JAZZ MUSICIAN Eddie Katindig or Eddie K passed away at the age of 80 after battling lung cancer.
According to his sister, Letty Soriano, Mr. Katindig died at 8 a.m. at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City on Dec. 24.
Wake is being held at the Funeraria Paz in G. Araneta Avenue, Quezon City until Dec. 29. It is open to the public.
Mr. Katindig was born into a family of musicians hailing from Malolos, Bulacan so it was no surprise he also took a shine to playing musical instruments and chose a musical career spanning more than six decades.
As part of a musical family, Mr. Katindig — who was “largely self-taught” according to a 2003 article in the Philippine Star — joined his brothers in family bands called The High Chord and Philippine Playmate which played in various venues in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
At 18, Mr. Katindig joined the Rock Around the World tour organized by Steve Parker (Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine’s husband) and played alongside other Filipino performers namely Pilita Corrales, Dolphy, and Bobby Enriquez, as well as international acts.
And while he played percussion — drums, cymbals, vibraphone and the like — during the tour, he eventually found the saxophone at the age of 25, the instrument he was best known for.
At the peak of his career in the 1970s and ’80s, Mr. Katindig regularly played in local jazz clubs including the Vineyard in Pasay Road, club Another World in Greenbelt, and Birds of the Same Feather in Quezon City.
Of those bars, he said Birds of the Same Feather was quite special because it was a venue which opened doors for other local jazz musicians like him.
“The venues for such music were so few and no one dared specialize in it. But when Birds of the Same Feather opened, we knew we had found an ally for jazz and I have beautiful memories of that place,” he said in the 2003 Philippine Star article.
In 1989, he released a self-titled jazz album for OctoArts. It was the first instrumental album to be certified gold. The album featured songs such as “Sana’y Maulit Muli” and “Nandito Ako.”
This was followed by Eddie K. (Live) in 1990 featuring live performances of the songs in his previous album.
In 1996, he released a Christmas album — Christmas on Sax — featuring well-known holiday songs including the “Christmas Song” by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé.
“Eddie K. emits a distinctive tone, immediately impressive and striking. If one is to make a distinction, his playing is nearer to the full-toned, somewhat gruff style of seminal saxophonist Coleman Hawkins than it is to the light and feathery tone of another seminal saxophone legend, Lester Young,” said David Gonzales of AllMusic.com, in his review of Mr. Katindig’s Christmas album.
Following in the family tradition, his children also became musicians including Henry and Tateng Katindig, as did a nephew, Boy Katindig. — Zsarlene B. Chua
