MANILA, Philippines—The word “cat” has two slang definitions: “a person, especially a man”; and “a devotee of jazz.”

In the local music scene there are two cool cats, or “Kats,” who’ve been playing jazz all their lives and they happen to be cousins: Boy and Henry Katindig.

Boy, the elder of the two, is a son of pianist Romy Katindig; Henry’s father is vibraphonist-sax player Eddie K.

Romy and Eddie became legends in their own time—from the ’50s to the ’70s—performing with other groups and likewise with their siblings (Panting, Dadong) in a band that specialized in Latin jazz.

A few nights ago the Inquirer caught Boy and Henry playing in separate gigs.

On Thursday, Henry led a band composed of bassist Colby de la Calzada, guitarist Ricky Gonzalez, saxophonist Alvin Cornista, drummer Mar Dizon, percussionist Uly Avante, and singers Jacqui Magno, Jeannie Tiongco and Richard Merk in a repeat of the recent “Birdland at Merk’s” shows.

All of them, except Gonzalez, Cornista and Tiongco, had performed at the famed Quezon City club Birds of the Same Feather (later renamed Birdland) and were paying tribute to the club and the heyday of jazz fusion.

The show was held at the new Merk’s Place at 910 Pasay Road, Makati.

Henry was a low-key presence that night; he let the other musicians shine while guiding Tiongco and Magno with their respective solo vocal spots.

Magno as usual was a joy to behold as she took the liberty to play around with pitch and tempo in songs like Seawind’s “Devil Is a Liar,” “He Loves You” and “Follow Your Road,” Flora Purim’s “Bridges,” among others.

But Tiongco, a daughter of Emil (of the Tiongco Brothers), was a delight as well. If there was one song that captured the mood of that Thursday night, it was her version of another Seawind tune, “Free.”

Jazz, after all, signifies freedom.

Lively interaction

On Friday, Boy held his own gig at the Hard Rock Cafe Makati.

Leading a young band called Mo-Teef, with Maritoni Falconi as guest vocalist, Boy presented an act that oozed with fun and lively interaction.

Standing on center stage with a Yamaha CP5 digital piano, Boy was in total command, signaling band members when to solo; each number ended with precision.

The show had a lot of funk and R&B edge, with songs arranged to move the audience to stomp their feet.

The presence of veteran percussionist Dingdong Boogie added to the excitement. He intensified his rhythmic pounding as the crowd cheered him on.

Like his cousin Henry, Boy is a good bandleader because he let each member strut their stuff with plenty of time; he was not a show-off either when his turn came to ad lib.

Boy’s playing swayed from subtle, as he did in his version of The Emotions’ “Don’t Ask My Neighbors,” to wonderfully pronounced like in Ramsey Lewis’ “Spring High”—the gig’s highlight.

‘The Crooner’

“I listen to everything, even hard rock,” said singer Richard Poon. “Except heavy metal.”

Huh? But hard rock and metal are almost one and the same, so the Inquirer pressed him to explain.

“Well, Van Halen pwede pa,” Poon pointed out. “Bon Jovi ... I can also take Guns N’ Roses ... but not Slipknot, it’s too dark for me. I’m a melodic person.”

He met with the media to promote his concert titled “The Crooner,” featuring a 25-piece orchestra, and guests Lea Salonga, Sam Milby and Pokwang, on November 12 at the PICC Plenary Hall.

Initially Poon said he didn’t like being packaged as a Michael Buble type (his manager’s idea), since he used to play guitar in a band and wanted to be known for his own songs. But he couldn’t complain now, since his act seems to have found an audience.

‘Hitmen’

In a similar vein, Nonoy Zuñiga and Marco Sison couldn’t be happier because they have an active career even in middle age. They said they also never imagined being tapped, along with Rico J. Puno and Rey Valera, to take over as hosts of ABS-CBN’s “Pilipinas Win na Win.”

Zuñiga and Sison are teaming up in a show called “Hitmen” on November 13 at the Music Museum. The veteran balladeers said it will be an all-Original Pilipino Music show.