Based on Richie Quirino's book, Pinoy Jazz Traditions, which won the 2004 National Book Award in the music category (Philippines), PINOY JAZZ is a 59-minute video documentary that provides the first-ever documentation of the development of jazz in the Philippines, from its infancy in 1898, when Filipinos were first exposed to Black music performed by African-American soldiers, to its present-day maturity in which musicians are turning to indigenous sources for inspiration. Incorporating historical still photography, turn-of-the century film footage, maps, old recordings, present-day performances and interviews with veteran and contemporary musicians, the video presents an eye-opening view into an almost-forgotten history of the art of jazz as it developed in the Philippines over the last century.
Piding Alava, Lito Molina and Tony Velarde