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Thursday, February 03, 2005
Serna: Billy Crawford, ready for the world
By Roger Serna
Sounds & images
Two days after the Sinulog grand parade, this columnist received an invitation for a piano concert at the chapel of the Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN) Channel 47, the network where we, together with Talisay Councilor Shirley Belleza, record producer Gloria Sua-Villarojo and broadcaster Eric Pagar, served as anchorpersons for the live coverage of the parade.
The concert was titled For His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, D.D., by pianist Myrna M. Ligan. It was an advance birthday present for the amiable Cardinal. CCTN’s “Tatay,” Bro. Nonito “Dodong” Limchua delivered the welcome remarks.
Ligan performed musical pieces by famous composers including Malotte, Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, Hine, Mercer, Van Heusen, Desmond and Maxwell as well as local composers, like Velarde, Santiago, Silos, Gonzales and Cuenco.
Most Rev. Julito B. Cortes’ intermission number was met with such loud applause that he had to oblige with an encore. Lauro Flores’ winning composition in the 25th Cebu Popular Music Festival, Bakakon Ka Diay, performed by its original interpreter Vanessa Arabis, was another intermission number.
For those who have only a faint idea of the concert artist, Ligan is a classically trained pianist who can easily fuse jazz and classical music. She holds a Bachelor in Music degree major in piano performance and music education. She also has a Master of Arts degree in education.
Ligan was a postgraduate scholar of New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, and was tutored by Jacob Maxin from the Faculty of Julliard.
She made her debut at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, New York, in 1993 followed by another in 1995.
She did command performances in Australia, Italy, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Canada, Philippines and in cities in the US. Her recent performance was for the International Ambassadors at the Qatar Academy in behalf of the Philippine Embassy where she received appreciative applause from the dignitaries composing the audience.
Myrna is a recipient of the Gintong Pamana and Centennial Citation Awards in Performing Arts. Watching her perform will not only make you feel the beauty of the music she plays but also the poetry of her fingers in motion as they make varied expressions on the ivory keys. Such a joy to listen and watch.
Fellow columnist Sam Costanilla was the emcee with Father Agustin Ancajas serving as the production director. The Oasis of Love Community-Cebu was also among those who worked for the realization of the project - a truly relaxing and nerve-soothing experience.
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While some Filipino singers claim to have launched an international recording career, so far only Billy Crawford has attained an international R&B-pop sensation status, and that’s an acknowledged fact.
With two million records sold and still counting (for songs like Trackin’, When You Think About Me, You Didn’t Expect That, Someone Like You, and Me Passer de Toi - a French composition, all from his two previous albums), Billy bounces back to the international music scene with his third album Big City.
The singer, dancer, performer, writer, actor and composer describes his third album as an adult album, one that looks like him and that he can truly be proud of. Here he sings adult lyrics with “raw feel.”
He admits having sung quite a lot of bubblegum pops and saw it as a stage in his career. He further acknowledges that every record is a risk and that doing the album was just to give way to his desire to do an album that sounded different.
Big City, released here under Universal Records, has an intro piece that lasts a little over one minute. The songs come in bouncing succession from Steamy Nights to Bright Lights then to Candy Store, Magazine, Wishes, Oh Dear, Surrender, Know You Wanna, Why, Jump Off, Hiccups, Cowboy and Go’N Girl with the bonus track titled Go Go which he performed with Kelli from Liberty X.
Indeed, Billy Crawford has gone a long way from the chubby little kid who wowed television viewers with his antics to a full blown artist (earning a nomination for Best Newcomer of the Year award in 2002 NRJ Music Awards and winning the International Male Artist of the Year award in 2003 over Will Smith, Eminem and Robbie Williams along the way).
For those who see the potential of this multi-talented artist, the release of the ambitious album marks only the beginning of a new and exciting saga.
Furthermore, the release also gave out signals that Billy Crawford is indeed ready for the world. Applause!
(February 3, 2005 issue)
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