WHAT happens in Vegas shouldn?t always stay in Vegas.
For the past few months, the buzz among local jazz circles was that legendary keyboardist Roland ?Boy? Katindig was back in town.
A member of the well-known musical clan that has been synonymous with jazz since the 1950s, Katindig was last spotted holding down the jazz lounge with his band at the posh Bellagio hotel-casino in Las Vegas (familiar to all you ?CSI? trainspotters).
Rumors were confirmed when Katindig wowed a select crowd of fusion jazz aficionados last March 6, during the dry run for his very own club, Boy Katindig Jazz Caf, at the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan.
Helming a crack outfit consisting of seasoned veterans and some new faces, among them Colby de la Calzada on bass, Joey Puyat on guitar, Dix Lucero on reeds, Otep Concepcion on drums and Myra ?Skarlet? Ruaro on vocals, Katindig ran through a mix of his original compositions and fusion standards that had some oldtimers misty-eyed about the good old days at Birds of the Same Feather.
In any case, it?s official: Boy Katindig is back. And contrary to recent pronouncements by some music pundits, jazz is ? if not exactly alive and well ? at least still breathing.
?I still have a couple of accounts left in Las Vegas, so I?ll be going back and forth,? he says.
But the plan is to play regularly at the Jazz Caf, which Katindig co-owns with several business partners.
Boy is the son of pianist-band leader Romy Katindig who, along with his saxophonist brother Eddie, pioneered Latin jazz in the country in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Boy is probably best remembered (at least by those whose memories stretch back that far) as a member of the seminal Circus Band, but he has been playing nearly all his life, forming his first band at age 13.
In 1977, he formed the Boy Katindig Band and helped usher in the age of fusion, releasing a series of albums including ?Midnight Lady,? ?After Midnight? and ?Love Fusion.? He moved to Hawaii in 1984, and eventually to Las Vegas in 1997, holding a series of prestige gigs culminating in a three-and-a-half-year stint at the Bellagio.
?When I came back here last 2009, I played a couple of shows at SM and Strumm?s, just to test the waters and see what?s going on,? he says. ?Of the people I talked to, almost a hundred percent said, why don?t you do something here, get the scene jump-started again??
The result is the Jazz Caf, which is a welcome addition to the small but growing local jazz community.
?We?re not claiming to be the jazz hot spot,? he says. ?We?re just going to do our thing.?
?There?s a lot of musical talent here,? he adds. ?I?ve heard some of the younger guys play, and I asked them if they had any formal schooling in music. None! It blew me away!?
?There are a lot of closet jazz fans and jazz musicians, like me,? says Myra ?Skarlet? Ruaro. ?It?s a matter of having permanent places where they can jam.?
For the last couple of years, Skarlet?s own Ten 02 bar and restaurant near the corner of Sct. Ybardolaza and Timog Ave. in Quezon City has been a haven for jazzheads.
?We?re still not exclusively a jazz bar,? she hastens to add. ?We still have our ska, reggae, and soul bands on certain nights.?
But the menu at Ten 02 is beginning to lean more towards jazz, perhaps reflecting Skarlet?s own musical maturation process. In the 1990s, Ruaro fronted the much-loved Put3Ska, which released two albums before calling it quits. She then formed the Brownbeat All-Stars, exploring musical realms beyond Put3Ska?s 2-Tone-inspired ska. It was something of a transitional phase: she reinvented herself as jazz chanteuse Skarlet, and promptly recorded her first solo album ? ?Powder Room Stories? ? for jazz label Candid Records. A couple of years ago, she opened Ten 02, which has since become a haven for like-minded musicians and fans.
?There?s a resurgence of jazz awareness, and there are a lot of young players out there,? she says. ?They may not be as good as the seniors, but you have to open doors for them ? because they will be the next generation. They have to have exposure, and the best way is to have them playing with the seniors.?
One way is through Ten 02?s regular jazz workshops. Every other Monday, composer and musical director Mel Villena runs a big band workshop where young musicians can hone their chops reading sheets to big band standards by Basie, Ellington and the like. Every other Tuesday, Tots Tolentino?s Sax Society of the Philippines runs a similar workshop for aspiring reedmen. On other nights, various jazz outfits hold the stage, among them Edgar Avenir and his trio, Kiss the Bride with guitarist Joey Puyat, and drummer Richie Quirino?s piano trio 3-Yo. There?s a Latin jazz night, a Broadway cabaret night, and even a salsa dancing night!
?It?s good that there are a lot of options now,? she says. ?With Boy Katindig?s Jazz Caf, we have another venue, so the kids can now choose.? ?
