Johnny Alegre

Guitarist-composer Juan B.H. Alegre III, a.k.a. Johnny Alegre attended the University of the Philippines College of Music in the latter 1970s, majored in composition and was a founding member of the U.P. Jazz Ensemble. He studied with the jazz educator Dr. Joseph Howard and pianist Fred Robles. He further participated in creative workshops conducted by musicologist-composer Dr. Erhard Karkoshka, guitarist Ike Isaacs and composer-scholar Chou Wen-chung. Alegre was professionally involved in scores of bands and recording projects, spanning more than two decades of Philippine jazz and popular music history and discography, in various capacities as a musician, arranger and record producer. In May of 2002, Johnny Alegre formed what became arguably Manila's premier jazz collective, the Johnny Alegre AFFINITY, with bassist Colby de la Calzada, drummer Koko Bermejo, pianist Elhmir Saison and saxophonist Tots Tolentino; initiating a series of musical chairs that continue dynamically until the present. His group performances span the breadth of Manila's high profile clubs and concert venues in modular formats: as a hard-hitting guitar trio; as an atmospheric quartet; and as a jazz quintet par excellence. Their first recorded work, "Stones Of Intramuros", written by Alegre, was included in a limited edition Philippine jazz anthology CD, Adobo Jazz Vol.1, that caught the attention of the U.K.-based jazz specialty label, Candid Records. Subsequently, the first eponymous album, "Johnny Alegre AFFINITY" was released in the Philippines in mid-2005, described by the local press as "a blend of musical, technical and communal creativity between the composer and his allies". The opus was subsequently re-released in the E.U. as "Jazzhound", with favorable reviews in U.K. jazz publications, and capped by two sold-out engagements (with guest saxophonist, Dimitri Vassilakis) in London's PizzaExpress Jazz Club. As part of the evolving cultural landscape of creative music in the Asia-Pacific, Johnny Alegre’s musical projects contribute meaningfully towards bringing an emerging and vibrant Philippine jazz milieu to the attention of Southeast Asia and beyond. Johnny Alegre unfolds his music in 2008 with a large and ambitious work, “Eastern Skies”, set to the symphonic backdrop of the Global Studio Orchestra conducted by Berklee suma cum laude Gerard Salonga with arrangements by Ria-Villena-Osorio. The new album is the long-awaited response to the clamor for even more innovative music from "Manila's jazz superband". Additional releases slated for the year include what promises to be a global breakthrough effort for a Philippine artist: a U.S. recording of the guitarist-composer joined by Billy Hart (drums) and Ron McClure (bass). Plans are also afoot for a Philippine-release album anthology (live and studio tracks) featuring several incarnations of Johnny Alegre's AFFINITY unit.