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The Ne Pomocena (sic) Quartet, circa 1917

"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.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I've gone to more than half a dozen meetings of the Monterey Uke Club, and I think that last night was the first time I remember us doing any blues. We did WC Handy's Saint Louis Blues. To my surprise, it inspired some nice vocal improvisations.

And found this cute video from Taj Mahal:

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Awhile back I mentioned that my newly received 1950s Kamaka uke had a better sound than my Dad's old [brand name not known] uke, which he picked up somewhere in the South Pacific.

Well, it's funny what time reveals. Sizing-up by expert ukers (and luthiers), and my own continuing practice on both ukes has made me realize that I like my Dad's uke better (you can see it pictured w/my guitar in the "Joan Baez" post of Jan. 11, below). What I once thought was a "muted" sound now seems just a little mellow. Believe it or not, it's still got its original strings, which have been on it since I was a kid (a long time ago!), and I'm loathe to replace them.

The Kamaka has a clear, bell-like tone, which can occasionally sound slightly strident. But I think it also came with inferior strings that need to be changed.
Check out this great video of the Bajan Pied Piper, posted by the Humble Uker. Takes some patience, but everything he says is TRUE!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Last night I attended a ukulele workshop given by L'il Rev, and sponsored by the Monterey Bay Ukulele Club. L'il Rev is one terrific ukulele teacher, and an equally terrific performer and storyteller. He'll be giving two more workshops in Santa Cruz in February. If you get a chance to see him, do so!

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