Sitti takes her music to the next level

So many Filipino artists dream of making a mark internationally. Bossa Nova Queen Sitti recently got a chance to fulfill that dream when she was invited to take part in the Tokyo-Manila Jazz and Arts Festival.

The Tokyo-Manila Jazz and Arts Festival is a joint project between the Philippine Embassy in Japan and a group called We Care. Meant to foster cultural exchange and artistic communication between Japan and the Philippines, it also aims to cultivate young and talented artists by giving them the opportunity to perform alongside their professional counterparts.

With jazz as the chosen genre, artists and musicians from the Philippines, US and all over Japan were invited to take part in the festival, which was held at the Sakura-Hall Shibuya Cultural Center in Owada, Japan a few weeks ago.

Sitti represented the Philippines with revered jazz icon Mon David. She was invited to the festival by Charito, a highly-regarded Filipina jazz vocalist based in Japan and one of the prime movers of the event. “Twice lang kami nagkita dito sa Manila,” relates Sitti, who had the chance to attend a workshop conducted by the Pinay jazz singer. “She told me about the festival and I said ‘Yes, yes, I really really want to join’ because it is a chance for me to learn. In Manila, I’ve always done jazz fests since 2006 but this would be my first time to participate in an international jazz festival. Ito yung una kong sabak sa ibang bansa, na ibang lahi ‘yung katugtugan. So we really pushed for it to happen. It’s always been my dream to do a collaboration with Charito. Natuwa ako because it gives us an opportunity to show that Filipinos are at par, if not some of the best, when it comes to jazz.”

As part of her participation in the festival, Sitti performed three songs: Tropicao, Para Sa Akin and her version of Sade’s Smooth Operator. She also joined a workshop spearheaded by Charito and Mon. During that workshop, Sitti shared her musical journey and performed a few songs. The most challenging part was learning how to perfect improvisation, one of the trademark skills of a seasoned jazz artist. “I learned a lot from Ms. Charito and Mon David,” shares Sitti. “And of all the things Mon said, honesty and sincerity struck me the most. He said, ‘You have to be honest and sincere about your craft — and you always have to ask that of yourself every time you do a note, or a song.’ He also made us sing a melody and he made us improvise so we could see how we can insert certain notes into a song with the melody in the background.”

Another valuable experience was watching the more seasoned jazz artists perform. After the workshop and dinner, the festival participants went to the jazz bar where Charito regularly performs. There was a jazz quartet from New York performing that night and Sitti was awed to see the level of appreciation people — and not just her fellow musicians — had for jazz music. “They really listen,” notes Sitti. “And it really means a lot that they do. Even in the festival, I was singing and all the numbers were well-applauded from beginning to end. Especially nung bandang huli na, when we were doing the encore, everyone was just smiling and some were clapping. During the gig that we got to watch, they were really attentive and they really listened.”

There are plans of making the Tokyo-Manila Jazz Festival an annual thing, but even better is that there are also plans to bring it to Manila. Hopefully, says Sitti, this will pique the interest of local audiences in jazz music.

Our local music scene is generally still pop-dominated. By bringing the festival to Manila, maybe the industry could stretch a bit and find more room for diverse types of music. Eventually, the goal is to develop a bigger audience for jazz. One of the things Sitti wants to see is the creation of more accessible venues for jazz music beyond the usual hotel lounges and bars where people actually have to get dressed up and pay considerable sums of money to listen to their music.

“In other countries, like in Japan, they play jazz even in open areas like parks and malls. People walk in, listen a bit and if they like it, they stay. The thing is, we need an opportunity to be heard [by a bigger audience.]”

For Sitti, being part of the Tokyo-Manila Jazz Festival was a signal that it is time to grow and take her music to the next level. Today, the Queen of Bossa Nova, tomorrow, the new Queen of Jazz? “Medyo mabigat ‘yon!” remarks Sitti who, it turns out, isn’t all that obsessed with titles. “Iniisip ko, sana gumaling ako pero hindi ko siya iniisip na I want to be that (Queen of Jazz). My participation in the jazz festival got me thinking and it made me realize that I want to stick to — not necessarily to bossa nova — but to pop-jazz standards. I’ve also been thinking about what Mon said, that for him it was a gradual growth. It wasn’t also an impervious decision that, ‘Okay, I wanna do jazz.’ It was a journey for him to get to where he is right now.”

And here, home from the Tokyo-Manila Jazz Festival, is where Sitti’s new journey will begin. And we wish the Bossa Nova Queen the “jazziest” best.