By Sylvia L. Mayuga

Twenty years ago, Aya Yuson came home in trance.  He just had his first live musical Sensurround at the U.P. Conservatory of Music. Now he wanted to drop a course in business management at the Ateneo de Manila and defect to the Muses full time.

There was no stopping him and a wild ride began.  After an intensive summer course on the acoustic guitar with Lester Demetillo, Aya, 16, won first prize for a haunting “Capriccio Arabe” in a university-wide classical guitar competition.  Contrapuntal discovery followed: what he really, truly wanted was to become a jazz artist like Wes Montgomery.

Formal courses at the Conservatory were never enough for him.  Dropping out in third year (“I have more to learn outside”), he nevertheless trotted out a deepening grasp of things musical in mischievous reviews of other musicians in performance under the pseudonym “Wes, Jr.” for the Manila Chronicle (once royally upsetting a deeply entrenched pop icon who will remain unnamed here).

Meanwhile he was also doing musical arrangements for contemporaries like Cookie Chua in early Color it Red, and forever disappearing into the dens of master musicians like Arturo Arreza, Ehlmir Saison and Tateng Katindig.

Aya’s guitar went electric in his late teens. Soon he was playing jazz standards with Ronald Tomas on sax in a chilly, blue-lit bar called Left Alone in Makati.  Next he was publicly jamming with his jazz “senyores”–- pianist Ehlmir, bassist Colby de la Calzada and drummer Mar Dizon in sweaty SRO performances.

Then the appellate “Golden Boy of Philippine Jazz” was pinned on him by the late great jazz guitarist Menchu Apostol, whom he called “Papa Chu.”  It’s been quite a ride.

Aya at 35 continues to ease into showcase evenings with Big Boys in the global jazz universe–like Tots Tolentino of the heart-twisting tenor sax and that pure silk of a jazz singer, Mon David. (Don’t you dare die before you hear his take-off on “Atin cu pung singsing .”)

Between musical peaks, Aya has done livelihood stints with old U.P. classmates and foreign gigs with pop bands like Kulay, Legacy and Union, but has always homed back to jazz with stellar obstinacy.

Besides performing with fellow musicians of choice at present, he writes pithy liner notes for their albums on request, does session work and more arrangements, and continues to play his jazz guitar in Manila’s watering holes (the latest is the Mandarin Oriental).

He also tutors private students and teaches at the East Bay Academy of the Arts overlooking Laguna de Bai, off Sucat.

Here’s our inner view:

Sylvia: To borrow a phrase from your dad, Angel Song would be your fourth music child,* Aya. What makes this album different?
Aya: All songs in this album are original–unlike the last album, Aya Yuson: Solo –-which had all standards and tunes by other composers.  And unlike the WDOUJI albums, half of this album is vocal tunes, with singers singing lyrics.

S: When that aficionado Tinnie Esguerra reviewed Solo for the Philippine Star , he heard catharsis in it. But it had a partner. “Part Parody, Part Catharsis” was the title, right?
A: Yeah. “Part parody” because it made fun of things I like making fun of–like the Sex Bomb Dancers, the Selecta ice cream jingle, etc. “Part catharsis” because it was born of heartbreak–a song that would not be denied (Music Link: “All the Things You Are “) or let me rest until it was set free to soar. (Read “Part Parody, Part Catharsis “)

S: Romantic fool. What about WDOUJI–what’s it short for, again?  And please remind me– who else was in it and how did you guys come up with that name?
A: Witch Doctors of Underground Jazz Improvisation–that’s in Tinnie’s review.  That name was Koko Bermejo’s idea. The personnel: Koko on drums, THE Simon Tan on bass, Ronald Tomas on saxophone, and me on guitar.

S: About those two WDOUJI albums–from the distance of six years, how would you describe their respective characters?
A: Ground Zero , the first album, was mellow. Zen & the Art of Dressmaking , the second album, was wild.

S: Ground Zero because you did it soon after 9-11?
A: A few days after 9-11, Koko came up with the tune “Ground Zero,” which was a heartfelt response to the craziness of war.  We all agreed that tune best reflected the thrust of the album as a whole. That’s why it became the title cut.

S: Yeah, 9-11 with WDOUJI was unforgettable.  You guys were playing “Stella by Starlight” like a soundtrack to the Twin Towers exploding on silent TV monitors in Monk’s Dream that evening. Now what about Zen & the Art of Dressmaking ?
A: As with most things in WDOUJI’s world, that title began as a joke. We were hardly earning anything from our music at one point and saxophonist Ronald said he wanted to go back to school to study dressmaking.

I’m still not sure how serious he was about that, but I wrote the tune “Zen & the Art of Dressmaking” to commemorate that ridiculous idea, which became the title track. (Music link: “Zen and the Art of Dressmaking “)

S: So what did you do for each album and what would you say you learned from each?
A: For both WDOUJI albums, I composed, arranged, and played the tunes.  For Solo , I arranged and played. With each album, I learn as much about what not to do as I do about what to do . . . doobeedoobeeedoo.

S: Hahaha!  Would you hazard an opinion on WDOUJI’s place in Philippine jazz history?
A: Modesty aside, WDOUJI really shook up the scene for the two years we were around as a group.  Our elders were happy that torchbearers of the jazz flame were making their presence felt. Our peers were flabbergasted that we had the guts to stick to our guns.  Many younger musicians were inspired to look into forms of music other than mainstream pop music.

S: If “parody” and “catharsis” became taglines for Solo, what would it be for Angel Song ?
A: Share the gift, share the love.

S:  Tell me more.
A: Almost everyone knows something about the what. Most people know a bit about the who.  Many know a bit about the how. A few know a bit about the when.

One thing almost no one talks about is the why.

As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one why worth pursuing: share the gift, share the love.

S: Hmm. Now tell me how you made your choices of singers and instrumentalists for it.
A: They were all the best musicians for the job at hand–Tots on tenor sax; Simon Tan on bass, both upright and electric; Alex Fidel on drums; Skarlet, Arthur Manuntag, Aileen Balon, and Yosha Honasan on vocals.

Listening to the album now, I realize that the casting was well-nigh perfect. I’m ecstatically happy with everyone’s work on the album. The only thing wrong with it was the guitar player. (Music Link: “Angel Song “)

S: Funny boy ka, ha?  So besides writing all the music, lyrics and arrangements for Angel Song , you did everything else– also casting, even production.  Kulang na lang video with you guys dancing onstage. Do many musicians do this besides Madonna?
A: Examples abound–Cynthia Alexander, Joey Ayala, guitarist Robben Ford, Joni Mitchell, to name a few.

S:  What you’ve got here is a wide musical, artistic, even age range. Is there an organizing principle for all these fourteen cuts?
A: The track order follows a story arc.  It traces the path of a heart that was broken then learned to rise again. At the end, the first tune, “Nubian Princess,” is revisited/ reprised. Thus the story arc comes full circle.

S: Oho, another romantic confession. But it also looks like the sketch of a play book and score for a future Angel Song, the musical, don’t you think?
A: I haven’t thought about that yet.

S: Meanwhile what’s the game plan for Angel Song , the CD?
A: Sell millions of copies, get rich and famous, and rule the world.

S: Hahaha!  I still remember how you loved Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien back in high school. He started you out on the road to jazz, didn’t he?  How far do you think you’ve come since then?
A: Satriani’s not a jazz musician. He’s a rock guitarist. And I’m still the same person.  I still don’t know sh-t. The only difference is that now I know that I don’t know sh-t.

S:  I only said Satriani got you started, wise guy. Anyway, how did a boy-next-door like you wind up with Black Man’s music?
A: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

S: Hahaha! So who would be your other musical mommas and poppas?
A: Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Arturo Arreza, Elhmir Saison, Tateng Katindig, and Emcy Corteza.

S: Philippine jazz has a long history and many distinguished practitioners, but it’s never become mainstream here.  Considering the Pinoy’s natural musicality, what’s your biggest “if only” for this part of the music scene?
A: If only music would be about sounding good rather than looking good.

S: But you have both gift and grit for making your dreams come true, Aya. You’ve already had a taste of jamming with black jazzers in Manila and San Francisco.  I seem to recall your one-liners on how you blew them away. What happened there?
A: Immodesty ill becomes the moment. I just did my thing and they did theirs.  And we all liked what we came up with.

S: So what jazz capitals do you dream of visiting and playing in, perhaps living in next?
A: New York, London, Paris.

S: How do you see yourself ten, twenty years from now?
A: Older, better, and with even less hair.

S: Hahaha! Sige na nga. If you can’t be serious longer than half a minute, exit laughing na lang. But wait. What’s your blog site, again?
A: I have several.  Here, click to: http://profiles.friendster.com/18685291

S: And your e-mail address?
A: ayuson@yahoo.com

*Music Child is the title story of a collection of short stories by Alfred A. Yuson, published in 1989