Filipino-American Jazz Festival
Artist Roster

• Charmaine Clamor:
  
  Charmaine Clamor is the first Filipina jazz singer to find success on American radio, achieving the rare feat of simultaneously making the top-5 on both JazzWeek’s World (#2 ranking) and Traditional Jazz (#4) charts.
  
  Her debut album, "Searching for the Soul" (2005), “announced the arrival of an impressive new vocal artist. When Charmaine Clamor’s warm, luscious contralto slips into a seductive rhythm or purrs through tender lyrics, there’s no doubt that a first-rate jazz talent is present" (Don Heckman, LOS ANGELES TIMES). Critics and disc jockeys have compared her “bedroom eyes voice" (ALL ABOUT JAZZ) to legendary vocalists like Sarah Vaughan and Cassandra Wilson, while recognizing her “amazingly individual instrument, which can be whisper-soft, grippingly forceful, earthy, romantic, and soulful” (JAZZ NEWS).
  
  Charmaine's critically acclaimed second album, "Flippin’ Out" (2007), synthesizes the soul and swing of American jazz with traditional Filipino folk music, languages and instruments, instantly creating a new hybrid genre she calls jazzipino. Moving effortlessly from blues to bolero, "Flippin’ Out," a “mold-shattering breakthrough that will be claimed a classic in years to come” (URBAN NETWORK), introduces an imaginative singer daring to create a category all her own and “is the perfect bridge of two cultures… an asset to jazz music and a contributor to the continued traditions of women in jazz” (MUSIC FOR AMERICA).
• Melecio Magdaluyo:
  
  Composer and multi-instrumentalist, Melecio is respected as one of the most versatile and top saxophonists in his native San Francisco area. Performing mostly on alto, tenor saxophones and flute, his soulful playing enhances the music of many cross-cultural musical idioms.
  
  "Magdaluyo combines a volcanic tenor tone with a rhapsodic approach to improvising." --East Bay Express.
  
  Currently, also a member of the Pete Escovedo Orchestra, Melecio recently performed in Havana, Cuba with the John Santos Machete Ensemble. He has also performed and/or recorded with the bands of Carlos Santana, Narada Michael Walden, Chucho Valdez & Irakere West, Tito Puente, James Newton, Jon Jang/Pan Asian Orchestra, Steve Winwood, Bobby Brown and the Whispers.
• Prelude - Jazz Vocal Quartet featuring Jo Canion, Georgie Leong, Stevie Wallage, and Jodie Ente:
  
  Josie Canion, who also likes being called “Jo”, has been a pioneer in the jazz world since the early 1950s. She comes from a musical family and discovered early that singing came naturally to her.
  
  She toured the West Coast in the late 1950s and 1960s with “The Preludes” a jazz vocal quartet that included her brother, pianist and singer, the late Rudy Tenio. She was encouraged by her other brother and jazz musician Jimmie Tenio to pursue a career in music. Flip Nuñez, noted Filipino jazz pianist and singer also encouraged Josie to play the piano.
  
  Her performance credits include vocalizing with Flip Nuñez, George Duke, Smith Dobson, and Eddie Duran. She performed at various venues in San Francisco including the Fairmont Hotel, Quiet Storm, and Pier 39. After two years at the Hilton in Irvine, CA she returned to Stockton. Ms. Canion was a featured artist at the Stockton Waterfront Jazz Festival. Currently Jo performs at the Wine and Roses Spa and Hotel in Lodi. Jo has five daughters, all of whom are singers. Three of them are members of Prelude. They are:Georgie Leong, Stevie Wallage, Jody Ente.
  
  As teenagers, the five sisters formed the “Third Wave” and recorded an album produced by songwriter, keyboardist, and record producer George Duke. In the late 1970s they were vocalists in the popular local top-40 group Filanese, seen at several venues in the Bay Area. Jody toured the United States in the mid-70s and 80s singing material that ranged from pop to punk to rock n’roll. During this period, she was also the lead vocalist for the Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Band.
  
  After raising their families and settling into their careers, Georgie and Stevie once again pursued their music as vocalists with their uncle, Rudy Tenio. That trio was featured at the Asian American Jazz Festival in 2000, 2001, and 2002. With the loss of their Uncle Rudy, and the addition of their mother and sister (Josie and Jody) the group was named Prelude.
  
  Georgie, Stevie, and Jody are currently featured with their mother at the Wine and Roses Spa and Hotel in Lodi. For more information, you can visit the Wine and Roses website at www.wineroses.com
• Little Brown Brother:
  
  Little Brown Brother was formed in the summer of 2006 by bassist and composer Ben Luis and harmonica player and vocalist Carlos Zialcita. It takes what both of them have been doing individually and collectively and creates a new package designed specifically for the Filipino audience. Additional members of this ensemble are Chris Planas on guitar and Mike Fernando on drums, Kenny Penalver on drums, and Mio "Timbalero" Flores on congas and percussion. While the rich African-American traditions of jazz and blues remains at the core of what this group represents musically, there are many other influences that add flavor to the mix. There is a definite worldbeat texture and attitude to the music – borrowing from the indigenous Filipino music and instruments and the heavily Spanish influenced traditional Filipino music of the Philippines.
  
  In addition, the band incorporates different elements of Latin music including latin jazz, salsa, boleros, and a variety of Brazilian rhythms. In addition to regular performances throughout the Bay Area, Little Brown Brother has performed at a number of events in the Filipino community – including the Manilatown Heritage Foundation 1st Annual Banquet in 2007, the 87th Annual Dinner of Gran Oriente Filipino, the 2007 Pista Sa Nayon in Vallejo, the 2007 Bindlestiff Theatre Black and White BindleBall, and a benefit concert for Sugar Pie DeSanto held at The Manilatown Center in San Francisco. Little Brown Brother plans to release their first CD in the fall of 2008.
• Lily Alunan and After Hours:
  
  The Lily Alunan Band includes Lily Alunan (Vocals), Kenny Penalver (Piano), Raffy Lopez (Guitar), Ben Luis (Bass), Mio "Timbalero" Flores (Percussion), Mark Foglia (Drums).
  
  Bay Area vocalist, Lily Alunan, started her musical training at age three, singing into a hairbrush to emulate her older sister (then in an R&B band) and her favorites Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, and Carly Simon. Her passion for music only grew, and she went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Music at San Francisco State University.
  
  Her musical career started when she sang in a band specializing in four-part harmonies. Shortly thereafter, Lily was performing solo at the Tonga Room at San Francisco's exclusive Fairmont Hotel. Another one of her early groups, the band "Nightshift," was the proud recipient of the award, "Best Bay Area Band" awarded by a local civic organization.
  
  To further stretch her creative muscles, Lily then collaborated with noted composer Butch Monserrat to compose, arrange, and record several original rock and r&b numbers. This experience only stoked her desire to record her own compositions.
  
  Performing at a number of r&b and jazz venues, Lily has developed a loyal following. She has experimented with vocal styles that include broadway, jazz, rock, and pop.
  
  She has also found another enriching outlet for her passion for music. Applying her training, experience, and natural exuberance to teaching, Lily has been a vocal coach in the Bay Area for a number of years, taking immense pride and pleasure in her students many achievements and performances.
  
  In addition to teaching, Lily co-founded a new band in 2007 with acclaimed keyboardist, Kenny Penalver. Specializing in jazz and Brazillian music, the Lily Alunan Band has produced their first CD, which is now available for download on iTunes. The band consists of Buddy Ungson, Nardy Enriquez, Mike Fernando, Raffy Lopez, Mark Foglia, Ben Luis, and Mio "Timbalero" Flores.
  
  The band will collaborate on their second CD, a compilation of jazz standards, scheduled for release in Spring of 2008.
• Ben Luis:
  
  Born in the Philippines and raised state-side, he was introduced to the bass in '62 when he joined the Intruders, an all Filipino band in San Francisco and forerunner of local Asian bands. He was influenced by rhythm & blues, top-40 pop hits, latin, soul and a bit of jazz heard on the radio. In the 70's, he was in the cover bands Mundo, Pearl and MaxB. They played at clubs like the Peppermint Tree and Orphan Annie's (San Francisco) and in the south bay circuit and were featured on a TV show hosted by Rev. Cecil Williams. They opened for Cal Tjader (Great American Music Hall), Mongo Santa Maria (Dolores Park), Malo, and Bette Midler (Embarcadero Center). He was also a member of Kamikazi, one of the first Asian Jazz Fusion bands in San Francisco along with Makoto, Eddie Marshall, and Eiji Tsuchiya.
  
  Currently, Ben Luis performs with several bands in the Bay Area, including Little Brown Brother, Lily Alunan and After Hours, the Carlos Zialcita Jazztet, and the Ben Luis Quintet.
• Nerio De Gracia Mambo Jazz Quintet:
  
  Nerio grew up in San Francisco, CA. He attended Cleveland Elementary School and went to Luther Burbank Junior High School in the Excelsior district. He moved to the Mission District and attended Horace Mann Junior High and on to Mission High School where he first encountered his first sense of musical awareness. Through out the remainder of the years, Nerio played with a virtual "Who's Who" of San Francisco Bay Area Latin and Jazz talent including Carlos Federico, percussionist Babatunde Lea and Pete and Sheila Escovedo's band. In the latter years, Nerio has developed close ties with some of the Bay Area's finest musicians, and many of which are found on his critically acclaimed album , "An Evening in Luzon" Now has his own interpretation of the Mambo Jazz improvisation that will mesmerized you in listening or dancing. Now has established his group called "The Nerio DeGracia Mambo Jazztet" You will be hearing about him for years to come.
• Art Khu:
  
  Arthur Khu grew up in New Haven, CT. He was four years old when he started piano lessons, violin at seven, organ at nine, and guitar and bass at thirteen. In high school, Art studied chamber music, composition and conducting. He also studied Music Theory and Ear Training at the Yale School of Music where he also studied classical piano with Donald Currier. Art earned a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory where he studied classical piano with Sanford Margolis (who also taught Herbie Hancock) and studied jazz with Donald Byrd. Currently, Art lives in San Francisco and freelances as a jazz pianist. He has played in many of the nations finest establishments including the Blue Note in New York City, Sculler's in Boston, Yoshi's in Oakland, Catalina's in Los Angeles, Blues Alley in Washington, DC, Jazz Alley in Seattle and the Cellar in Vancouver, BC. Internationally, he has performed in the Reus International Jazz Festival and at Calle 54 in Madrid and Jamboree in Barcelona and at the Prague International Jazz Festival.