"Enchanting Melodies on Native Instruments" was the phrase used to introduce the Ne Pomoceno Quartet to mid-western audiences in 1917. Nowadays, those words are ironic, considering that, outside of the International Expositions, Filipinos playing in clubs and chautauquas rarely played native instruments, although they did play Philippine adaptations of European string instruments. This website is dedicated to Filipino musicians in the United States, especially those "old-timers" who performed during the early 20th century. My father was one of them: he played in a band in New Orleans and other cities during the 1930s. My grandfather and granduncle played in the Philippine Constabulary Band in international expositions. Filipinos have been entertaining audiences with their music since at least the early 20th century. Considering that "Manilla Men" first began settling in the Louisiana territory during the 18th century, it's possible that Filipino musicians have been making music in the Americas since the 19th century or earlier. My aim for this website is to post information on these little-known and under-appreciated musicians, and update as often as possible. This is a labor of love. Thanks to the "Redpath Chautauqua Collection and Traveling Culture exhibit, Special Collections, University of Iowa for making some of this material (photographs and documents about Filipino musicians in the Chautauqua) available.
If you have information or photos of Filipino musicians or bands from the early to mid-20th century (1960s) and would like it posted on this site, contact me at okir2k@gmail.com.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
It's been ages since I posted to this blog. But there are reasons why I'm starting it up again. I was spurred by a recent failed bid on E-bay, for a banjo ukulele c. 1920s that came with a case marked "Philippine Serenaders." I was tipped off by Filipino-American history scholar Eloisa Borah. While the banjolele would have relatively little interest for non-Filipino players or collectors, it is important to the U.S. Filipino community as a historical artifact of a little-known part of our history in the U.S.
I was willing to go all out on the bid. But, naku! During the last 40 seconds of the bid, my internet connection went down!!! And I wasn't able to get it restarted until bidding was over. I was devastated, and Eloisa later noted that it was a "huge loss."
Later, metaphorically licking my wounds, I realized that my interest wasn't just in the banjolele as a historical artifact. I was interested in learning to play it. I had listened to and seen videos of musicians playing a banjolele, and was entranced by its sound. I then went on to view youtube videos of musicans playing soprano, concert and tenor ukes, as well as dobro and resonator ukes, and was amazed at what people are doing with ukes nowadays.
I then realized that I had a uke at home; my father's ancient uke, a rustic model with rough-hewn mother-of-pearl inlay. Its finish is worn and scratched, and there are a couple of more-than-hairline cracks in the back. But it's still playable. I can read music, and played guitar as a teen. But it's been years since I have tried to play a stringed instrument.
I am now learning to play it, and I'm beginning to understand the charm it holds for ukulele musicians. It's just a happy instrument! I can now understand why there is a resurgence of interest in ukuleles, and why there are ukulele festivals worldwide, not only in Hawaii, but in Germany, Japan, and Italy.
So, I am putting out a call to the web universe to see if I can find that lost banjolele that once belonged to the Philippine Serenaders (and if the buyer doesn't want to give it up, at least I hope we'll know where it's located). In the meantime, I'm perfectly happy learning to play my uke.
This blog will undergo a little modification, reflecting the new direction of my interests, but it'll still be dedicated to those early FilAm musicians and their choice of instruments.
I'm currently bidding on a c. 1920s nameless, labelless koa uke, which is beautiful, and it's probably just the beginning of my collection. If I don't get it, it's OK; I will continue to play!
