Regine Velasquez Sings Paeans to Michel Legrand
by Leah Salterio
Source:Philstar


MICHEL Legrand is "one of the most brilliant composers the world has produced," as far as Regine Velasquez is concerned.

Regine, as far as the world-famous pianist and composer is concerned, is "my new friend, my new star, my new bird."

The new friend from the Philippines first met the brilliant composer in February 2002, after his Valentine concert with Kuh Ledesma at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). That meeting led to a 15-million-peso album contract, sealed when Regine visited Legrand in his sprawling residence in the outskirts of Paris in May 2002.

Legrand is a very nice man, Regine recalls, nine months after the Paris visit.

"He's funny," she starts to gush. "He's like a lolo. Napaka-fatherly. The time we had together in Paris was perhaps the most exciting two days of my entire career. He's a joy to work with.

"He's got like four million songs that he had to choose from for my album. It was pretty hard to pick the songs, but he knows what I can do and what I cannot do. He knows my style, my range, the songs that fit me. He was pretty much calling the shots, but I'm flattered because he would always ask me if I was happy with his choice. He would always consider how I feel about a particular piece, so it was really great."

Regine didn't mind that she had to audition before the illustrious songwriter, who was promptly impressed with her talent.

"She's my new friend, my new star, my new bird," Legrand said of Regine after that meeting.

He refused to compare Regine with any other performer. "We all have special qualities and even defects," he said as he started to build their mutual admiration club. "Regine is unique and I can't compare her with anyone else. She is very good. She has qualities that no one else has. There's no clone of Regine anywhere and there will never be.

"She deserves to be known everywhere in the world," Legrand continues to gush in his turn. "She will be an important (singing) star. That's true."

Before she starts recording the album of Legrand songs in Manila next year, Regine will share the stage with the composer for three nights in the Valentine concert "Songbird Sings Legrand," Feb. 14 to 16, at the PICC Plenary Hall.

"It's an honor to be with Michel and perform with him on stage," Regine says, now on first-name basis with Legrand. "The mere fact that he's worked with Barbra Streisand and all those other big artists already excites me. This concert is a huge thing for me. I will sing his songs and that alone is a great privilege. We will also do some songs together.

"Then there's the album, which he is going to produce, and that's another big thing to look forward to. What else can I hope for?"