Born in Subic-Zambales, Philippines, Charmaine Clamor began her singing career at age 3, entertaining passengers in the back of buses traveling to Manila. As she grew, she began providing piano accompaniment while her mother sang kundiman (Filipino torch songs) and English language classics. She didn’t move to the United States until she was 16, and grew up speaking Tagalog, singing karaoke, and eating lumpia. Still maintains family connections in Luzon Province, where she visit every year. Has a master’s degree in physical therapy and worked full-time as a physical therapist in hospitals and clinics. Volunteers for environmental organizations that promote ‘green’ living and is a pesco-vegetarian. Professional career Originator of Jazzipino, a genre of music utilizing American jazz, blues, soul, Filipino folk music, and other musical forms. She has simultaneously made the top 5 on both JazzWeek’s World (#2) and Traditional Jazz (#4) charts and is the first Filipino-American artist to place two consecutive recordings in the World Music top 10. Has been profiled on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and BBC’s “The World.” Records in North America under Michael Konik’s independent recording company FreeHam Records, which includes the Tony-Award winning Blues great, Linda Hopkins. Charmaine performs at America’s leading jazz clubs, performing arts centers, and concert halls. She frequently top bills Filipino cultural celebrations, such as the San Francisco Filipino-American Jazz Festival and the Filipino Library’s annual gala in Los Angeles. On September, 2007, at her New York City show, she launched her second album, “Flippin’ Out”, at the Iridium Jazz Club, with “My Funny Brown Pinay” (to the tune of “My Funny Valentine”). On April 15, 2008, at her Brooklyn debut performance, she treated the mixed crowd to this same theme song/anthem (“Look at my skin — it’s brown… Look at my nose – it’s flat”). May, 2008, Charmaine Clamor and 8 international jazz artists and bands appeared at the 3rd Annual 2008 Miri International Jazz Festival, at ParkCity Everly Hotel, in Sarawak, Malaysia. In November, 2008, Charmaine released My Harana: A Filipino Serenade the follow-up to “Flippin’ Out,” touring America and the Philippines in support of the record. In September, 2009, “Jazzipino” was launched with a full fledged promotional tour in the Philippines under the Viva Records label. |Charmaine is a founding member of JazzPhil-USA, a non-profit organization that promotes jazz artists of Filipino descent in the United States and has been credited with introducing Filipino culture to mainstream audiences Charmaine was selected by The Filipino Women’s Network as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States In May, 2008, Charmaine was noted as a rising jazz star in the United States by LA Weekly’s jazz critic Brick Wahl. Her two-night gig at Hollywood’s Catalina Bar & Grill was Wahl’s jazz event Pick of the Week: “She made a big splash with Flippin’ Out—its hip mix of beautifully arranged standards and jazzed-up Tagalog love songs took the ‘Filipina Singing Sensation’ into the upper reaches of the jazz and world charts. And no wonder: Her husky, sassy tone, languid moves and unpretentious Pinoy attitude that’s just a tad rebellious have the kind of natural appeal you can’t buy at any music school.” Jazz Times Magazine described her as “a dynamic new compass point in world music.” All About Jazz wrote that she is “quite simply one of the finest singers to come around in a long time.” Jazz critic Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times stated that “Her debut album, ‘Searching for the Soul’, announced the arrival of an impressive new vocal artist.” He subsequently wrote that Charmaine is “One of the important and original new jazz singers of the decade.” In January, 2009, he selected Charmaine’s debut at Yoshi’s Jazz Club as the Pick of the Week in San Francisco. Charmaine has headlined the top jazz clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and Miami. Often, she is the first Pinay to perform at the venue— such as at Yoshi’s, in SF. In July, 2009, in San Diego, California, she won the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Award in the Performing Arts which recognizes Asian and Pacific Islander leaders in various fields, including Medicine, Education, Government, and the Performing Arts. In October, 2009, Charmaine won the 12th Annual FILIPINAS Magazine Achievement Award in Entertainment. She was also honored with a special FAMAS Award (Filipino Oscar) for her cultural trailblazing. Charmaine has had two consecutive albums in the JazzWeek World Music Top-10. |
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