bent?as aptly demonstrated by Poon and Seguerra?s rollicking rendition of ?Laklak? and the Itchyworms? ?Beer.?