The 9th Annual San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival

Sunday, October 30 / Empress Theater
Celebrate Filipino American History Month, the City of Vallejo and Pinoy Jazz at the 9th Annual San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival (SFFAJF) concert on Sunday, October 30, at the Empress Theater, 330 Virginia St. Vallejo, CA 94580.  Tickets are available at http://empresstheatre.org/events/9th-annual-san-francisco-filipino-american-jazz-festival/.
Acts include CRSB, a musical duo based out of the San Francisco Bay Area that creates their own brand of Island Soul-infused Pop. Backed by a 5-piece band, Chris Ramos and Sonny B. combine honest and memorable songwriting with a soulful island vibe. Their on-line videos have received over three and a half million plays. CRSB has had five #1 Songs and seven Top 5 Hits on Hawaiian Radio, and appeared on the Channel 4 ABC Morning News Show in addition to numerous other appearances.
Another act, Autonomous Region, presents classic standards and modern arrangements of jazz favorites. Led by vocalist and kulintang player Caroline Cabading, this San Francisco-based ensemble was founded in the spring of 2015 as the house band for the I-Hotel Manilatown Center’s Club Mandalay pop-up jazz club, a community engagement project emphasizing family-friendly and affordable live music and spoken word presentations.  It was within this environment of creative support that the band began exploring and presenting original compositions fusing jazz with the pre-colonial tribal music of the Philippines.  They call this genre Kul Jazz, named after the traditional kulintang music of Mindanao, Philippines.
On The One is a Vallejo-based trio of young jazz enthusiasts ranging from ages 13 to 17 who have captivated their audiences with their unique “retro jazz fusion and acid jazz” sound.  The trio features electric keyboard and organ-trio riffs and grooves combined with solid rhythmic support from the bass and drums. This ensemble, consisting of Simon Ajero (keyboards), Guillermo Landaker (bass), and Steve Landaker Jr. (drums) has gained a loyal following in their hometown and is sure to gain in popularity throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Raffy Lata was born and raised in the Philippines and has lived in the U.S. for 20 years. His passion for playing the guitar began when he was 8 years old and learning to play by intently listening to various recordings and observing other guitar players. After delving into pop and rock music, he eventually taught himself to play the classical guitar.
This year, SFFAJF is also honoring the following artists with the Lifetime Achievement Award:
Lorenzo Gapasin Calica 
Born in 1903 in Bauong, La Union Philippines, Calica and younger brother Mauricio Calica immigrated to the U.S. in 1926 to Seattle, WA.  They worked in Washington and Alaska in the sawmill/lumber yards & salmon canneries and held other jobs.  As this was during the silent film era, they recall a musical job playing in an orchestra to accompany a film in 1928.
They were in a traveling Filipino swing band called the Manila Serenaders (circa mid to late 1930’s) who traveled 26 states via bus.  Most of their gigs were the opening band for headliner swing & jazz bandleaders like Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Lawrence Welk, & Louis Armstrong.  They performed at the famous Coconut Grove Ballroom in Salt Lake City., Utah.  Lorenzo Calica professionally played the sax, flute and clarinet. He also played the violin, piano, banjo/guitar, and drums. He wrote and composed music arrangements for all the bands he played in.  In 1942, he composed and published two music sheets of his own music in San Francisco before he joined the U.S. Army.
After he retired from Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 1970 the family moved back to San Francisco and Lorenzo Calica remained active, played for the SF Filipino Senior Community Center and other events for various Filipino organizations in the Bay Area.
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Born Peylia Marsema Balinton on October 16, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York; DeSanto is a Fil-Am rhythm-and-blues singer whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s.  Her family moved to San Francisco, where she spent most of her early life.
She was discovered by Johnny Otis in 1955 and toured with the Johnny Otis Revue, where she was given her stage name, Sugar Pie.  In 1959 and 1960, she toured with the James Brown Revue.
In 1960, DeSanto’s single “I want to Know” reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot R&B chart which she recorded with then husband, Pee Wee Kingsley.  She later on moved to Chicago to continue her flourishing career as a recording artist and writer.  She eventually moved back to the Bay Area, settling in Oakland.
DeSanto was given a Bay Area Music Award in 1999 for best female blues singer. In September 2008, she was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. She received a lifetime achievement award from the Goldie Awards in November 2009.
*Photos of Lorenzo Calica courtesy of Calica family and SF Fil-Am Jazz Festival