The swan can be a songbird

Zia Quizon, the new Polyeast recording artist/ASAP regular, was in the same school and year as my eldest son from the age of six to 12. So I’d constantly see her at school activities and programs. She was Mary Magdalene in their school staging of Jesus Christ Superstar, and sang at their graduation. Even back then, she possessed a strong, if raw, singing voice. Hiding behind her eyeglasses, sweater and hoodies, one could still discern the talent, and saw the beautiful face that lay beneath the seeming shy nature and reluctance to get up on stage and perform to an audience. Zia is the daughter of Zsa Zsa Padilla and Dolphy, but it still came as a surprise to see her album cover, and find the girl is now a young woman in bloom; in her own way, a swan! And when I listened to the first track, I was floored by the distinctive, husky, full alto — a voice that’s quite unique in our music scene, a songbird that would seem to be now in full flight!

Zia Quizon — Zia (Polyeast Records). Zia’s first CD is a six-song collection that’s remarkable for how she flits from one genre to the next, while wrapping her smoky, mature beyond her years, alto, and making each song her own! She starts off with a wonderful remake of So Much In Love, done in R&B/pop/lite jazz fashion, and surprises to the max with the next track, the Taglish Ako Na Lang, served up in a syncopated, acoustic acid jazz vein. It’s here, and on the surprisingly mature, self-penned, bluesy Simple Girl, that Zia gives fair warning that here is a singular voice for the ages. Dear Lonely is unabashed exuberant pop, and she does her own versions of the Ray-An Fuentes’ Mambobola and Charlie Chaplin’s Smile. If I had to be critical, I personally found these last two remakes the weaker set of songs on her still impressive showcase.

In fact, on the strength of Simple Girl, I can imagine her doing an Adele, singing jazzy ballads with just the piano as accompaniment. Her voice is what makes this CD, despite the paucity of tracks, such a celebration. It would seem she’s a very young “old soul,” and each time I play the CD, I wish there were more songs to enjoy. Zsa Zsa may be proud of Karylle, and her ongoing stint in a Singapore TV musical, but here, is one brand new reason for Zsa Zsa to take an extra bow. Zia had a Teatrino mini-show on the night of Sept. 22, and it should be one major leap for this young girl I once watched warbling I Don’t Know How to Love Him on a school stage.