After only two years at the Calesa, the finest lounge/bar in the metropolis, Yamani has blossomed into a seasoned songstress of amazing range and depth. She plays the role of torch singer to the hilt–belting out standards from as early as the roaring ’20s to as recent as the acoustic ’70s with equal doses of expertise and elegance. She herself describes her sound as somewhat scintillating. "It’s sexy in the sense that it’s very smooth, very suave, very flirty," she enthuses.
But at the same time, it’s effortless, flowing gently and unhurriedly, straight from her heart, her soul. "My style is very soulful and relaxed," she acknowledges. "It’s cool, chill-out music."
She, however, had her start in the biz, dishing out the exact opposite. When she was the lead vocalist of the Great Divide band, she specialized in R&B, hip-hop, and dance tunes, even heartbreaking sentimental ballads when she waxed her first solo album. "After a while, I soon got tired of singing Buttercup and Dancing Queen all the time," she hollers. "It became monotonous. I was looking for something different, a new challenge."
It is a shining testament to her versatility that Yamani was able to make the transition from band music to standards so easily, so painlessly. Credit goes to her musical childhood, it seems.
When she was growing up in Canada, her father used to play a slew of classic Nat King Cole records. "I was kinda familiar with songs like Misty," she recalls.
But when she decided to reinvent herself into a "torch song diva," she made a conscious decision to expand her musical vocabulary, her repertoire, even further. As such, she constantly does research on songs, builds up her play list, learns from other performers by watching them, and polishes her own with the help of her mentors (voice teacher Kitchie Molina of the UP Conservatory of Music and pianist Rudy Francisco of the Calesa Bar).
She became more earnest in her task when she started her stint at the Calesa Bar, which is renowned in the industry for producing such top-caliber performers as Verni Varga, Ivy Violan, Joey Albert, Anna Fegi, to name a few. "It’s really encouraging," Yamani says of her craft, "to make sure that I’ll be able to live up to the Calesa standard and tradition of excellence."
She felt deeply honored when she was accepted to join the Calesa stable of singers. "And Tito Rudy (Calesa’s resident pianist for the past 36 years) has been very patient with me," she attests. "It’s really a pleasure and a privilege to work with him. I feel very lucky because he really sits down with me and sets aside time to practice with me one on one. Every Sunday, I usually drop by at the bar and we have piano rehearsals."
From her Tito Rudy she picked up a greater knowledge of and appreciation for standards. "I learned how to sing standards for sure," she quips. "I also learned how to get my key. He also taught me which songs I should know by heart. He gave me a list. He also told me to watch certain singers and observe how they perform, how they relate with the audience."
From her weekly voice lessons with Kitchie, Yamani gained self-confidence, as well as practical tips that help her whenever she’s performing in front of an audience. "I really learned a lot," she owns up. "I used to have a lot of bad habits. Like I used to move my mouth too much. She corrected me and told me to just let the diaphragm do all the work. She shared a lot of do’s and don’ts with me."
Voice lessons also helped her stretch her range. "I was surprised to learn that I am not just an alto as I previously thought, but that I can also do lyric soprano," she says. "I can sing in an operatic fashion, but my teacher told me that since I perform in bars and lounges I should try to sound more pop because more people prefer pop."
More importantly, she realized that her true calling, her ultimate passion, is music. "My teacher advised that if I really want to sing standards I should really listen to it all the time," Yamani recounts. "That I should live it, breathe it. So that I would develop an ear for it, a taste for it."
Yamani now relishes the classics like a dyed-in-the-wool torch songstress. She can croon a Spanish song (Sabor a Mi), a French ditty (La Vie en Rose), even a Grammy-winning Norah Jones hit (Don’t Know Why) at the drop of a hat. "The demands on me as an artist are greater," she says of singing standards. "Even musicians tell me it’s harder to play standards. The chords are more difficult." Fortunately, Yamani is not the type to shirk from a mighty challenge. "It’s a never-ending learning process," she intones. "Learning something new gives me fulfillment as an artist."
Another great joy is to be able to hear the crowd’s reaction. Applause, she affirms, is music to her ears. "I know it’s so simple and shallow but when I hear people say that they’ve enjoyed my set, I’m on cloud nine already," she beams. "It’s something priceless." And precious.
Yamani sings at the Calesa Bar, at the Hyatt Hotel along Roxas Boulevard every Tuesday night. Every Monday night, music lovers can catch Yamani at the Casino Pilipino at the new Hyatt Hotel in Manila (M.H. del Pilar corner Pedro Gil). Every Thursday night, she is the featured performer at the Exchange Bar of the Richmonde Hotel in Ortigas Center.
Indeed, precious, priceless princess Yamani is going places.