Name: Johnny Alegre AFFINITY
Location: Makati, MM
Relationship Status: Married
Occupation: composer-guitarist
Record Label: Candid
About Me: Guitarist-composer Johnny Alegre was a founding member of the U.P. Jazz Ensemble and 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 2002, he formed what became arguably Manila's premier jazz collective, the Johnny Alegre AFFINITY; initiating a series of musical chairs that continue dynamically until the present. His 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. The U.K.-based jazz specialty label, Candid Records released his first eponymous album, "Johnny Alegre AFFINITY", praised by the international press as "a blend of musical, technical and communal creativity between the composer and his allies", 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.
Links: www.myspace.com/johnnyalegre



Band Members: Johnny Alegre AFFINITY [CAN-KC-5001]
JAZZHOUND (U.K. version) [CCD 79842]
{CANDID RECORDS}
Johnny Alegre (composer-guitarist), Tots Tolentino (saxophones), Elhmir Saison (piano), Colby dela Calzada (bass), Koko Bermejo (drums)

EASTERN SKIES [CAN-KC-5006] {CANDID RECORDS}
Johnny Alegre (composer-guitarist), Tots Tolentino (saxophones), Joey Quirino (piano), Colby dela Calzada (bass), Koko Bermejo (drums), Ria Villena-Osorio (arranger-orchestrator) // with the Global Studio Orchestra: Gerard Salonga (orchestra conductor)

Various concerts and bar gigs (trios, quartets, quintet): Dave Harder (bass), Colby dela Calzada (bass), Mar Dizon (drums), Ricky Posadas (drums), Joey Quirino (keyboards), Alvin Cornista (saxophones)

// Past members (live and unreleased recordings): Jeri de Leon (elec.bass), Simon Tan (bass) // Other personnel: Cooky Chua (vocals, 2002-present), Mishka Adams (vocals, 2004-2005)
Genre: jazz, jazz-rock, blues, opm