The New West Guitar Group (NWGG), one of the premier guitar ensembles all over the world, is in town to participate in the ongoing International Jazz Festival held at the Palacio de Maynila.
The 10-year old group is composed of Perry Smith (New York City), John Storie (Los Angeles) and Will Brahm (Los Angeles) who are known to specialize in classic pop covers, jazz standards as well as exciting original compositions.
With five studio albums to their credit, the NWGG’s signature sound comes from an innovative style that highlights rhythm, beauty and virtuosity through combining acoustic and electric guitars. Since Smith and Storie formed the group, they’ve toured as a trio all throughout he United States and other countries and went on to be an acclaimed guitar group.
With their latest album, Send One Your Love, the NWGG collaborated with guest jazz vocalists: Gretchen Parlato, Tierney Sutton, Sara Gazarek, Becca Stevens and Peter Eldrige. They said the album, released in August 2015, “tells a story about the highs and lows of love. Each vocalist is featured on a traditional and contemporary standard with lyrics that portray themes of vulnerability, hope, pain and happiness.” The album brings together timeless compositions from Cole Porter, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Weill, Randy Newman and others.
The tracks in the album are “Send One Your Love,” “Detour Ahead,” “My Ship,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and James Taylor’s “Secret O’Life.”
On Feb. 26, NWGG will perform at 8p.m. at the ballroom of Pan Pacific Hotel, and the following day, Feb. 27, 6 p.m. at the International Jazz Festival Gala at the Palacio de Maynila. The group will be jamming wig our own “Prince of Jazz” Richard Merk.
The NWGG Manila performances are presented by Laurel Media Company, Philippine Veterans Bank, TCBC, Forte-D, Lily’s Peanut Butter and Mito’s Place Sucat and Boracay.
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‘Deadpool’ tops box-office weekend
The hyper-hero Deadpool, the latest Marvel superhero everyone’s talking about and can’t get enough of has landed at no. 1 in the Philippine box-office with an impressive haul of P145 million on its first five days of release. It opened on Feb. 10.
Dominating a crowded week and despite its R-rating, Deadpool has seen new and repeat viewing cineastes such that its box-office dominance carried on over the red-hot Valentine’s weekend. Its opening weekend grossed a total of P 145 million, surpassing that of Fifty Shades of Grey’s opening weekend at P94 million. Deadpool now holds the Biggest Opening Weekend for an R-rated film all-time industry-wide. So far, with its remarkable opening weekend, Deadpoolnow stands as the Biggest Opening Weekend for the year industry-wide, beating Everything About Her and is now the second Biggest Fox Opening Weekend all-time, outranking Taken’s P106.8 million and next to X-Men: Days of Future Past’s P175 million.
With the nation’s penchant for a good laugh and craving for a new adventure, Deadpool breakthroughs as a relatable superhero who does indeed breaks the fourth wall, talking to the audience that never fails to elicit rip-roaring laughter among viewers in cinemas across the nation. Deadpool to-date continues to pull viewers in and from its opening weekend report, following are the top cinemas where Deadpool grossed the highest:
SM Mall Of Asia (6.7M); SM Megamall (6.2M); SM North Edsa/The Block (5.8M); Trinoma (4.3M); SM Cebu (3.7M); Glorietta4 (3.5M); Greenbelt3 (3.4M); Gateway Cineplex/Alimall (3.1M); SM Aura (3M); Eastwood (2.7M); BonifacioHighstreet(2.46M); Alabang Town CenteR (2.45M); Ayala Cebu(2.26M); Theatremall (2.23M); SM Clark (2.14M); Powerplant (2.11M); SM SouthmalL (2M); SM Iloilo (1.98M); Shang Cineplex (1.96M) AND Newport (1.92M).
Deadpool, which also opened in the US at top spot, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by first timed director Tim Miller is based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero. It tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. Also starring in Deadpool are Morena Baccarin, TJ Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina Carano and Brianna Hildebrand.
Deadpool is currently in cinemas nationwide in 2D, IMAX and 4DX screens from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.
