David Gomes and Junji Delfino are names deeply ensconced in the Kuala Lumpur jazz scene. He, together with the different bands that bear his name, draw crowds wherever he performs with his signature hot & swinging brand of entertainment. She is a highly respected vocalist both in her native Philippines & her adoptive homebase, Malaysia.
No novice in the music industry, David has travelled extensively in the span of three decades reaching as far as Holland, UK & Germany. He founded & led the only two Malaysian jazz outfits to perform at one of the world’s biggest music festivals, The North Sea Jazz Festival, in 1990 & 1991 respectively, performing on the same stage played on by jazz bigwigs Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette and John Pattitucci, to name a few.
David’s work experience boasts some of the big names in the local hotel industry. He has also performed in numerous other jazz festivals in and outside of Malaysia, including an outdoor concert in Duren, Germany. Highly regarded in his field, David is renowned, not just as a performer, but as a composer, arranger & producer. He is easily one of the few, if not the only one in Malaysia, who is constantly writing original jazz music in the mold of legendary jazz doyens in the international arena. His compositions are well and truly able to stand alongside standard jazz pieces in terms of substance & quality.
Meanwhile, with a flourishing career that is standing on solid ground, his wife Junji Delfino is at her prime nearly three decades on into her jazz profession.
Born into a family whose names are synonymous with music in the Philippines, Junji developed a passion for jazz at a very young age. Being the youngest daughter of Bert Delfino, one of Manila's well-known jazz drummers in the last millennium, has certainly served her in good stead as she now has evolved into a jazz vocalist of commendable stature developing a sound and a style all her own.
Blessed with more talents that some could only wish for, this lady has earned herself the title “Jazzmamma” around the KL live entertainment circuit, a tribute to her multi-faceted career. Apart from singing, Ms Delfino is also well-known in the local theatre community as a long- time member of the infamous Instant Cafe Theatre Company. She has also made her foray into Singapore television in a supporting role in MediaCorp’s landmark English long-form drama, Red Thread. The program began airing in April 2009.
Together, this prolific couple have a carved a niche for themselves in the hugely challenging jazz industry, choosing to remain true to the essence of the music rather than to accede to the demands of a pop-desensitized world.
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