March 14, 2008.

Manila, Philippines.

The third annual Philippine International Jazz And Arts Festival.

And their guests for this evening: Manila Paris Confidential, Charito, Tots Tolentino, and Incognito.

I was probably one of the first to arrive at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza venue with hopes of procuring good seats.

I get in while Manila Paris Confidential is completing their sound checks and it also gives me a good idea where to sit.  Definitely not in the very front as the acoustics would most likely be horrible.  Somewhere in the middle seems just about right.

It’s 8:00 pm and the Brazilian and Afro-Cuban influenced, Manila Paris Confidential starts the show on time with four good songs on their set.
    
Tots Tolentino and Charito were up next and came through with about the same number of songs for their own set.  But sometime during their second song, I had to step out to go to the washroom before Incognito’s set.

And guess who I bumped into in the garden path leading to Sofitel’s main annex— Jean Paul 'Bluey' Maunick—the heart, soul, and face of Incognito.

After finishing up, I headed back to my seat at the tent and got my tickets hoping that Bluey was still there.  I was really in luck as he took time out to meet and greet with his fans.  When my turn came, Bluey immediately put me at ease when he accommodated my requests for an autograph and a photo.  He even shared with me that the one reason why he had ventured off to the garden was to “get the vibe of the crowd.”

And with the response the got from the fans that flocked to greet him, I am pretty sure he found that vibe that he was looking for.  I then bid him a good evening and wished him well on the show.

And it was an awesome one at that.  With 20 songs (three of which with audience participation).  This was certainly one night to remember.

Incognito got the party started with “Who Needs Love,” (Did I get this title right?) (Tony Monroe on vocals) followed immediately by “Pieces of a Dream” after Joy Rose and Imaani were introduced to the audience.  Joy Rose then sang one of many Incognito staples,  “Deep Waters.”  The band then ended the first part of their program with yet another hit, entitled “Without You” (Tony Monroe on lead vocals) that lasted almost seven minutes.

For their second set, Incognito mixed it up with the Manila crowd by getting them involved in their N.O.T. single that is due out next month.  Bluey steps forward and demonstrates to the audience several hand gestures and spells out N-O-T.  Imaani then leads the way for the group.  

Everyone in the house was up for the next one as Incognito sang “Still A Friend of Mine” (Tony Monroe and Joy Rose on lead vocals).  It didn’t stop there though as Bluey played around with the crowd as we all sang and clapped to a rhythmic version of “Still A Friend of Mine.”

Moving on, Bluey and Tony divided the crowd into two sections and showed all of us the importance of a world without a dividing line.

Up next was Sri Lanka’s Imaani with arguably the best song of the evening as she sang an acoustic solo of “Always There.”
 
Tony then brought the crowd back up to its feet with a song that I am not familiar with.  (Any ideas guys?)

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Joy Rose up next with “Nights over Egypt” before the crowd started jumping to “Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing” followed immediately by “Everyday” (Imanni on lead vocals on these two cuts).

As the group took a short break, Bluey stepped into the spotlight and talked about the humble beginnings of Incognito.

Bluey shared that the idea that was to become Incognito started out in the London scene—when he was still a part of his former band—Light of the World.  It was here where he met a 14-year-old protégé, bass player, and composer Paul “Tubbs” Williams.

Bluey and Tubbs became fast friends and the idea of Incognito was born.  It would be “a band that would embrace a journey with musicians, and writing songs, and making music without the limitations that are often put on us by commercial success.”

Bluey added that Incognito would be “a music that embraces music for all its worth—horns; strings; song; the spirit of it.  He then proceeded to dedicate the next song in memory of his old friend who died in 2007, at the age of 44.

I’m not sure what the name of the song was (You guys again have any ideas?), but Bluey’s message was clear, the legacy of Paul “Tubbs” Williams would live on through music and that honor for the evening was given to the young Paul Greenwood (on flute).

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Imaani and the rest of Incognito then sang, “Talkin’ Loud.” Bluey then introduces a new song from their album which is scheduled to be released on April.  Sounds good :) Tony Monroe is on lead vocals for this one.

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“I Can See The Future” with Imaani on lead vocals was the bands next number.  Afterwhich, Blue took time out to share another story with the Manila audience—one that was full of wisdom as he reflected on a story about his Granddad and sunny mornings of his youth on the small island of Mauritius.

Everybody was again up for Incognito’s “Morning Sun” (Joy Rose on lead vocals for this one).  This was followed by a more upbeat version of “Always There” that featured all the members of Incognito.

All ten members of Incognito then gather at the center of the small stage and proceed to take a bow.  Bluey then takes time out to introduce each and every member of the group and gives them their own time to shine.  But it doesn’t end there as Bluey says, “we don’t do the going off the stage and coming back thing.”

It’s time to grove!!!  But unfortunately, the sponsors and Sofitel Management had different ideas as they opened all of the lights and the doors—probably their way of signaling to the band to end the show already as the “noise” may be disturbing their guests.

This didn’t stop Bluey and the rest of Incognito as moved straight into their encore—The band heated up with three more songs starting with Imaani on vocals for “Colibr,” the trios take on “I’ll Hear Your Name,” and their finale, a sing-a-long to a Bob Marley song.

It ended at 12:15 am.  The band—despite just having performed in Jakarta the day before and not to mention their trip to Manila hours earlier—gave their all and didn’t hold anything back.  They were the stars but they never made it appear that they were that far from us.  Truly selfless, Bluey didn’t leave a single fan disappointed as he signed everything that they had given him

A special shout out to Imaani and Joy Rose for the picture and signing my poster as well as to the other band members that stuck around after the show.  Thanks Guys!!!

No security.  No red tape.  Incognito was truly all about the music.

And the whole performance touched me.

That in this day and age, when everything seems to be all about the money.
These thirteen (three of them were part of their crew) men and women gave so much more.

All I can say is....Thank you!!!

Want more?  Visit: http://incognitofest.blogspot.com/

Cleveland, Ohio.

People knew it was going to happen.

It was just a matter of when.

It took LeBron James only 380 games and 7:50 to shatter the previous mark set by former Cavaliers big man and all-star Brad Daugherty with one of his signature drives to the hole against Rasho Nesterovic of the Toronto Raptors.

James is now King of scoring in Cleveland.

It took Brad Daugherty 548 games to amass 10,389 points while the NBA’s leading scorer (in his fifth pro season) duplicated the feat in just his 380th game.

After his teams 90-83 win, James had this to say about his outstanding achievement, ""These fans have watched me go from zero points to 10,000," he said. "They've seen me go from a young man to a man now. It's one of the best experiences I've had. To be the all-time leader is something that I never dreamed of. But now that it's here, it's an unbelievable feeling."

Newly acquired veteran forward Joe Smith added, "It took me 13 years to get 10,000 points.  It goes to show what kind of talent he is. I know he has at least 30,000 more in him."

LeBron finished with 29 points (increasing his total to 10,414 career points) and has now put "every other Cav in the rearview mirror."

Want more?  Visit: http://tedi31.blogspot.com

March 16, 2008.

A lot of happy Denver fans on this Sunday evening after their hometown Nuggets turned back the clock (literally going back to the 80's Doug Moe era) and obliterated the hapless Seattle Supersonics en route to a 168-116 win over Seattle on Sunday.

Everyone has already commented about this game--from the Nuggets balanced scoring (an NBA record 49 fast-break points) to the numbing 84 first-half Nuggets points.

But in my mind, the real story here is Marcus Camby.

After the first 12 minutes of play, Camby already had a 7 point, 9 rebound, and 3 assists.

14 minutes and 35 seconds worth of game time later (he approximately played 26.35 minutes), Camby recorded his second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 rebounds, and a career high 10 assists (throw in his 4 blocks for good measure).

Wikipedia.org says this ties him as the fastest ever to amass a triple-double in 27 minutes.

With 26.35 minutes, he should rank first on that list.

Want more?  Visit: http://tedi31.blogspot.com

Just wanted to thank Bluey, Imaani, Joy Rose, and the rest of Incognito for giving us their all last night. 

Sofitel.  The promoters.  They all wanted you guys to stop but you guys just kept on rocking!

It was a special night guys.

I hope that the Manila crowd was able to give you that "vibe" that you were looking for earlier in the evening.

Thank you!


The Morning Sun

Bluey took time out during a pause in the show to share a personal story that really moved me.

Here now are his words--put together with the best of my ability.

There are some things in this life that we can all share.  'Coz we have all felt it.  

Remember that morning when you woke up and said, “Mom I don’t want to go to school today.”  You know there is no problem really. Maybe you had a little falling out with a friend and you don’t want to face them. Or maybe you just don’t feel like doing that particular class you know your doing that day. Or you just don’t feel like going to school. Maybe you want to stay at home and be in that environment.

So, I mean it, happened to me a few times. Mom was always working two...three jobs.  Dad was never around.  So Granddad was around.

Now I was fortunate. As long as you have somebody who can give you that love, you know.  I had my Granddad.  It was a very positive force in my life, and I would wake up in the morning and give him the same ("mastered" or "message").

Bluey: “Granddad, I think I’m very sick today. Very sick today. Can’t go to school.”

Granddad: “Ah, your problems again?”

Bluey: “Yes granddad, my problems again.” (5 year olds got a lot of problems, you know.)

Big, big problems.  Big time.  Makes adult problems seem like pale in comparison.

End of the world. can’t go to school.

And Granddad, he had a way about him, he said. “Ah come outside.”

Granddad: “You know, you live in a nice warm country like Philippines, Mauritius, where we come from.”

We would go outside and of course, the warm sun would be against my face.

He said, “how does that feel?”

Bluey: “It feels good granddad”

Granddad: “Face the sun, face the sun”

Granddad: "Close your eyes."

Bluey: “Ah, that feels good!”

Granddad: “Were are your troubles?” “Where are your troubles?”

And my troubles being my shadows—of course if I am facing the sun—they are behind me.

Bluey: “Granddad behind me.”

And I loved that little play with my granddad each time.  Sometimes I would pretend to be sick, just so that he could take me outside and tell me about the morning sun

For the morning sun, we are very fortunate to see—for many do not see the morning sun.

For the morning sun brings with it the hope of a new day—a chance to start anew—no matter what problems we’ve had yesterday, that morning sun means that we’ve got a new beginning.

Embrace it. Rejoice in it.  It’s a celebration of life.

It's 4:45 AM right now, and your plane leaves in 15 minutes.  Have a safe trip to KL guys!