Jazz up & dance with Judith & Emcy

MANILA, Philippines - Two female singers with powerful voices — Judith Banal and Emcy Corteza — will share the stage in Jazz Up and Dance, a one-night concert tomorrow, Aug. 31 at RJ Bistro at Dusit Thani Hotel.

This will not be the first time for Judith and Emcy to mount the concert stage together. “Emcy and I have shared the stage a few times in the past for private functions,” offers Judith. “We also performed together at the Calesa Bar reunion show and a lot of fundraisers.”

Meanwhile, Emcy acknowledges she and Judith have come a long way. “Since the ’90s, we used to alternate performing at Hyatt’s Calesa Bar, having Rudy Francisco as our pianist. Judith used to be the vocalist of Cicada and Powerplay band, while I was with Fourplay.”

When Emcy finally went solo, she encouraged and insisted that Judith should do the same. “At the Hyatt Hotel, that’s where our paths crossed,” Emcy recalls. “The band Poppin’ Jazz was a common ground, having most of the members performing with Gary Valenciano. We have regular Sunday gigs at the Eclipse Bar at Solaire. Judith and Powerplay also do Friday gigs at Solaire Resort and Casino.”

Judith and Emcy shared the stage in December last year at Musica Bar in Greenhills, followed by another at Sage Bar in Makati Shangri-La. They also had a chance to perform together at Conrad Hotel.

Judith started in the music industry as one of the lead vocalists of Manila’s then premier bands, Cicada and Powerplay. As a solo artist, she has been the only female singer to guest in many shows of Gary V.

Growing up surrounded by people who loved music, Judith credits her paternal grandfather who was a musician as her biggest influence in loving jazz. Her father was also a musician in his college days. Next would be her older sister Joyce, who graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree at the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) and also sang professionally.

Her sister inspired Judith to later on perform jazz and make singing her profession even if she has a degree in Pharmacy. “Another influence would be the late Rudy Francisco during my stint at Calesa Bar, where I started my solo singing career,” Judith says. “Of course, the Eddie Katindig gave me the biggest break to sing jazz back in the late ’80s.”

Judith listens to a lot of singers from all genres. “I am not into heavy jazz and scathing is not my thing,” she admits. “But I admire Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Natalie Cole, Dianne Schuur, Dianne Reeves and every soulful singer one can think of. I particularly listen to pop-jazz artists such as Randy Crawford, Kevyn Lettau, Renee Olstead or acid-jazz groups like Brand New Heavies and Incognito.”

Tomorrow, Judith and Emcy will dish out a diverse repertoire in Jazz Up and Dance. “We will sing a mix of well-loved and favorite jazz, pop and dance tunes that will make the audience smile and feel good the entire evening,” Judith grants. “Emcy and I will do a few songs together and we’ll just surprise the audience.”

Emcy points out she and Judith usually have the same songs in their repertoire, like the ones by Sergio Mendes, Patti Austin, Seawind and many more. Dance music is Judith’s “forte,” while Emcy sings a great deal of jazz tunes.

Joining Judith and Emcy in Jazz Up and Dance is jazz prince Richard Merk, with Poppin’ Jazz, a group that includes the finest session musicians such as Ding and Tek Faustino, Ritchie Ramos of the Powerplay Band, Rudy Lozano on guitar and Dix Lucero on saxophone.