Skarlet Brown, Tots Tolentino topbill ‘Jeepney Jazz’

If vintage music could be colorized, let Skarlet Brown paint them in jazz neon.

This 29 June, 8 to 10 p.m. at Ayala Museum, Skarlet’s upcoming Jeepney Jazz Session features tunes from the vintage American songbook, with lyrics translated into Filipino. The repertoire includes traditional Philippine songs arranged for the sound of now.

Skarlet is joined on the stage by internationally acclaimed saxophone wizard Tots Tolentino. Tolentino is most famous for joining the Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet upon the invitation of Japanese trumpet guru Terumasa Hino and sharing the spotlight with top jazzmen from Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Filipinas Heritage Library, in partnership with Purefoods Deli, presents Jeepney Jazz to bring to the front neglected histories of Filipino creativity and musicality. This music education program pairing talks with concerts highlights how Filipino composers and performers transform foreign influences and propel their leap into global routes. Jazz playing since the 1920s, for instance, started the trend of Filipinos doing overseas work in bands and clubs across Asia.

For the traditional Philippine repertoire, Skarlet journeys through the kundiman and zarzuela music scenes of the 1920s-1950s era. The route she takes goes back to the future, infusing the old, familiar pieces with the vigor of today’s jazz soundscapes.

Many of the songs Skarlet sings are translations by the poet Pete Lacaba. The esteemed lineage of “salin-awit” continues well into the present through writers like Lacaba, the National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio, and the late playwright and children’s book author Rene Villanueva.

Multi-awarded as a performer and a jazz songwriter, Skarlet is celebrated in the Philippine jazz world for her rich, earthy vocal power. Among the prizes this full-throated diwata of scat singing has won is the 2019 Aliw Award for Best Jazz Artist. Her poem “Colors Danced” recently won a prize at the 2024 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards. The Philippine Graphic Reader gave the same award in fiction to showbiz celebrity-turned-writer Rita Avila.

Tickets for Jeepney Jazz Session 2 with Skarlet Brown available at bit.ly//fhl-jeepneyjazz-skarlet. Email asklibrarian@filipinaslibrary.org.ph.