Grand lady of jazz turns 75

She started singing at a tender age of six in stage shows which also allowed her to display her acting talent. At 12, she performed for American servicemen detailed at the former Clark Air Base in Pampanga. At 15, she was a frontliner at Jimmy’s Night Club along Dewey (now Roxas) Boulevard. At 20, she clinched a contract to perform in Okinawa, where her older sister also worked as a singer.

For more than six decades now, Annie Brazil, tagged as Asia’s Queen of Jazz, has undoubtedly made music her life. She has kept the jazz circuit alive and has stayed loyal to the music genre despite the constant Top 40s that flood the charts.

“I never gave up jazz for any type of music,” declares Annie. “I believe there is always a place for jazz even if pop was the more popular choice. There are always people who will appreciate jazz.”

Annie was lured to jazz by listening to male singers like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Van Monroe. Subsequently, she developed her own style of singing high-brow jazz tunes. Audiences who have seen her perform attest she is the local version of such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Margaret White.

Jazz has taken Annie to places where she was honored and her talent was allowed to shine. After her stint in Okinawa, she wowed audiences in Australia. In 1969, she was invited by Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein to attend the outdoor musical spectacle in Baltimore (Maryland), where she got to hobnob with jazz greats like Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Nina Simmons and pop icons The Bee Gees.

It was also in 1969 when she performed with Duke Ellington in a jazz concert in Bangkok that featured the likes of Lionel Hampton and Ellis Marsalis, father of Wynton Marsalis. In 2003, Annie received an artistic achievement award from the Asian-American Jazz Festival in New York.

She was also a special guest recently in the Naval Order of the United States, New York Commandery, where she sang and led the American National Anthem. Annie likewise received lifetime achievement honors in the 20th Aliw Awards, where she earlier became a Hall of Fame awardee.

In Bangkok, where she lived with her husband, British-Australian concert impresario David Wolfe, Annie had memorable Sunday jazz jamming sessions with the likes of Roger Herrera, Rey Cristobal, Eddie Katindig and Romy Posadas. Annie’s eldest child, Richard Merk, already versatile even in his early teens then, would also jam with the group.

The grand lady of jazz has been based in New Jersey since 1990, with daughter Rachel Anne Wolfe and the latter’s family — Italian husband John Spitaletta, who is a publisher and an advertising executive and their four sons. Early this year, Annie wrapped up her 11-year singing stint every weekend at Cucina Stagionale, the popular Italian restaurant on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village in New York, where she had loyal patrons who came to listen to her.

While her contemporaries have long settled for retirement, Annie tirelessly continues to perform. Whenever she can, the jazz queen manages to return to Manila and accommodate a stint to perform live. Early this year, she did a well-received concert with her children — Richard and Rachel — at Captain’s Bar of Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

“An active life is the key to staying young,” Annie maintains. “You age if you remain inactive. But in my case, I am an enigma as a singer. I enjoyed every place I performed in, be it a small night club or a big stage.”

Understandably, Annie’s inherent love for music was passed on to her children, Richard and Rachel, renowned artists in their own right. However, Annie insists she never taught her children how to sing, but how to carry a tune.

“I told them they have to sing from the heart with their own style,” Annie shares. “To sing a song with feeling, you must know what life is all about. Listening to records doesn’t teach you how to sing. It teaches you how to copy, which I hate. With experience, you get the true emotion of the song as though the source of both pain and joy is there again for you to live through.”

Admittedly, Annie’s life wasn’t rosy all the way. At 22, she was ready to go to the US and marry Richard’s dad, James Bernard Merk, whom she met in Okinawa. But Annie’s father, Gualberto Bulawin, didn’t allow his daughter to make the trip.

It was love at first sight for the elder Merk when he saw Annie. He was an American airforce disc jockey in Okinawa and every day, he would dedicate love songs to her like Misty and These Foolish Things. Sadly, they didn’t end up together.

In 1959, Annie tied the knot with David Wolfe in Hong Kong. Seven years later, in 1966, Wolfe and Ching Imperial brought The Beatles to perform in Manila, with a historical, sold-out concert at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Annie and David, however, separated in 1972. Since then, she never married or went with another man. He died only two years ago. “I realized it’s better to play mahjong than have a man in your life,” Annie smilingly declares.

This month, Annie turns 75 — and what better way to mark her birthday than with a concert series. She graces the Wednesday Jazz Festival at Merk’s Bar and Bistro in Greenbelt 3, owned by son Richard and his wife, Roni Tapia-Merk. Annie will take centerstage on Oct. 15 and 22. Her daughter Rachel joins her on the last performance date.

“I never count the years when I perform,” Annie grants. “That way, you don’t feel old. Singing keeps me busy. I sing to stay young. Music will make you feel young.”

Annie says she does not follow a strict repertoire when she performs. “I sing whatever comes to my mind. I’m easy to work with. Even if a pianist does not know my song, he can easily follow.”

Jazz Prince Richard Merk jests, “She can sing the jazzed-up version of My Way and trust that there will be no violence that will happen.”

Admirably enough, Annie, at 75, is one performer who doesn’t need a prompter for her lyrics when she sings. “The more I read from a prompter, the more I cannot concentrate on singing,” says the grand lady of jazz. “I know all the songs that I sing by heart.”