Jazz guitarist Aya Yuson makes songwriting debut in 2nd LP

MANILA, Philippines – Critically acclaimed jazz guitarist Aya Yuson finally got his debut songwriting album Angelsong off the ground with a media launch last Saturday at Ten 02, a music bar and restaurant in Quezon City owned by jazz singer Skarlet (Myra Ruaro to Pu3ska fans of old) and hubby MarBen Romero (Badburn lead vocals). For Yuson and Skarlet, it was somewhat of a reunion gig, both having worked together on Skarlet's 2006 album, The Powder Room Stories, which won an Awit Award in 2007 for Best Jazz Album of the Year. Yuson not only played guitar in that album but also pitched in with a song of his own, "Birdy Bop," which he and Skarlet did live last Saturday, though that it's not part of Angelsong. Skarlet did perform two songs off the Yuson's new album – "Fooled and Fooled Again" and "Ang Diwa ng Babae," both originals. In this album, Yuson decided to enlist the help some of the best jazz vocalists, all too aware that instrumental jazz pieces, though not lacking local enthusiasts, don't go over too well with much of the still pop-oriented jazz market here. Half of the cuts in the album are instrumental and half features songs done by various artists, besides Skarlet. Perhaps Yuson wanted something different from his first solo album – Aya Yuson: Solo, an independent, self-funded, all-instrumental project. As Yuson put it after doing an instrumental number in the gig: "We'll bring back the singers... Alam ko naman kami-kami lang mga jazzista nagkakaintindihan [I know it's just we jazz enthusiasts who can understand each other]." And so Aileen Balon did "Used To Be Our Moon" and "Phoenix Reborn." The other guests in the album, however, were not able to make it last Saturday. They're Arthur Manuntag and Yosha Honasan. The quartet – and this is a quartet backed CD – includes Tots Tolentino on sax, Simon Van on bass, and Alex Fidel on drums, and of course, Yuson on electric guitar. To make up for their absence, Mon David stepped up on stage to do "Bluesette" with the band. It was only in between the songs that Yuson, very conscious of keeping the audience interested, having been a veteran of several showbands, let loose with his instrumental numbers, among them "Nubian Princess," "Ibiza Bop," "The Tan Man," and of course the title track, "Angelsong." Not that the audience were that hard to please, as it included people who liked the sort of music that Yuson was playing, among them writers Krip Yuson (who happens to be his father), Jose "Pete" Lacaba, and Sylvia Mayuga. So it was a night when wine, music, and applause flowed smoothly. By the way, here's before you fans rush out to your record stores – according to officials from Candid Records Philippines, the album won't be able till sometime later in the month, as final touches are being done on the packaging of the CD itself. Alexander T. Magno, GMANews.TV