Johnny Alegre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johnny Alegre
Alegre in 2011
Born	Juan Bautista Alegre y Hernaez (1955-06-04) June 4, 1955 (age 70) Pasay, Rizal, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Alma mater	University of the Philippines
Spouse(s)	Jocelyn Albao Alegre
Parents	Narciso J. Alegre (father) Teodora Hernaez de Alegre (mother)
Relatives	Juan B. Alegre (grandfather) Amanda Sargent (grandmother)
Musical career
Genres	Jazz, World Fusion
Occupation(s)	Musician, Guitarist-Composer
Instruments	Guitar, Keyboards
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Candid, MCA
Associated acts	Johnny Alegre AFFINITY HUMANFOLK Absolute Zero

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

Biography

His Music Journey

Johnny Alegre studied music composition at the University of the Philippines in the late 1970s. He was one of the first members of the U.P. Jazz Ensemble. He also learned from famous musicians like Erhard Karkoschka and Ike Isaacs.

In May 2002, Alegre started his own band, the Johnny Alegre Affinity. The group included Colby de la Calzada on bass, Koko Bermejo on drums, Elhmir Saison on piano, and Tots Tolentino on saxophone. Their first song, "Stones of Intramuros," was featured in a special Philippine jazz collection called Adobo Jazz.

The band's first album, Johnny Alegre Affinity, came out in the Philippines in 2005. Later that year, it was released in England as Jazzhound for listeners around the world. They even performed at the famous PizzaExpress Jazz Club in London.

Between 2006 and 2007, Alegre and Affinity worked on Eastern Skies. This album featured original songs with the Global Studio Orchestra, led by Gerard Salonga. In 2009, MCA released Johnny Alegre 3, a trio album with famous jazz musicians Ron McClure (bass) and Billy Hart (drums). Johnny Alegre was the first jazz artist from the Philippines to be signed by MCA. In 2014, MCA released Stories, which was a collection of his best songs.

In 2008, Alegre started a new band and album called Humanfolk. He worked with percussionist Susie Ibarra, drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez, Cynthia Alexander, and Malek Lopez. For Humanfolk, he wrote "Para Sa Tao", a song based on the old Baybayin writing system of the Tagalog language.

Johnny Alegre's work is recognized in important books like The Great Jazz Guitarists by Scott Yanow. He is also in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art. In November 2023, his urban folk songs from Humanfolk were featured in a special concert at the Ayala Museum.

His Family

Johnny Alegre is the youngest grandchild of Senator Juan Bautista Alegre y Levantino. His grandfather was a senator who represented the Philippines's 6th senatorial district in the Philippine Legislature. Johnny Alegre's family history includes people who moved from Spain to the Philippines and married Filipinos. His grandmother, Amanda Sargent, came from an old family in New England.

Other Roles

Johnny Alegre is a member of FILSCAP, an organization for Filipino composers. He also works as a consultant for the Philippine International Jazz and Arts Festival. He is an active supporter of WikiProject Jazz on Wikipedia. As Juan Bautista H. Alegre, he was a past president of the Rotary Club of Makati Rockwell and received a Paul Harris fellowship.

Discography

Collaborations

Videography

Johnny Alegre Affinity

Humanfolk

Awards

Images for kids

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  Johnny Alegre (center) with bassist Ron McClure (left) and drummer Billy Hart (right) in New York City.

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  Historical emblem of the Alegre family of Villarroya de los Pinares

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  Johnny Alegre at his mother's corporate retirement, with the Zobel family

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  Johnny Alegre at the 2015 Wikimedia Conference in Berlin

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  Johnny Alegre at the 2014 Waray Wikipedia, 11th Sunrise Festival

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  Johnny Alegre's maiden HUMANFOLK project

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  Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Johnny Alegre pose for a photo in Wikimania 2023, Singapore

See also

In Spanish: Johnny Alegre para niños