Jose Mari Chan: Manhattan is in the heart

Back in 1986, I visited Jose Mari Chan in his office at one of the skyscrapers on Wall Street in New York City. He was manning the family’s sugar business, and we sat at a sofa near a window which commanded a sweeping few of Manhattan. At that moment, I felt the inspiration that fueled Joe Mari to write Refrain, one of his classic songs, with this line: I look out and I see the rain as it falls on my window pane. And the music that’s in my heart is a sad refrain…Fluctuations in the market scene fill my Dow Jones with every be, and the music that’s in my heart is the same sad refrain…

That’s why I was not surprised when his new album is called The Manhattan Connection: The Songs of Jose Mari Chan (released by Universal Records). Besides the fact that Manhattan is in his heart because he and his family lived there (in the upscale Scarsdale), the album is the brainchild of Manhattan Transfer member Janis Siegel.

Unlike Christian Bautista’s Romance Revisited (also by Universal Records) which is composed of JMC covers, all sung by Christian, the 11 songs on Manhattan Connection are rearranged by foreign award-winning artists handpicked by Siegel and co-producer Yaron Gershovsky, namely: Constant Change and Stay, My Love by Nic Bearde, Like Night & Day by Roger Treece and Lauren Kinhan, Thank You, Love by Julie Hardy, I Have Found My World In You and Easier Said Than Done by Kellylee Evans, A Heart’s Journey by Leo Sidran, Love Lost Lisa Fischer, Walking In The Moonlight by Theo Bleckmann (with an a cappella intro by Siegel and Lauren Masse), So I’ll Go by Siegel and Kinhan and Spellbound by Miles Griffith.

Asked if he had a hand in choosing the selections on the album, Joe Mari said no.

co-produced by Manhattan Transfer nine-time Grammy winner Janis Siegel

Siegel and Gershovsky requested Joe Mari to lend them his entire catalogue of songs, and the next time Joe Mari knew they had come up with CD.

“I didn’t even hear the songs until I heard the finished product,” Joe Mari told Funfare in a one-on-one after the presscon held the other day at Starbucks (Tomas Morato, Quezon City) which is selling the album in its outlets nationwide. “One day when my wife (Maryann Ansaldo) and I were in New York, Janis invited us to her apartment and played the CD. I was floored!”

I felt the same way when I played the CD on my car stereo on my way to The STAR. Yes, I, too, was floored! Hearing Joe Mari’s old familiar love songs with a refreshing, jazzy touch is an entirely new memorable listening experience.

It’s not the first time that JMC’s songs have been remade by other artists but this one stands out because it’s done by foreign artists in a first ever tribute to a Filipino artist.

“I’m humbled,” Joe Mari said, clarifying that it’s not the Manhattan Transfer that sings the songs but other artists, with Siegel and Gershovsky as the only two with Manhattan Transfer “connection.” 

Somebody asked Joe Mari what his opinion is on foreign artists having concerts here, something frowned upon by his colleagues (foremost of whom is Kuh Ledesma who wanted foreign artists “banned” during the Valentine Season).

Matter-of-factly, Joe Mari said that he, in fact, welcomed foreign artists because music being universal, there shouldn’t be any line discriminating one from the other because of race or nationality.

“You know,” he said, “this is a free country. Filipinos love music and it is their freedom to go and watch what they want, whether a local show or a foreign show,” recalling that once upon a time he himself produced a show by a foreign artist, Michael Johnson (And I’ll Always Love You, etc.) who, without Joe Mari’s asking him, sang Joe Mari’s hit song Beautiful Girl.

“I watched Matt Monro when he performed here,” adding in jest, “and I even watched the Beatles at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The ticket was so expensive that I saved for it and didn’t eat breakfast for three days,” then turning serious, “Besides, artists can learn from each other. Filipinos can learn from foreign artists and vice-versa. But I also hope that our Filipino will support local artists. For example, if Lady Gaga performs here, maybe she can hire a local band to back her up.”

Yaron Gershovsky, musical director and pianist/keyboardist of Manhattan Transfer

The album, added Joe Mari, has shown him that, as he said, music is universal.

“I composed the song with a Filipino sensibility but the foreign artists captured it perfectly well. The Americans easily related to the thoughts and feelings expressed in my songs. You get the feeling that they seem to be saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve experienced that’.”

Multi-awarded (Diamond Record Awards in sales for Constant Change and a Double Platinum for Christmas In Our Hearts, etc.), Joe Mari has kept his youthful looks and exuberance that made him an idol in his own right during his Nineteeners days back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“What makes you look young?” Mario Bautista asked Joe Mari, a father of three boys (Michael, Joe and Franco) who all sing and a girl (Lisa who sings with Joe Mari the carrier single of Christmas In Our Hearts).

“I married the right woman,” said Joe Mari.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare.)