Charmaine Clamor
Encyclopedia
Charmaine Clamor is a Filipina
jazz singer based in Hollywood, California best known for melding traditional Filipino folk songs and instruments with American jazz
and blues
in a newly developed musical genre called "Jazzipino"
-Zambales
, Philippines
, Charmaine Clamor began her singing career at age 3, entertaining passengers in the back of buses traveling to Manila
.
As she grew, she began providing piano accompaniment while her mother sang kundiman
(Filipino torch songs) and English language classics.
She didn't move to the United States until she was 16, and grew up speaking Tagalog
, singing karaoke
, and eating lumpia
.
Still maintains family connections in Luzon
Province, where she visit every year.
Has a master's degree in physical therapy
and worked full-time as a physical therapist in hospitals and clinics.
Volunteers for environmental organizations that promote 'green
' living, is a pesco-vegetarian, and tends to her organic
vegetable garden.
, blues
, soul
, Filipino folk music
, and other musical forms.
She has simultaneously made the top 5 on both JazzWeek’s World (#2) and Traditional Jazz (#4) charts and is the first Filipino-American artist to place two consecutive recordings in the World Music top 10.
Has been profiled on NPR's "Weekend Edition" and BBC's "The World."
Records in North America under Michael Konik
's independent recording company FreeHam Records, which includes the Tony-Award winning Blues great, Linda Hopkins
.
Charmaine performs at America's leading jazz clubs, performing arts centers, and concert halls. She frequently top bills Filipino cultural celebrations, such as the San Francisco Filipino-American Jazz Festival and the Filipino Library's annual gala in Los Angeles
.
On September, 2007, at her New York City show, she launched her second album, "Flippin' Out", at the Iridium Jazz Club, with "My Funny Brown Pinay" (to the tune of "My Funny Valentine"). On April 15, 2008, at her Brooklyn
debut performance, she treated the mixed crowd to this same theme song/anthem ("Look at my skin -- it's brown… Look at my nose – it's flat").
May, 2008, Charmaine Clamor and 8 international jazz artists and bands appeared at the 3rd Annual 2008 Miri
International Jazz Festival, at ParkCity Everly Hotel, in Sarawak, Malaysia.
In November, 2008, Charmaine released My Harana: A Filipino Serenade the follow-up to "Flippin’ Out," touring America and the Philippines in support of the record.
In September, 2009, "Jazzipino" was launched with a full fledged promotional tour in the Philippines under the Viva Records
label.
Here Lies Love
, written & produced by David Byrne
& Fatboy Slim
, is a concept album about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos
. Charmaine sings track #9 - Walk Like a Woman. [4]
Charmaine was selected by The Filipino Women's Network as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States
In May, 2008, Charmaine was noted as a rising jazz star in the United States
by LA Weekly
’s jazz critic Brick Wahl. Her two-night gig at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill was Wahl's jazz event Pick of the Week: “She made a big splash with Flippin’ Out—its hip mix of beautifully arranged standards and jazzed-up Tagalog love songs took the ‘Filipina Singing Sensation’ into the upper reaches of the jazz and world charts. And no wonder: Her husky, sassy tone, languid moves and unpretentious Pinoy attitude that’s just a tad rebellious have the kind of natural appeal you can’t buy at any music school.”
Jazz Times Magazine described her as "a dynamic new compass point in world music."
All About Jazz wrote that she is "quite simply one of the finest singers to come around in a long time."
Jazz critic Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times
stated that “Her debut album, 'Searching for the Soul', announced the arrival of an impressive new vocal artist.” He subsequently wrote that Charmaine is "One of the important and original new jazz singers of the decade." In January, 2009, he selected Charmaine's debut at Yoshi's Jazz Club as the Pick of the Week in San Francisco.
Charmaine has headlined the top jazz clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and Miami. Often, she is the first Pinay
to perform at the venue— such as at Yoshi's, in SF.
In July, 2009, in San Diego, California
, she won the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Award in the Performing Arts which recognizes Asian
and Pacific Islander
leaders in various fields, including Medicine, Education, Government, and the Performing Arts.
In October, 2009, Charmaine won the 12th Annual FILIPINAS Magazine Achievement Award in Entertainment. She was also honored with a special FAMAS Award (Filipino Oscar) for her cultural trailblazing.
Charmaine has had three consecutive albums in the JazzWeek World Music Top-20.
Her latest Album, "Something Good", released in Fall of 2010, received radio play in more than 150 markets in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. It also entered the JazzWeek World Music chart in the top 20, her third album in a row to crack that mark.
In February, 2011, while appearing at the 6th Philippines International Jazz Festival, Charmaine gave a command performance for President Benigno Aquino, U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas, and 30 invited dignitaries at Malacanang Palace in Manila.
, The Hidden Dream, which explores Filipinos' relationships with America.
Winter, 2010/2011 - "Something Good" CD release tour.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
jazz singer based in Hollywood, California best known for melding traditional Filipino folk songs and instruments with American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
in a newly developed musical genre called "Jazzipino"
Biography
Born in SubicSubic, Zambales
Subic is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 77,118 people in 13,882 households....
-Zambales
Zambales
Zambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Charmaine Clamor began her singing career at age 3, entertaining passengers in the back of buses traveling to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
.
As she grew, she began providing piano accompaniment while her mother sang kundiman
Kundiman
Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the Kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals...
(Filipino torch songs) and English language classics.
She didn't move to the United States until she was 16, and grew up speaking Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, singing karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
, and eating lumpia
Lumpia
Lumpia are pastries of Chinese origin similar to fresh popiah or fried spring rolls popular in Southeast Asia. The term lumpia derives from Hokkien lunpia , which is an alternate term for popiah...
.
Still maintains family connections in Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
Province, where she visit every year.
Has a master's degree in physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
and worked full-time as a physical therapist in hospitals and clinics.
Volunteers for environmental organizations that promote 'green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
' living, is a pesco-vegetarian, and tends to her organic
Organic farming
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
vegetable garden.
Professional career
Originator of Jazzipino, a genre of music utilizing American jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, Filipino folk music
Filipino folk music
Traditional Music in the Philippines, like the traditional music of other countries, reflects the life of common folk, mainly living in rural areas rather than urban ones. Like its counterparts in Asia, a lot of traditional songs from the Philippines have a strong connection with nature...
, and other musical forms.
She has simultaneously made the top 5 on both JazzWeek’s World (#2) and Traditional Jazz (#4) charts and is the first Filipino-American artist to place two consecutive recordings in the World Music top 10.
Has been profiled on NPR's "Weekend Edition" and BBC's "The World."
Records in North America under Michael Konik
Michael Konik
Michael Konik is an American author, television personality, jazz singer, improvisational comedian, blackjack player and poker player. Konik has a degree in Drama from New York University.Konik currently resides in Hollywood, California.-Writing:...
's independent recording company FreeHam Records, which includes the Tony-Award winning Blues great, Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins is an African American actress and blues and gospel singer. She has recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes, all with distinction and style since the 1950s....
.
Charmaine performs at America's leading jazz clubs, performing arts centers, and concert halls. She frequently top bills Filipino cultural celebrations, such as the San Francisco Filipino-American Jazz Festival and the Filipino Library's annual gala in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
On September, 2007, at her New York City show, she launched her second album, "Flippin' Out", at the Iridium Jazz Club, with "My Funny Brown Pinay" (to the tune of "My Funny Valentine"). On April 15, 2008, at her Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
debut performance, she treated the mixed crowd to this same theme song/anthem ("Look at my skin -- it's brown… Look at my nose – it's flat").
May, 2008, Charmaine Clamor and 8 international jazz artists and bands appeared at the 3rd Annual 2008 Miri
Miri
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....
International Jazz Festival, at ParkCity Everly Hotel, in Sarawak, Malaysia.
In November, 2008, Charmaine released My Harana: A Filipino Serenade the follow-up to "Flippin’ Out," touring America and the Philippines in support of the record.
In September, 2009, "Jazzipino" was launched with a full fledged promotional tour in the Philippines under the Viva Records
Viva Records (Philippines)
VIVA Records is Philippine record label. It is subsidiary of VIVA Entertainment.- Artists & Album Releases :* 18 Greatest Hits ** Andrew E.** Basil Valdez ** Jun Pulistico...
label.
Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave...
, written & produced by David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
& Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
, is a concept album about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
. Charmaine sings track #9 - Walk Like a Woman. [4]
Honours & Praise
Charmaine is a founding member of JazzPhil-USA, a non-profit organization that promotes jazz artists of Filipino descent in the United States and has been credited with introducing Filipino culture to mainstream audiencesCharmaine was selected by The Filipino Women's Network as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States
In May, 2008, Charmaine was noted as a rising jazz star in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
’s jazz critic Brick Wahl. Her two-night gig at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill was Wahl's jazz event Pick of the Week: “She made a big splash with Flippin’ Out—its hip mix of beautifully arranged standards and jazzed-up Tagalog love songs took the ‘Filipina Singing Sensation’ into the upper reaches of the jazz and world charts. And no wonder: Her husky, sassy tone, languid moves and unpretentious Pinoy attitude that’s just a tad rebellious have the kind of natural appeal you can’t buy at any music school.”
Jazz Times Magazine described her as "a dynamic new compass point in world music."
All About Jazz wrote that she is "quite simply one of the finest singers to come around in a long time."
Jazz critic Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
stated that “Her debut album, 'Searching for the Soul', announced the arrival of an impressive new vocal artist.” He subsequently wrote that Charmaine is "One of the important and original new jazz singers of the decade." In January, 2009, he selected Charmaine's debut at Yoshi's Jazz Club as the Pick of the Week in San Francisco.
Charmaine has headlined the top jazz clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and Miami. Often, she is the first Pinay
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
to perform at the venue— such as at Yoshi's, in SF.
In July, 2009, in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, she won the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Award in the Performing Arts which recognizes Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
and Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
leaders in various fields, including Medicine, Education, Government, and the Performing Arts.
In October, 2009, Charmaine won the 12th Annual FILIPINAS Magazine Achievement Award in Entertainment. She was also honored with a special FAMAS Award (Filipino Oscar) for her cultural trailblazing.
Charmaine has had three consecutive albums in the JazzWeek World Music Top-20.
Her latest Album, "Something Good", released in Fall of 2010, received radio play in more than 150 markets in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. It also entered the JazzWeek World Music chart in the top 20, her third album in a row to crack that mark.
In February, 2011, while appearing at the 6th Philippines International Jazz Festival, Charmaine gave a command performance for President Benigno Aquino, U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas, and 30 invited dignitaries at Malacanang Palace in Manila.
Upcoming
Winter, 2010 - Charmaine will narrate a 60-minute documentary filmDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, The Hidden Dream, which explores Filipinos' relationships with America.
Winter, 2010/2011 - "Something Good" CD release tour.
Discography
- 2005 - Searching for the Soul - FreeHam Records
- 2007 - Flippin’ Out - FreeHam Records
- 2008 - My Harana: A Filipino Serenade - FreeHam Records
- 2009 - "Jazzipino" - Viva RecordsViva Records (Philippines)VIVA Records is Philippine record label. It is subsidiary of VIVA Entertainment.- Artists & Album Releases :* 18 Greatest Hits ** Andrew E.** Basil Valdez ** Jun Pulistico...
- 2010 - "Something Good" - FreeHam Records
Collaborations
- 2009 - Coming TrueComing TrueComing True is a Swedish English language single by Daniel Lindström, winner of the Swedish version of Idol in its first season in 2004. He sang the winning song when he was declared winner on 26 November 2004...
- Mon David - FreeHam Records - 2010 - Here Lies LoveHere Lies LoveHere Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave...
- David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
& FatBoy SlimFatboy SlimNorman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
- TodoMundo/Nonesuch