Overtones - Windplayers Workshop and Music Gallery

I guess I will never get to know one of Baguio City’s best kept music clubs if we were not scouting for jazz band to perform for our wedding party before.

The day our wedding planner and I sit down to think about the perfect music to play during the night of our reception, I told him that I picture the party to be a little jazzy and classy. Ideally, it was because our venue was Camp John Hay Golf Club. No ballads and typical wedding love songs for me. Paul, though, insisted that we hire a rock band to entertain the guests. Which I thought was just a sarcastic suggestion. Nonetheless, I did not ended up arguing with him about that metal band choice because when our wedding planner brought us to Overtones, and watched the jazz band playing that night, both of us mutually agreed to hire them.

Last Saturday during our Baguio homecoming, we re-visited Overtones because I really wanted to feature them here in Pinoy Lakwatsa! I thought the place was not really recognized by some tourists from Manila because when I searched the internet before to look for potential bands, we never get to encounter Overtones – a first-rate jazz bar found just in the heart of the City of Pines.

We initially went there Friday night. Paul and I, together with his sisters and their spouses arrived at Overtones (it’s our second bar destination for the night) at past 12:00 midnight. Surprisingly, the band just finished their 3rd and last set. I thought to myself, any bar in Manila is just starting to heat up during this time. One of the crew there told us to come back the next day. The band normally starts playing 9:00 in the evening. So last Saturday, although I was particularly looking for Vita (our wedding jazz singer), we finally get to meet another gem of Overtones – the Overtones Project - and this band was a real hit!

Overtones is in fact a music school during the day that turned into a night’s cozy and chic jazz club. Probably one reason why they close early is because these band members teach music during the day. Initially, this school focused only on teaching wind instruments under the jazz influence such as saxophone. Overtone Project vocalists Igor and Pia, told the crowd that they recently expanded their lessons to voice, piano, guitar, drums, among other instruments. When you get inside, you will notice that there are cubicles that served as music rooms where students can enroll and learn how to play instruments. In fact, that night, we get to see a couple of their good students jamming with them on stage.

OVERTONES PROJECT artists:

Pia and Igor (Vocals) | Gelo (Bass) | Ronnie (Electric Guitar)
Jayo (Keyboard) | Kris (Drums) | Arch. Joanie (Saxophone)

The place itself is very elegant and relaxing. Imagine seating comfortably on sofas, with graceful chandelier, tasteful furnishings all over the place while listening to good music – classy yet easy on the pocket. In fact the club is not charging any entrance fees.

This time, I would like to treat you to steal a look at some of my favorite Overtones Project’s performances which I recorded myself (apologies for the video quality as i need to compress it a bit for faster upload).

These guys were really exceptional! Igor, Pia, and the rest of Overtones Project - BRAVO! All of us were very impressed with your performances that night. I will definitely come back when we visit the city again. If you’re a jazz enthusiast, you may want to include an Overtones visit in your Baguio itinerary soon!


Overtones – The Windplayers Workshop and Music Gallery
located in Assumption Road, Baguio City, Philippines
contact info: worldclassigor@gmail.com; piatesa.trinidad@gmail.com