Pinoy Jobim

Last year, I took it upon myself to buy some CDs that have been in the backburner for the longest time.

One: Some great jazz albums. Check.

Two: OPM albums. Check.

The artist at the very top of my OPM wishlist is local jazz legend Bong Peñera. However, the hunt for his elusive album A Samba Song ended up as a mere exercise in futility.

Good thing I was able to snag his self-titled album. That's a whole lot better than being left totally empty handed, right?

To be honest, the name did ring a bell. Faintly. I can vaguely recall his tunes being played on the radio. I was even under the impression that he used to perform classical music.

The first musician that came to mind the moment I heard this album was the late Antonio Carlos Jobim. The gentle keyboards, chiming guitars and seductive bossa nova beat were almost identical to the likes of "Aguas De Marco," "Wave," and "One Note Samba."  

Copycat? Well, if Mr. Peñera openly wears his heart on his sleeves in admiration of such a great artist, who are we to complain? Who didn't turn to their contemporaries for inspiration?

Go ahead and read about how the Beatles' Rubber Soul inspired Brian Wilson to create Pet Sounds and vice versa when the Liverpool lads came out with the landmark Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Didn't Bob Dylan echo the works of Woody Guthrie in his early recordings?

The excellent musicianship is on full display here. There's passion, soul and not just some virtuoso showing off technical skills. And if you think the album's Jobimesque tracks are the only highlights, you're sadly, sadly mistaken.

The opening track "Sa Dako pa Roon" and its reprise featuring that kid on lead vocals will give shivers down your spine. The jazzy "Love Notes" with Pat Castillo lending her pipes could very well be mistaken as a long lost Joni Mitchell song or an outtake from Court and Spark. "Sinta" and "Melancholy Dreams" are a couple more excellent tracks in this all killer no filler album.

It's quite unfortunate that the guy's music has been buried knee deep in the marshes of forgotten OPM luminaries. It's quite unfortunate that his genius will forever remain a mystery to most of our countrymen who were either too young or too naive when he first burst into the local music scene.

If by any chance you'd be able to dip your hands on this CD or LP somewhere, go ahead and you won't be disappointed. 

The Digging Duo

The two of us with a great find - Cream's Disraeli Gears.

Once in a while, my long time buddy now based in the middle east and I would catch up with one another whenever the former's back in the country vacationing.

We met way back in the early 90's. Used to work for an Aussie owned hotel in Manila but got closer during our tenure in a small hotel in Makati. Upon discovering a common passion in music, we became even tighter.

I started down the perfect sound forever path first and then bugged the poor guy endlessly about the wonders of this thing called compact discs.

A month or two later, he bought a boombox. And from then on, just like me, he was doomed. The never-ending search for all those elusive and essential recordings was on.

Even though our salaries were just a tad above minimum wage, we were able to buy all those discs and would scour every record bar in sight like CD Warehouse, Landmark, Odyssey, Music Nook, Radio City, SM, M1, Tower Records and even those stalls in Quiapo.

Back in the days when the then Polycosmic Records had clearance sales in the parking lot, we were always there. At Save A Lot's buy one take one sale, we were there as well. Name the record bar or bargain jaunt and chances are great that we've been there before.

There are times when one of us had to draw faster than the other because a particular album could be the last one in stock. I can still remember that Emerson, Lake & Palmer compilation in an Odyssey bargain bin that he plucked out the moment he laid his eyes on it while I was looking some place else. Deep inside I felt bad and cursing but luckily, there's another copy lying idle in the stockroom.

Our respective collections grew considerably through the years. We switched career paths. Both of us transferred to other companies. His family got bigger. I tied the knot. Our hunts became less and  less frequent, few and far in between but everytime we had the chance, we'd set aside an hour or two just to be able to roam around CDlandia again.

By the time the new millennium beckoned, he was able to secure a beat-up turntable and that signaled the start of his analog journey. I followed suit but had to give it up not long after. Why? I destroyed my turntable that was only supposed to be tweaked. Well, so much for my DIY skills or rather the lack of it!

One time, we went to the Cubao Expo for the "Kagatan" which is a quarterly meet for vinyl lovers to check out some records. Even though I'm still officially out of the vinyl loop, I had a whale of a good time crate digging.

Among the many rows of records for sale, we decided to check out the hundred peso crates first. Yes, we're cheap but we take pride in finding gems hidden in one of those God forsaken bins. And there it was, Genesis' Abacab and Jeff Lorber's minty looking In the Heat of the Night.

When we moved to another crate, there was Rickie Lee Jones' eponymous debut album and Seals & Crofts' Summer Breeze. Told ya, seek and ye shall find!

A sudden attack of nostalgia hit me upon seeing Billy Squier's long out of print 1984 album Signs of Life. The sleeve was still in very good condition but I didn't bother to check out the grooves. There's no use since I don't have a freaking turntable (yet).

More than a couple of hours later, we decided to call it a day and headed off to the nearest mall for a quick bite. I jokingly said: "Let's find dear old French Baker and we've gone full circle."

I'm referring of course to the popular bakeshop that we used to frequent once we're done with our CD hunting. It was the only place we can afford then after emptying our pockets.

Needless to say, he didn't oblige and instead yanked me to a nearby burger joint.

Farewell JDV

JDV in his prime.

My Pioneer S-D33 speakers fondly called Joe De Venecia is now 19 years old.

Actually, it was my brother who coined the name because the then speaker of the house of representatives was getting ready and primed for the 1998 presidential elections. Speaker Joe lost but the name stuck. Well, I didn't want to call my speakers Erap, Raul, Monching or Fred anyway. JDV's just fine and dandy. 

These large three way bookshelves have provided me immense joy through the years. I could still vividly recall the day I unpacked it to replace a hand me down antiquated pair of Nationals. The moment it rendered previously unheard details of Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights," I was delirious to say the least.

From then on JDV and I would spend countless hours together.

But age has finally caught up with my longtime buddy.

The wear and tear has taken its toll specially on the woofers. Both channels are now riddled with holes and are obviously shot. They can no longer withstand bass heavy recordings such as the Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny collaboration Beyond the Missouri Sky and Bill Evans' Moon Beams. The tweeters and midrange are surprisingly in good shape. The innards? I have no idea. For all I know, the voice coils and spiders may have degraded through the passage of time.

Reconing is a plausible solution but getting a spanking new pair would be great. There's quite a few bang for the buck bookshelf type speakers out in the market right now like the Wharfedale 122, the Q Acoustics 2020i and the PSB Image B6.

Another option is to try out those full range variants most notably the Markaudio Alpair 10 and the Audio Nirvana Classic 8.

I ended up ordering the Titus Gold bookshelf, a locally manufactured speaker made by Anthony Leuterio of Anthony Audio. The jury's still out whether it could fill the void about to be left by JDV.

Parting ways with good old Joe would be quite difficult to say the least. I could only imagine how our last conversation is going to be like.

JDV: Are you sure about this?
Me: You better believe it.

JDV: Will you miss me?
Me: Definitely.

JDV: How long has it been?
Me: Almost two decades.

JDV: That long huh?
Me: It was a blast.

JDV: Why now?
Me: I have to try others you know.

JDV: But I'm the best sounding speaker you've ever owned!
Me: The new one could be better.

JDV: Could be? You might regret it.
Me: Maybe.

JDV: Okay, just don't throw me away like some worthless piece of junk.
Me: I wont, I'd leave you in good hands.

JDV: This is it then.
Me: I'll visit you once in a while.

JDV: Promise?
Me: Scout's honor (I then held up three fingers)

JDV: Bye!
Me: So long buddy!