By Alwin M. Ignacio
The biggest asset of Sitti Navarro, or simply Sitti, is undoubtedly her singing voice. It is cheery and soothing at the same time. It surprises, captivates and above all makes you appreciate bossa nova.
Bossa nova (which is Portuguese for “new trend”) is a style of Brazilian music that evolved from samba, but is more complex harmonically and is less percussive. It was popularized by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinucus de Moraes and Jojo Gilberto. In the Philippines, people dig bossa nova because of Astrud Gilberto (former wife of Jojo), who gave us the very playful “The Girl from Ipanema” and the heart-tugging “Certain Sadness.”
In fact, Sitti’s first album, the hugely popular Cafe Bossa, had Astrud’s “One Note Samba” as one of its premiere cuts, and it also contained her breakthrough hit “Para Sa Akin,” which many Pinoy bossa nova enthusiasts consider instrumental in the resurrection of the genre in this country.
To all these developments, Sitti reacts with an amused smile. She cannot believe her initial foray with bossa earned her the title “Bossa Nova Queen.” As expected, many followed her footsteps, with lukewarm success.
“It was in my third year of being a lounge singer when people commented that my voice is best suited for bossa. It was not something that was forced on me; it was something that I fell in love with. There is something about singing it that soothes and relaxes me, like it quiets and calms my inner person. At the same time, it also allows me to play around, give me freedom to approach every song,” began Sitti.
“It is very flattering, of course, every time they tell me that I am instrumental to the popularity of bossa nova in Manila nowadays. However, bossa has been around for quite some time. I don’t think it is fair to compare me with them because each of the artists who followed what I did put their own stamp to their bossa interpretations. Being the first who tested the waters of course had some advantages, I guess. Well, I am just lucky, I suppose,” she continued.
Now that she is in her junior year in the music industry, Sitti is ready to take on new challenges. “Well, I really want to compose or write more songs though I am quite apprehensive to label myself as a writer or composer. I am not like other people who, even in the middle of traffic… or they just get pensive and then in a snap there is an instant song that goes in their head; voila, there goes a song. In my case, the melody comes first and then the lyrics follow. I find it difficult to do the lyrics first kasi parang ‘di sakto ‘yung melody that I do every time that happens,” she said.
Aside from composing her own music, Sitti was very excited about her Christmas concert. The concert gave the bossa nova royalty the opportunity to do Christmas carols with the distinctive twists plus she performed with pop sensations Christian Bautista, Richard Poon and the world famous Hiyas ng Pilipinas Children’s Choir.
Also, Sitti’s holiday album billed Ngayong Pasko is already out.
“The album contains several Christmas songs, plus the carrier single of course. It also has a bonus track. I did a duet here with Christian entitled ‘It’s Cold Outside.’ People will also hear another refreshing piece. I sang ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ with the Las Piñas Boys Choir. Believe me, that is a very wonderful cut. Honestly, the album is a perfect gift this season,” she said.
“For 2009, there will be exciting things happening. So, I hope people watch out for it. There will be a new album of course, and there are many projects that will be announced very soon. I am very open to trying other things like maybe singing songs that are similar to the repertoire of Kevin Lettau or Julia Fordham, ‘yung medyo smooth jazz. I hope I can be part of a musical theater production. Given the time, I want to study piano. That will be cool,” Sitti revealed.
Will she ever tire of singing bossa? “Never!” she answered quickly. “I fell in love with the music and it will always have a special place in my heart.”
Tags: Official, Official Sitti, Sitti, Sitti Navarro, Sittionline.com
