Gary V goes jazz

Valenciano regaled the well-heeled crowd at the ballroom of the Shangri-La at the Fort with a set heavy on standards and contemporary songs.

In his recent Valentine concert, “Love in Motion,” Gary Valenciano gave up the blast of electric lights and throbbing beats that had become a staple in his more recent solo outings, and instead reveled in the bombast of big-band jazz—a territory yet to be fully charted by the seasoned pop performer.

Backed skillfully by the AMP Big Band, which played with unwavering verve, Valenciano regaled the well-heeled crowd at the ballroom of the Shangri-La at the Fort with a set heavy on standards and contemporary songs.

The swinging rendition of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” compelled one to move. But as befitting of the style of music, his moves were smaller, contained, but not in any way less spunky.

His singing was tempered for a good part of the show. He crooned to “The Way You Look Tonight,” and was playful in his phrasing of his snappy, reggae-tinged rendition of “For Once in My Life.”

Dapper in a red jacket, he beatboxed going into “’Di Bale Na Lang,” which was mellowed down and gave off smooth bossa nova undertones. He dispensed some high notes in “’Di Na Natuto,” but they came mostly in spurts.

But although he held back on power, Valenciano was free-flowing in his improvisations, especially in his vocal agility showcase that was the late Al Jarreau’s version of the jazz standard, “Blue Rondo à la Turk.” He scatted and growled, and manipulated his voice to keep pace with the galloping passages of percussion and the constant changes in mood and tempo.

In a moving tribute to his Puerto Rican mother, Grimilda Santiago, the 52-year-old singer-songwriter let the horns section shine in his performance of the sensual Spanish ballad, “Historia de un Amor.”

It was one of the songs, he said, “that sparked” his love for music. All the while, photos and home videos of a young Valenciano and his mother flashed onscreen.

For a little bit of fun, the band—led by Mel Villena—played a nostalgic medley of classic television and movie themes, before segueing into a rambunctious instrumental interlude that highlighted the mastery of Jun Austria (on drums) and Nestor Gonzaga (on trumpet).

The night’s guest, pop singer Anna Fegi, joined Valenciano and a bevy of dancers in flapper dresses for a dose of Latin-inflected renditions of disco songs like “Boogie Wonderland” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” as well as a duet on the show tune, “The Lady is a Tramp.”

Valenciano’s cover of the local pop-rock band Sugarfree’s “Wag Ka Nang Umiyak” had been, for some time, a subject of Internet memes. This time, no one was laughing.

Accompanied only by the piano at the start, the recording artist’s jazzy take on the 2006 hit was languid, moving and eventually built up to an exhilarating crescendo.