Music | Fifth Macau Jazz Week opens

From left to right: Eugene Pao, Tots Tolentino, Jeremy Monteiro and Chanutr Techatana-nan

Macau Jazz Week 2016, the fifth edition of the festival, kicked off last night at the Macau Cultural Center with the ‘Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet.’

The quartet features Jeremy Montero, Eugene Pao, Tots Tolentitno and Chanutr Techatana-nan who come from Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Thailand respectively.

The musicians have performed together in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

According to Montero, a Singaporean pianist, the group has known each other since the mid-80s.

“We have a strong repertoire base already that we have been building up the last 10 years we have played together,” he explained to the Times. “And every time we get together we add a couple of new tunes and build a repertoire,” Monteiro continued.

The group also praised the efforts of the Macau Jazz Promotion Association for annually bringing in diverse jazz groups in the territory, which has helped in promoting the genre to the residents of Macau.

Pao, a jazz guitarist, who often visits the region told the Times that Macau residents seem to be more knowledgeable and interested in the jazz genre; adding that more music festivals should be organized in the future.

“In a city full of hotels and being so commercial and everything, it is great to have something [like this].”

Echoing the same sentiments, Montero added that residents are in need of art and music events, especially in commercial regions.

“I always say that sports is important because it kind of builds the morale of a country or a nation; and art and music energizes the soul of the country,” he suggested. “The combination of sport and art and culture is very important [to a] country or region,” he said.

Meanwhile, Macau Jazz Promotion Association president Mars Siu-Hong Lei highlighted the continuous challenge of promoting the music culture to the Macau audience. He reiterated that the association seeks to promote such events to the Chinese-speaking community, particularly to the younger generations.

“Macau is too much about development and economy and young people are kind of sick of it. Many are still looking for other activities,” he lamented.

Siu also stressed that space is still problematic for the association to hold music events. According to him, Macau lacks space that could easily hold concerts and music festivals, noting that the Macau Cultural Center is more often fully-booked.

“Until today we do not have a concert hall in Macau,” he stressed. “Imagine how nice [it would be] if we have a city park [with a] stage. What if we can do something like that? It does not have to be a big theater,” he said.

The fifth Macau Jazz Week will run from December 8 until December 11, featuring musicians from the territory and neighboring regions.