“I’ve been working in this field (communities in schools) for 50 years and I’ve never seen a program turn around a life. Only relationships turn around lives. We adults in the group provide them an audience in front of which they can realize their talents. Their gift to us is a complete intolerance of social distance. Emotional combustion happens in the most mysterious ways. No one can really trace the chemical processes by which love bursts into flame in one community and not another. But it is here in this community and all of us have been transformed in surprising ways.” – David Brooks, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life, 2019.
“Mon David is, as I’ve always said, Royalty. This human being is so huge and generous; he’s overwhelmingly deep and dear to me. And it comes through his music, and that is why people are so moved by him. He’s a consummate musician, dedicated and committed to art, quality and communication. His family and friends are the obvious result of him. He touches my heart, and I will always consider him one of my truest friends.” – Cathy Segal-Garcia, a jazz artist, teacher, composer, 2019.
Social isolation is deemed a core problem by David Brooks, an award winning best-selling author and an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, which underlies other social problems in America.
Fortunately, the opposite is true for Mon and Ann David’s family, where social weaving of their networks is commonplace. Their family table is a collection of family members, choosing to come together for meals, bonding or to just play board games. Baby showers, a recent one for Hanika Oyco, wife of Carlo David (Mon’s son) was a mini-concert, headlined by Mon singing with his guitar, and the stage shared with Nicole (daughter) and Carlo singing, with his guitar. At Christmas, hundred-plus family members come together, exchange gifts, play games and sing to one another.
‘Maximum Marriage’
“I cried when you [this writer] said a prayer, invoking the Holy Spirit, before this interview. My tears are gratitude to God, a privilege He gave me to walk with my grandchildren, and to trace the beginnings of childhood that I missed from my own children. I was abroad [Japan, Australia, USA, London] and throughout the Philippines, and I am grateful for this privilege now.
“It is even more gratifying to see my children, now grown and mature. I highly respect them and I enjoy their warm presence. Just the other day, I was surprised to see Paolo sitting in the backyard. He wanted oranges. After picking them from the trees, we sat down for coffee, shared stories and played with the twins. Our house is a family center, Ann and I are happy about that,” Mon continued.
“My parents gave me my dad’s (and grandfather’s) first name, Ramon. I rarely used it, instead going with Paolo my second first name. I felt a weird sense of pressure being named after him. My dad is the best at his craft/field and a man of the highest principles and noblest beliefs. At an early age, I knew it would be near impossible to even come close to how good of a man he is.
“As a father, I honestly thought he was just…okay. Nothing insane. Until a few years ago. I went through a crisis of not knowing what it is that I wanted in life..what would wake me happy. Nothing anyone said made sense to me..except for my dad. He just listened and didn’t judge me for any of my choices nor did he offer any advice that I wasn’t ready to hear at that point. He understood where I was at that point in my life and what a challenge it is to be torn on what you should be doing with your life. He was exactly the person and type of father I needed at that time,” Paolo, an HR director, a man of few words usually, expressively shared his feelings about Mon, his dad.
“When our four kids were toddlers, Mon was busy earning a living, doing shows with the Apo Hiking Society, as their vocal coach, drummer and music arranger. They did shows around the Philippines and travelled around the world for a decade. He wasn’t able to devote as much time to the kids like he does now to our grandchildren. Mon is such a loving, caring and a very patient Grandpa. ‘Every child should feel the love and warmth of a grandparent,’ Ann wrote to me.
Ann, a pretty demure Filipina, fashionably dressed at concerts, is married to Mon for 36 years. Their marriage fits the definition of David Brooks’ maximum marriage: “Both go through the most thorough surveillance program known to humankind…yet, you see people enjoying the deepest steady joy you can find on this earth.”
Mon and Ann are unconditionally supportive of one another. Ann regularly attends Mon’s concerts, videotaping his performances, for Mon’s critique after, while Mon pulled weeds and removed bushes so Ann’s dream of a backyard garden can be realized.
During the interview, Mon excused himself to receive a call. It was Ann. He told her that we are in the midst of the interview, after eating the bulalo she cooked for us. Mon gently and sweetly reminds Ann to eat first and promised to call her later.
Building Empowered Family Connections
“It is a gift,” Mon said of his five grandchildren, with Ann: Noah, age 4; Leo and Nico – 2-year-old twins; Bella, 7 months old; and Tala, 7 days old. In the month Tala was born, Carlo (Tala’s dad) became an ASOP (A Song of Praise) Festival 8’s finalist, winning the best song for the month of May. How fortuitous is that?
ASOP described it as “Penned by OPM artist Carlo David and sung by Tawag ng Tanghalan’s Sweet Songstress Gidget Dela Llana, “Libo-libong Tala” (Thousands of Stars) is a worship anthem hailing the Almighty for being the one and only among the myriad of stars as it declares God’s incomparable heavenly majesty.” ASOP is “the most prestigious Praise Songwriting Competition Festival in the Philippines,” Nicole shared.
In 2017, Carlo bagged the first prize in front of a 16,000 strong Araneta Coliseum audience, and we pray that win is duplicated in 2019.
“Dad’s impact on us is immeasurable, his influence has always been subtle and indirect which I really appreciate about him because it gives us room to grow and to learn at our own pace. His discipline in whatever he does whether in fatherhood, music or just life in general is an inspiration. I remember he would always remind us to surround ourselves with people with good hearts. As I mature, I realize how valuable that reminder is. Dad has a beautiful heart and I thank God for his life,” Carlo David wrote in an email to me.
Can you feel father Mon’s love for God, now embodied in his son, Carlo and grandchild, Tala?
A rich legacy of love for God and Mon’s leadership in the family
When Mon’s children were much much younger, he sang Fiddler on the Roof, to them.
“Dear God, you made many, many poor people.
I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor
But it’s no great honor, either.
So what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?
If I were a rich man,
Daidle deedle daidle
Daidle daidle deedle daidle dumb
All day long I’d biddy-biddy-bum”
While visiting the twins in 2018 with Enrique (my husband), Mon hummed the song. The twins, Leo and Nico, just over a year and half old, danced, swayed their bodies, and moved.
Mon must have been an old soul, learning intuitively that “music is…sort of grooming at a distance. Newborns are already sensitive to the rhythms of language – they prefer infant-directed speech – otherwise known as baby talk which emphasizes what is called prosody, the music of speech,“ wrote Iain McGILCHRIST in his book, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.
Today, Leo goes to the microphone and sings on his initiative and Nico does a shoulder dance at 2 years old. They spell words using puzzles as parents read 10 books to them, daily while Mom Nicole conscientiously takes them to the library and trails.
While Nicole prepares breakfast for the twins, Mon serenades them. Instead of whining cries, they mimic the footsteps of grandpa Mon, and mind you, in rhythm. He is teaching the twins intonation, inflection and pausing, including how to tap, as if rhythmically hitting a drum.
In the park, Mon pushes a swing for Leo, while Nicole walks with Nico. At home, Mon helps them draw with crayons on Manila paper and at times, in their backyard, whose fence is symbolic of the family’s teamwork and work ethic.
Mon relates the success of their do-it-yourself project: “Jake [Yalong] is our engineer and he got the materials for the fence. I asked him how do we start. He told me to start digging. So I dug three holes out of four. Carlo came, Paolo and then, Mika. All three helped. Mika is the youngest, yet the strongest. We worked for 7 hours and we completed the fence. I uprooted two bushes of bougainvillea. While it was described as a daunting task by a relative, because our teamwork is strong, we steered away from tension by giving each other a high level of respect and we got done.“ After, Mon shared his compliments to Jake as to how he, as the team’s engineer, smoothly planned and directed the job, and the overall team’s satisfaction.
“Dad [Mon] is definitely the one that I look up to when it comes to being a father but what I like the most about dad is how he sees life in general. Knowing what really matters when all else fails, and that is family and relationships,” Jake emailed.
Mika is the twins’ aunt and godmother. She is an artist and a flight stewardess. In long flights, after serving passengers, she finds time to draw and paint and shared her inspiration, her dad: “Sometimes, I feel a little embarrassed when my dad shares my works of art to his friends with a high level of enthusiasm. Our dad is so vocal and enthusiastically expressive of his appreciation for other people’s talents, the beauty of art and the gift of music. He sets the standard for us always to strive to be better, while staying humble, and he never fails to encourage his children and grandchildren to keep imagining, creating and improving.”
Nicole is Jake’s wife and mother to the twins, Leo and Nico. She is a gifted artist, baker, singer, who looks up to Mon: “Dad is an exceptional human being. I used to say he’s my mentor, but he has become so much more than that. He is a master, who has so much empathy and compassion for the people around him. He is such a fun and loving Grandpa, all his apos (grandchildren) adore him. I am grateful for Dad: he has become my constant.”
Notice how Nicole calls her dad “a master.” To merit this distinction, one might also be a jazz master, with constant, stable, steadfast, resolute sustained mastery of their craft?
Or Cathy referring to Mon as “Royalty,” that it made me think of what Iain McGILCHRIST wrote: “Music comes before language, buttressed by Salomon Henschen – “The musical faculty is phylogenetically older than language; some animals have a musical faculty – birds in a high degree.” … Music is the communication of emotion, the most fundamental form of communication, which is phylogeny, as well as ontogeny, came and comes first. Neurological research strongly supports the assumption that ‘our love of music reflects the ancestral ability of our mammalian brain to transmit and receive basic emotional sounds,’ the prosody and rhythmic motion that emerge intuitively from entrainment of the body in emotional expression.”
Mon David: 2017 Jazz Living Legend
“Music is a connector of hearts,” says Mon, “each encounter is about affirming the strengths of family members and co-artists.” He is inspired by Bill Evans, one of the greatest jazz pianists in the world, and Mark Murphy, a creative, fearless and dedicated jazz vocal artist.
Mon produced a tribute to Mark Murphy on Nov. 9, 2017, whom he described: “Mark Murphy was all about beauty, truth and honesty throughout his career, he never wavered in his vision – always taking music to its highest creative level, whether through the quality of the pieces he chooses to interpret or through their lyrics and arrangements. Any song that reflects his life experiences and consciousness he renders in his own unique, creative fearless ways. He was a beautiful risk-taker in his approach, always finding new and fresh ways to express his emotions and I can relate to that very much.”
I believe that when you recognize someone as a fearless and courageous singer, you might be describing yourself unconsciously, as those traits are embodied within you, projected outward.
On June 9, 2017, in commemoration of African American Music Appreciation Month, LA City Council Herb Wesson, along with Jazz Living Legend Foundation, acknowledged Mon David, for his music accomplishments, Reggie Andrews (founder of Karma, a jazz-fusion group) and Benny Maupin (jazz saxophonist, flutist and bass clarinet who participated in Herbie Hancock and for performing on Miles Davis’ seminal fusion record, Bitches Brew and Bill Withers, an American songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 to 1985. He recorded “Lean on me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and “Just as I Am.” All four received the 2017 Jazz Living Legend Designations at LA City Hall.
Mon comes from a musical family, both his parents sang to each other. At 17 yo, he travelled to Japan to earn a living by joining a band, and became a drummer for Cobras, a band.
Cobras performed in the US Bases and became the first band to pay Mon Php 40 a night, half went for commuting fare. But, the experience was vital.
He became part of a vocal quartet, FourPlay, where he learned to harmonize and to arrange music and ZIFRA, transcribing or covering a piece with no individual interpretation. He became part of the Apo Hiking Society where he learned to be drummer, music arranger, vocal coach: “I learned from them how to be in front and sing. At times I would get distracted drumming as I would listen to them sing.” In their 40thanniversary, Mon flew back to the Philippines and sang Lumang Tugtugin with Apo Hiking Society.
Fourgettables was also a group he collaborated with for 7 years, with Pinky Marquez, Jorge Javier and Nanette Inventor, to which: “They inspired me to do my own repertoire.” DOT (Dept. of Tourism) sponsored them in U.S. bases, but also U.S., Europe, Middle East, Japan, and Australia.
In the year 2000, he had a hunger for deeper quality of music and delved into jazz.
In 2006, near the verge of burnout from a three-decade musical career, Ann encouraged him to join a competition. She submitted Mon’s repertoire which consisted of One and Only Boy, Nature Boy recorded by Nat King Cole as There Was A Boy and Lullaby of Birdland. Mon emerged as the winner in this much-acclaimed International Singing Competition, held in London. He then joined Southeast Asian music festivals, jazz fiestas, solo artists and instrumentalists to perform all over.
In Gardenia Supper Club in West Hollywood, recently, he was introduced by Mark Winkler (jazz artist and song composer): “Mon is one of my favorite jazz singers in Los Angeles. He is astounding (surprisingly impressive), mesmerizing, and he is as nice as he is talented.” Mon responded in kind to plug the upcoming CD of Mark Winkler.
The producer of that night’s gig, Dolores Scozzesi, had this to say: “Mon’s [spoken] word at that gig [Poetry and Jazz] I attended touched me so deeply. Whenever he’s involved in a creative endeavor, for me, it’s at a much higher level. But even more deeply as a human being. I feel a love for his family, yet I barely know them. But just the fact that he’s the guiding force (and his darling life partner, Ann) says so much about him. He’s connected to the Divine as far as I am concerned as a musical priest would be, in the way that he speaks very spiritually about the musical journey. We as singers are merely channelers of a Higher Power. Music comes through us. If we connect with that spirit, if someone says “You’re great,” I know it’s not me. It’s a gift from God that I’m allowing to come through me.”
Beauty or the Beast?
In Poetry and Jazz, Mon performed spoken word and sang to the music by Wayne Shorter and lyrics by Mark Murphy. I share the poem in full as the lyrics describe our present realities, a battle for America’s soul.
We see the world through faulty eyes
For some we fall, for some we rise
Does beauty mask the beast’s disguise?
It sighs, it lives on lies
This war goes on between the two
The beauty folk the beastial crew
Each age is clear until the clouds of hate slam shut the gate!
The gate shuts out the power of love light
A new night brings fear
Dreams, as the dreaming disappears then becomes a nightmare
Then dawn brings peace and love returns
We build again the children learn
The beast should sleep forever now Somehow to none we bow
The land is sweet the harvest comes
People sweat and count their sums
But something seems to soil the fun
The sun shines on a gun!
The beast lies low but always waiting, all hating hard and deep
Beauty and peace may fall
We’d all be shoved right up against the wall!
We see the world, through faulty eyes…
”In more traditionally structured societies, performance of music plays both an integral, and integrative, role not only in celebration, religious festivals, and other rituals, but also in daily work and recreation, and it is above all a shared performance, not just something we listen to passively. It has a vital way of binding people together, helping them to be aware of shared humanity, shared feelings and experiences, and actively drawing them together,” Iain McGILCHRIST wrote in his book, The Master and His Emissary.
Mon leads with moral convictions, with a sustained passion for his craft, with a signature of superior musicality: one that is marked by pitch-perfect sounds, ability to harmonize with a group, controls his voice properly, stable at intonation and pitches, yet humble to say that jazz is a dynamic, long-term process: “Jazz takes a long time. You have to live it for so long that it becomes you.”
To me, it is akin to parenting your children and attending to your grandchildren, our strategic investments for the future.
With heartfelt certitude, we now know why Cathy Segal – Garcia described Mon David as Royalty.
This Father’s Day, may you enjoy your families, as Mon David does immensely of his, as his family and community of him!
Footnote: For this piece, my special thanks to Nicole David and Mika David for their assistance, my husband Enrique as my sounding board, and the inimitable Ted Benito who encouraged me to write about musicians and my appreciation towards them and their music, back when I did not know that I could. This writer will take a summer hiatus to focus on writing her next book. Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you for your support, Asian Journal, and please email me at [email protected] and continue to follow me on Facebook and Instagram. I will be back writing for Rhizomes in Fall 2019.
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. writes a weekly column for Asian Journal, called “Rhizomes.” She has been writing for AJ Press for 10 years. She also contributes to Balikbayan Magazine. Her training and experiences are in science, food technology, law and community volunteerism for 4 decades. She holds a B.S. degree from the University of the Philippines, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law in California and a certificate on 21st Century Leadership from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She has been a participant in NVM Writing Workshops taught by Prof. Peter Bacho for 4 years and Prof. Russell Leong. She has travelled to France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico and over 22 national parks in the US, in her pursuit of love for nature and the arts.
