First Fiddle

In 1993, Philippine male violinist John Lesaca released First Fiddle, on which he plays the electric violin. The music is instrumental and encased in a contemporary jazz ambience. Lesaca mostly plays the melody in a note-for-note fashion, but at times embellishes the melody. Every so often, he improvises over the songs' chord changes. Lesaca arranged six of the album's ten songs, and the arrangements are excellent throughout the album. Nine songs are remakes of foreign tunes, and include such well-known songs as the tender "Somewhere in Time" and Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely." The only Philippine-composed song is the pleasant "Payapang Daidig" (Peaceful World). "Black & Blues" opens on a flashy horn figure and then grooves atop a funky, rhythmic undercurrent. Lesaca enters with the electric violin and plays a rock-inflected melody line. The song changes direction and enters an easy listening phase, but then returns to the original funky backbeat. Lesaca's execution is sometimes amateurish, as heard in parts of "Every Step of the Way," but mostly he sounds fine. His rendition of "Isn't She Lovely" features him playing the original melody in a note-for-note manner, but also contains improvisation. The exciting "Superwoman" opens on a funky-sounding backbeat, from which Lesaca launches into a sweet melody. There is also some classy, jazz-inflected piano by Tateng Katindig. Lesaca then solos in an energetic rock/jazz fusion manner, his electric violin searing and exploring new territory.