D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

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D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby jbautist2 » Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:48 pm

Original quote from the Metro Manila Music Festival topic:
XLR_silver wrote:
bb3 wrote:hi jun,
sorry don't know much about D'amarillo aside from being one of our foremost arrangers together with amado trivinio. i know he was a favoriye of the late george canseco so you can find a lot of collaborations between the two.
during the 60's, i think he cut a 45; D"Amarillo and his tijuana brass covering his version of herb alpert's taste of honey and whipped cream ata.
maybe that's where he got his penchant for brass arrangements.


sayang nga sir. there are fewer OPM titles that have full brass and string
accompaniment nowadays. siempre kaunti na ring ang aspiring to become
arrangers. can this be blamed on synthesizer technology? :?:

is it true that these days, most foreign orchestras merely survive from movie soundtrack projects na lang. i guess, generally, fewer artists are still willing to invest in orchestras for their albums. the 'rockestra' event zach posted in another thread is a recent exception, of course


Of all arrangers, whether local or foreign, D'Amarillo stands out in my list. Napakagaling niya talaga mag-arrange... yung Strings section niya parang may sariling "soul"... at yung Brass and Woodwind sections niya, ang lalim ng harmonies... matatalim yung chords na ginagamit niya. Astig talaga siya, kahit mga fellow kong taga-Conservatory of Music, when they hear recordings na inarrange ni-D'Amarillo, they can't help but be amazed! Actually, he has a distinctive sound; the trained ear can distinguish D'Amarillo's arrangements from those of Doming Valdez, Amado Triviño, Pablo Vergara, Leopoldo Silos and Ryan Cayabyab.

Sayang talaga he is largely forgotten by the music people nowadays... as we know, most of his work can only be heard from LPs... tapos yung iba were only released in 45 (sobrang hirap hanapin!).

The only things I know about D'Amarillo.... he was born in 1933; he used to reside in Cubao (according to Eric Dimson, who is my Organ teacher) and was the in-house arranger of Jonal Records... until 1968, I think, when he went freelance. His full name was Doming Amarillo, but in 1967 he began to use the name "D'Amarillo" in order to be distinguished from Doming Valdez who was also an arranger.

He had full album-collaborations with Helen Gamboa, Vilma Valera, Pilita Corrales, Tilt-Down Men, The Ambivalent Crowd, trumpeter Peter Loro, Blackbuster, and many, many other artists. Most of the tracks in Didith Reyes' first two albums ("Didith" and "Nananabik") were arranged by D'Amarillo. He was also responsible for the beautiful Orchestral backings in Basil Valdez' "Ngayon At Kailan Man", "Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo", "Hanggang Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan"; Jose Mari Chan's "Mr. Songwriter", "Big Beautiful Country", "Can't We Just Stop And Talk Awhile", "Refrain", "Love To Last A Lifetime"; The Boyfriends' "Sumayaw, Sumunod", Becca Godinez' "Bakit Ganyan Ang Pag-Ibig"; as well as all singles released by Helen Gamboa and Vilma Valera from 1966 to 1969.

One of his earliest grand Orchestral arrangements was Helen Gamboa's debut single, "Gone", recorded in 1966. Too bad that Cinema Audio only upgraded their microphones and other recording equipment 2 years later, in 1968... thus the recording was only available in mono, and the sound of the hi-hat is nearly undistinguishable from that of the snare drum.

After being one of the most in-demand Orchestral Arrangers for over 12 years, D'Amarillo's career noticeably declined starting in 1978, a time when new names like Amado Triviño, Lorrie Ilustre, Homer Flores and Ryan Cayabyab gradually took over the lead in the music arranging field. The decline of these great arrangers can also be blamed for the rising popularity of the synthesizer that time, which was the waaaay cheaper means to make music compared to paying several Orchestra members gathered in the Cinema Audio Recording Studios in Mandaluyong, Rizal. But the quality of music, eventually, became cheaper, too.

Currently, I am working on an album production with a friend of mine from UP who sings. Our goal here is to prove that there is still a group of today's musicians who perform the great music of yesterday, as good as they sounded before. Actually, it's my friend's album, where she will sing a dozen english hits from the mid-'60s (All I See Is You, Why Can't I Remember To Forget You, The Thirty-First Of June, Oh Oh What A Kiss, etc.), all of which I already made Orchestral arrangements... inspired by D'Amarillo. I'm the one responsible for the rehearsals and for conducting the Orchestra. We already had 3 rehearsals last February; however, due to our involvement in our Conservatory's annual major event, the "Sampung Daliri" Concert in CCP, the project had to be postponed.

As of now, we do not know yet when we are able to resume the album project due to schedule conflicts with the 25 Orchestra members that I borrowed from our UST Symphony Orchestra. March has always been a hectic month for us, and I will be busy this summer in preparation for my Graduation Recital. I am a Piano major, but after 5 years and the album project, I am now seeing myself of becoming more of an Orchestral arranger/conductor than a pianist... someday. Truth to be known, I often ask myself, "Kailan kaya ako magiging sing-galing ni D'Amarillo?"

I do hope that the time will come that there will be an article on the Internet in honor of D'Amarillo and his legacy... and hopefully a comprehensive list of songs that he made arrangements of. Anyone else who can share additional information about him?

-Jonathan Bautista
20 years old
5th year college student, UST Cons. of Music
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby triokenwood » Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:01 pm

Wow, may nakalaala pa kay D' Amarillo. Gayang gaya niya si Herb Alpert noon. But I didn't know about his other achievements kasi bata pa ako noon he he he. Thanks for sharing this info jbautis2. Pati si Eric Dimson nabanggit mo din. His father gifted my dad with Eric's debut album. It was the heyday of the Yamaha organ. Relly Coloma was also a popular Yamaha organ player then.

There were also other bands then like the ones led by Paquito Toledo. I saw them only in tv shows of Pancho Magalona (father of the late Francis M). In a late afternoon show--either Da Best Show (Oscar Obligacion, Vic Pacia, and Sylvia La Torre on Channel 3) or the The Big Show (Chris de Vera on Channel 11), there was also a band backing singer Ric Arellano (?). I just do not know if bands were the rage then because Blood, Sweat & Tears (to be eclipsed later by Chicago Transit Authority) was becoming popular. Puro live pa noon.

The Cruz (Tirso Cruz, Donna Cruz, etc.) clan I think either formed or led orchestras, too, in the 60s.
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby Damaged Goods » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:48 pm

to me the best arranger in the history of opm music..his collaborations with pilita are up to par with other arrangers like Ennio morricone etc...i heard he also scored a lot of films back then..
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby Jon Agner » Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:40 pm

Jonathan, it's a nice write up on D'Amarillo. By the way, perhaps you can do a write up on your Professor too ;) :)
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby docsialu » Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:42 pm

very nice indeed jonathan, kudos :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby hypertriode » Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:06 pm

Nice piece, Jonathan! :clap:
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby Fourplay » Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:48 am

Nice one, Jonathan. We hope you can churn out more of these articles exclusively here in WS. By the way, pa-reserve na ng album mo ha :lol:
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby onedown » Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:13 am

nice write up, jonathan. thanks for sharing.
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby trauma » Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:47 am

I remember seeing one 45rpm of D'Amarillo way back in the 70s. i think it was a version of the many versions of el bimbo or some other popular dance back then. (I think that alone caused his downfall), just kidding.
Seriously, where is he now?

@Jonathan B
Why dont you post a pic of you and Eric Dimsum together?
i bet the forum will enjoy seeing the latest foto of the king of Yamaha organ.
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby harvey_a_vasquez » Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:00 pm

In my hunt for 45's opm singles, i often come across D' Amarillo. He has arranged for a lot of artists, including a few favorites like the Tilt down men on Jonal records. There hasn't been enough literature regarding the swinnging 60's in Manila, or I'm not looking hard enough.
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby vinyl » Fri Jul 01, 2011 5:58 pm

bakit ganyan ang pagibig by Becca Godinez was arranged by D'Amarillo. One of my favorite OPM song
vinyl
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Re: D'AMARILLO - King of Filipino Pop Arrangers in the '60s/'70s

Postby vinyl » Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:00 pm

Becca Godinez (Bakit Ganyan ang Pag-ibig)
You Tube - http://youtu.be/t9BdcMUu4qo
vinyl
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