When Music n Broadcast Professionals Meet

There was a party at the SRC before Christmas 2010, organised by my neighbour and friend Leo Fernandez. He is a saxaphonist and having been a former SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) musician he can easily command an army of professional melody makers to his gathering by just playing on his flute, like Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin.

It was a celebrity crowd that came along to squeeze their horns, crack their guitars, tickle the ivories and smash the skins. Abel Gan, Sam Gan, Billy Martinez, Danny Koh (image 2 with Leo Fernandez), Horace Wee (image 3), Jerry Murad, Terry Mortimer, Thomas Paul, Michael Bangha and Shankar Paul jammed to grace the occasion (image 1).

A host of veteran broadcasters were there to enjoy the party also. There was Joan Chee, Mildred Appadurai and Lucy Leong. So like fine wine and fizzy drinks, sweet music flowed and gushed throughout the occasion.

I must thank Juliana Lim for the connection because up till today I have yet to meet her and Leo. Soon hopefully?

For more pictures , the full Christmas story and to find out who Juliana Lim is, check her blog below:

Images/Information: http://julianaplim.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/xmas-party-with-music-veterans-sun-19-dec-%e2%80%9810/#comment-2

Danny Koh: Fishermen, Candidates (Part III)

In my search for Singapore's 60s instrumental group members, I remember the Cathay restaurant where sea-food was as popular as the bands that performed there. Danny Koh provided the answer that I posted a year and a half ago on the blog when I asked him about this restaurant.*

Pianist, tutor and musical director Danny formed two very popular bands, The Fishermen and The Candidates that played to a packed restaurant called The Kelong in the 1970s. (Notes from a letter to Andy on Sunday, 6th June, 2010):

He was with The Trailers for 3 years. The band had a number of **pianists - or keyboardists - before he joined them. The first in the group was Michael, followed by Patrick Foo, then Danny himself and Benson Goh. There were others too but it had been many years since and there was difficulty remembering specific names.

When Danny left The Trailers, he formed The Fishermen and they performed regularly at the Kelong Niteclub which was the old Cathay Restaurant. The original musicians in the group included Benny Chan (guitar) and Amir Samsudin (drummer), both from the Checkmates and Robert Suriya (guitar), who is now residing in Guam. Robert, of course, was from Naomi and The Boys.

After the group disbanded, Danny formed another band called, The Candidates. The musicians were Ramon Rahmat from the BlackJacks, Sanip Ismail, who had since passed away, Leon Lim, who now resides in Vietnam and Leo Fernando, a saxaphonist of stature and renown. This professional band of men performed at the Kelong, Singapore and at the Fortuna Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for some time.

Danny added that when they were at the peak of their popularity, they signed under the RCA label and recorded some songs, but the record was never released for reasons known to the group themselves.

**Danny is a 'pianist' rather than a 'keyboardist', the distinction being clear that he has a Licentiate from the Royal School of Music (LRSM).

Image: http://web.singnet.com.sg/~ebony_ivory17/

*Thursday, January 08, 2009:
Cathay Building, The Kelong, The Flybaits, The Fishermen

Original article: Andy Lim.

Have Piano Will Travel - Danny Koh - Part II

Image: Danny Koh at the piano (2nd left) leading his 15 strong Key-Signatures Orchestra at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Singapore.

When I asked Danny about his recordings, he said he made six albums so far. In terms of television recordings and contributions to our local music scene, he has made numerous appearances and accompanied vocalists on our home screen. He represented Singapore in the first ASEAN Song Festival and won the award.

Always with a giving heart, Danny assisted the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in Korea and Australia, appeared for charity in aid of Tsunami victims, The Red Cross and the Child Watch Phuket Orphans Society.

In his early years Danny worked as music director for Rediffusion Pte Ltd and was the chief judge for the talentime series on Television Singapore (presently Media Corp, Singapore). He has also worked for 5 cruise ships as Music Director and travelled extensively for 6 years on these ships.

He recollected that it was one of the best times of his life, seeing the world and simultaneously doing what he loved best. He has performed in Sweden, Norway, Holland, Italy, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines.

He has appeared and tinkled his way at the various hotels in Singapore, namely the Raffles, Hilton, Shangri-La, Ritz Carlton, Pan Pacific, Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, St. Regis, Amara Sanctuary and the Carpella on Sentosa Island.

He is presently doing a CD comprising popular songs he has sung during his 35 years in show business. Danny, with a broad smile on his face, hopes to write a book on the Memoirs Of A Musician before he calls it a day.

Image: Arpeggio Productions Collection.
http://sg.88db.com/Music/Agent-Manager/ad-160799/

Danny Koh Tinkling Through The Years (Part I)

Danny Koh (2nd left) with his group of professionals, provides live music at one of the grand hotels in Singapore.

DANNY KOH - THEN AND NOW:

I met Danny Koh (image) at Plaza Singapura, amidst the drone and din of an air-conditioned food court, after he agreed to an interview. It was the school holiday and the shopping centre was a sea of teenagers.

Danny is a handsome, dashing gentleman who speaks with confidence and command. During the mid-60s, he made a name for himself as the keyboardist with *The Trailers, one of the top guitar instrumental groups in Singapore.

Daniel Koh, who takes his craft seriously, is now a much respected musician. He has been for the past 35 years, an accomplished pianist (LRSM, FLCM), music director, arranger, composer, singer and successful entrepreneur.

Active as ever, he is presently attached to an internationally well-known music school teaching pop and jazz piano for the ABRSM Jazz Courses. He is one of the official examiners in the popular music category in Singapore schools and assists MINDEF with its band in the Music and Drama section.

For 3 years Danny was the President of the Musicians’ Union of Singapore, music advisor for the Singapore Hilton Hotel and the American Club. Danny was attached to Television Singapore (presently Media Corp) as Music Director for the 28 series of Take Four, a popular entertainment programme.

Besides his busy schedule Danny still performs and has, upon request, played at the President’s Istana (palace) for the Prime Minister of Singapore, in honour of prime ministers from New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines.

There's also the personal side of Danny... More about him in future postings.

Image: Danny Koh Collection.

Original article: Andy Lim Collection.