Tots Tolentino (born on July 2, 1959) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Biography

Tots Tolentino's interest in jazz began at age 16 upon hearing recordings by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

. In 1977, he enrolled at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

Conservatory of Music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

where he studied

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

under Prof. Eric Barcelo and played with the U.P. Jazz Ensemble, switching to saxophone. He afterwards enrolled at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, under the tutelage of Joseph "Joe" Viola where he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1982. His professional career as a first-call

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

in the Philippine recording industry culminated in his own first album in 1990.

Albums

Tots Tolentino has five solo albums to date, namely the self-titled ''Tots Tolentino'' (1990) and ''Inah'' (1991), both under Blackgold Records; and ''Color Real'' (1993) with Dypro Records. In 2012 he released a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

album entitled ''Tots Tolentino Plays

Vehnee Saturno Venancio Saturno (born April 1, 1954), better known as Vehnee Saturno, is a Filipino composer, songwriter and record producer. He found success in 1982 by winning first place at the Metro Manila Popular Music Festival for the song "Isang Dakot". ...

Christmas Songs''. In 2015, he released another Christmas album under the

Jesuit Communications Foundation Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom) is the media arm of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. JesCom was founded in 1995 by the late Rev. Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. and is based in the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon Cit ...

, called ''God Rest Ye! (Christmas Jazz with Tots Tolentino).''

Bands

In the early 90s, Tots Tolentino fronted the group Buhay, a band composed of Pinoy jazz musicians Wowee Posadas (keyboards), Mar Dizon (drums), Meong Pacana (bass), and Tots Tolentino. In the mid-1990s, he was in invited by the famed trumpeter

Terumasa Hino is a Japanese jazz trumpeter. He is considered one of Japan's finest jazz musicians. His instruments include the trumpet, cornet, and flügelhorn. Early life He was born in Tokyo, Japan, and his father was a trumpeter and tap dancer. Hino start ...

to join the Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet, a jazz group featuring four of Asia's prominent jazz musicians, namely pianist/organist

Jeremy Monteiro Jeremy Ian Monteiro (born 20 June 1960, Singapore) is a Singaporean jazz pianist, singer, composer, and music educator. In Singapore he was mentioned by the local press as Singapore's "King of Swing". Monteiro was awarded the Cultural Medallion ...

from Singapore, guitarist

Eugene Pao Eugene Pao is a jazz guitarist. He has played with Jeremy Monteiro's group ''Asiana''. References External links Official website
Living people Hong Kong jazz guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living ...

from Hong Kong, drummer Hong Chanutr Techatana-nan from Thailand, and saxophonist Tots Tolentino from the Philippines. Tots joined Johnny Alegre AFFINITY in 2002, a

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

-based jazz group with frontman

Johnny Alegre Juan Bautista H. Alegre III (born June 4, 1955), known professionally as Johnny Alegre, is a jazz guitarist and composer from Manila, Philippines. He leads the jazz group Johnny Alegre Affinity and the world music group Humanfolk. Biography Ca ...

(guitar), Colby de la Calzada (contrabass), Elhmir Saison (piano), and Koko Bermejo (drums). Johnny Alegre AFFINITY released several albums which were nominated for awards. He was one of the founders and principal soloists of a large ensemble called The AMP Band, consisting of members from the ''Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino'', hence its name.

Adobo Jazz

Tolentino participated in ensembles featured in the Adobo Jazz series of ''Pinoy Jazz'' anthology albums. * Bobby Enriquez All-Star Band, featuring Bobby Enriquez (piano) Emil Mijares (vibraphone) Nestor Gonzaga (trumpet) Abel Valdevia (alto sax) Tots Tolentino (tenor sax) Pikoy Villapando (baritone sax) Narding Sanchez (trombone) Roger Herrera (bass) Tony Velarde (drums) Nick Boogie (percussion) * Johnny Alegre AFFINITY, featuring Johnny Alegre (guitar), Tots Tolentino (alto sax), Elhmir Saison (piano), Colby dela Calzada (bass), and Koko Bermejo (drums) * Monk's Jazz Bureau, featuring Terry Undag (trumpet), Tots Tolentino (alto sax), Marc Lopez (piano), Colby dela Calzada (bass), and George San Jose (drums) * ETS Band, featuring Elhmir Saison (keyboards), Tots Tolentino (clarinet), Janno Queyquep (guitar), Noel Asistores (bass), Mar Dizon (drums), and Wilson Matias (2nd keyboards)

Advocacy

Tots Tolentino helped organize the Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino (trans: ''Association of Filipino Musicians''). to professionalize Filipino musicians wages, contracts and render financial assistance, legal counsel and coordination with government agencies.

Academe

Tots joined the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music (UST Music) and is presently the head of its Jazz Studies program and the conductor of the UST Jazz Ensemble. The Filipino Music Art Collective lists Tots Tolentino as one of their mentors.

Discography

Solo albums

Compilation albums

Group albums

Session work

Awards

References

External links

* * Tots Tolentino o
Spotify
* * *
Asosasyon ng Musikong Pilipino (AMP)

Discography of Tots Tolentino at AllMusic.com
* * Official biography of Tots Tolentino in th
Cultural Center of the Philippines
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolentino, Tots Filipino jazz musicians Filipino jazz composers 1959 births Living people 21st-century jazz composers 20th-century jazz composers Jazz saxophonists 21st-century saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists