Sunday, August 26, 2007 Jazz island By Jenara Regis Newman
FIRST, the good news for jazz lovers: you can actually find a quartet playing jazz at the Mactan Island Choice, along the main road of Lapu-Lapu City, some meters away from the City Hall. The bad news? These jazz enthusiasts play only on Saturday nights.
Coordinating the group is Dr. Alfonso “Boy” Amores, a plastic surgeon, who looks for a jazz club in all the places he visits all over the globe. Not finding one here in Metro Cebu where he is now based, he has chosen to make jazz happen; hence, this group called Mactan Jazz.
In the group, it’s only Dr. Amores who is not a professional musician but, he says, he was tutored weekly for two years by the bass guitarist of a jazz band in West Virginia. The bass guitar, he says, keeps the music “grounded” on its main theme; while the other instruments, individually or collectively, go off on their improvised jazz flights of fancy.
The saxophonist, who also plays the flute, is Roland Cornista, a retired balikbayan professional musician from Chicago. The guitarist is Fredo Aton who is based in Mactan. The violinist is Frank Cane who teaches music at the Marigondon Elementary School. Frank, when the music moves him, also sings – and how!
A plus factor in being in Mactan Island Choice on Saturday night, or any other time of the day or the night, is that the food is very good, thanks to self-taught chef Jun Pabillaran who is from Iloilo. The spaghetti is absolutely fantastic and the pizzas are good, and so are the other dishes. With such food and such music, no wonder Australia-based Inday Recongco took the mike to sing with the group in their rendition of Usahay. And yes, if your feet like dancing, here you can, as did Susan Calero and Camilo Dimataga.
Doc Amores says Mactan Jazz Plays for the love of the music and any jazz enthusiast can jam with them on Saturday nights. Only at Mactan Island Choice.
