Jam at Pete's Place - Feb. 27, 2016 - Monchie Henares on vocals w/ Tinnie Esguerra, Joaco Marco & Pete Lapeña (I Will)

FEB. 27, 2016 - SATURDAY JAM UPDATE AND PHOTOS

In contrast to our usual Friday schedule, last night's gathering was quite slow and laid back by comparison. Nevertheless, whether by chance or providence it was all good. With two solid consecutive events at the music room, there's utterly no reason to complain. Though understandably a bit spent after a tiring and successful birthday party the night before, having to chill and recoop by way of music was a blessing in its own.

For some reason or another, most of the jammers could not make it. And those who could come came very late. Among the regular house band guys, guitarist Joaco Marco, guitarist/keyboardist Tinnie Esguerra and vocalist Monchie Henares were the only ones who showed up. Earlier on, the Monotones (young aspiring musicians), after a long lay off from jamming, assembled early, and patiently waited at the entrance even before i had officially opened. Eager to jam, the kids wasted no time and jumped right up on stage. Their timing was perfect as they had practically all night to play and catch up. Nice to see the youngsters back on stride and in their element. Welcome back guys.

Incidentally, Korea based, childhood friend and Air Force brat Flyboy Jet Bueno was in the house, as well. He tagged along his son Jethro and a balikbayan friend, Gerry Palomos (i hope i got his family name right), whom he met at a music store in Chicago recently. Apparently, Gerry is a musician and loves to jam. And so it would be a no-brainer why Jet had to invite him over to the music room while both are conveniently in town.

While the youngsters took a break, it was opportune time for our new guest to come up and play. We did jam some tunes as a trio with Gerry on guitar, Jet on drums, and myself on bass. Eventually, after a short respit, the young musicians joined in the fun. Unfortunately, Gerry could not stay very long as Jet had to rest for an early ride to Tagaytay with fellow bikers at 5am. However, the two promised to be back next Friday as both will still be in the country by then.

At long last, at way past midnight, Tinnie, Joaco, Monchie and myself finally took the stage. Albeit briefly, we still were able to rehearse and record two new songs to add to our repertoire. Even with just a hint of percussion and no drummer, it sounded quite decent, if i may say so myself. Short stint but sweet. Definitely no complaints.

And so, that's how our busy and fun filled weekend went. Another weekend full of excitement and blessings. Praise and thank God!

Next week, we return to our usual Friday night jam schedule. Hope to see more guys in attendance next time around. See you all then!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!

Jam at Pete's Place -Feb. 19, 2016 - Feat B & Caroline (Sunday Morning)

FEB. 19, 2016 - FRIDAY JAM UPDATE

The proverbial "You can't have it all..." fortuitously applied last night despite a seemingly good turnout of guests and musicians in the house. It was one of those rare days. Beloved childhood friends and family from my Nichols Air Base days flocked the room, some i have not seen in ages and some actually music room first timers. Pete's Place pioneers and childhood friends Leo Diano and Red Aquino who are both stationed abroad (Australia and Macau, respectively) are timely in town. As always, they make it a point to visit whenever they are in the country. Red came with his lovely wife Portia and kids Pio & Caroline, Red's eldest sister Deana and her daughters Leslie and B. Flyboy Butch Israel, who particular came to see and welcome Leo showed up with his son Moises as well. So happy to see these guys around. God bless them all.

The band garnered a pretty awesome attendance, too. Accomplished Jazz composer Tony Razon, master lap steel guru Haro Echter and talented drummer Atty. Jj Disini were on board along with houseband honchos Tinnie Esguerra, Joaco Marco, Rick Trinidad, Dennis Espiritu, Monchie Henares and myself. Mighty good line-up indeed. Though the band did sound okay, i would say that the performance somewhat fell a tag short of it's usual fire and character. We can do a lot better. We were struggling on certain tunes a bit too long, at times on the verge of aborting it completely but managed to slowly pick up gradually in the end. Oh well! C'est la vie (pardon my French, Richard..hehe!).

Eventually, the jam breathed new life when some of the guests joined in on stage. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Deana's daughter B, surprised us and took over the vocal chores while Red's daughter Caroline accompanied her on the keyboards in one of the songs she did. Red and Leo, on the other hand, played percussions while the rest of the houseband musicians did their respective thing. Though at times we choked on what songs to do next, the jamaoke and community singing became the lifesaver. God truly works in mysterious ways!

At nearly closing time, when most of the guests had already left, Tinnie, Dennis, Monchie, Luisa Distor and myself were still on stage. Still struggling a bit to get that magic we were familiar to, we managed to jam and video a few songs till we finally had our fill at already past 5am. We'll do better next time, for sure.

Next week, our Friday Jam will be moved to Saturday (Feb. 27th) to give way to my daughter Nisee's 20th birthday celebration at the music room. So please don't forget to mark your calendars guys! See you on Saturday!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!

Jam at Pete's Place - Feb. 12. 2016 - Welcome back Anton Marquinez (All Blues)

FEB. 12, 2016 - FRIDAY JAM UPDATE

The festivity started a bit behind schedule with most of the musicians showing up later than usual. Even the very first guest came in already at nearly 10pm. High school batch mate Selo Cruz was the first to arrive followed closely by house band Richard Parcia. Richard, walked in with his nifty Gibson Les Paul (he fondly calls Eleanor) enthused in trying out his newly reconditioned axe. He quickly unpacked and set up his gear in preparation to jam. ‘Eleanor’ was all set, ready and waiting.

Soon the rest of the band showed up. Among the regular band mates who joined me where Tinnie Esguerra, Joaco Marco, Rick Trinidad, Erwin Dimaculangan, Mark Longos, Bubui Colico and vocalist Monchie Henares. Our busy balikbayan comrade and talented saxophonist Anton Marquinez, who just flew in from New Jersey a few days ago, came straight from another commitment and caught up with us late but surely made up for it jamming non-stop till closing time. There’s nothing like an excellent wind instrumentalist on board beefing up the bands over-all sound. What a fun and exhilarating jam indeed…Praise God!

Neighbor Robert and Tina Cruz arrived in full force with more and more of their friends this time joining in. Former race car driver Jojo Silverio who was on his third visit brought along his wife Jenny who gamely joined us on stage doing vocals. Some of the new guests joined in the fun, as well, some singing individually and at times with the gang in unison. We found ourselves trying out a variety of songs depending on popular request with Jenny making a good accounting of her contribution. Good job guys! I suspect that the guests must have had a good time seeing them stay till way past 3am.

The jam concluded with just Tinnie, Joaco, Anton and myself with no drummer on stage. We tried out some nice jazzy tunes to cap the evening with the saxophone on lead before we finally packed up. We called it a night at exactly 5:34am. Another awesome jam! Mission accomplished.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!

Jam at Pete's Place - Feb. 5, 2016 - A Tribute to Maurice White (That's The Way Of The World)

JANUARY 5, 2016 - FRIDAY JAM UPDATE

It is absolutely refreshing to be able to write something more positive rather than something traumatic on account of last week's incident. Just a week after the break-in, it was as if nothing disturbing had happened. We will not let it spoil our evening. We were back to normal...praise and thank God.

Last night's resumption completely got us back on track with a pretty good crowd dropping by. Surprise guests and friends made it to the room, some we had not seen for a while. We ended up with an awesome line-up of musicians, as well, with pianist sensation Rj Pineda in the house leading the pack. As always a treat, Rj's wizardry elevated the level of the jam with his inimitable talent performing alongside the regular houseband guys. Rj's younger brother Ryan was with him and took the first crack on playing drums. I eventually took over the chores, later on in the evening, when he was done.

Tinnie Esguerra, Joaco Marco, Rick Trinidad, Dennis Espiritu and vocalists Monchie Henares and Marc de Asis completed the cast. As expected, we had a fair share of jazzy tunes in our repertoire that we found ourselves doing. Monchie and I even had the privilege of singing some old jazz classics with the great RJ accompanying us on the keyboards.

Amusingly, despite the long list of songs that we were supposed to review to prepare for the coming week, none materialized. We ended up doing something else. So, what else is new? Let's just say that, sometimes, it is more fun to just go with the flow.

Special mention to our good old friend Babel Zayco, who was in the house last night. Babel was a regular fixture and part of the original Pete's Place group way back during the Sunday Club days in the 80's & early 90's. She had migrated to the US since but had returned to the Philippines some years back, hopefully for good. We wish her well on her current and future ventures here in the country. Acknowledging also the presence of Alex Joseph who came with his wife and friends. Welcome to the music room guys! And to all the other friends who dropped by, thank you all for coming.

Next week, we look forward to another exciting jam when balik-music room and New Jersey based surgeon and talented saxophonist Anton Marquinez comes to town. Expect another night of awesome jazzy live music. Watch out for it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! GOD BLESS US ALL!