Bassist extraordinaire, Roger Herrera, dead at 80
Who most would consider the greatest Filipino bassist, Roger Herrera left the stage today at the age of 80 after battling a bout of pneumonia.
A huge influence on Filipino music, particularly jazz, Mang Roger, as he is affectionately called, played the bass like it was a wind instrument. It sounded lyrical, says pianist Tess Salientes.
Not only was Herrera well known in the world of jazz music, he also extended his expertise in other musical genres as well, from classical to contemporary pop, according to Tony Maghirang writing for Yahoo! Philippines. He played on albums for Jodi Marie Chan, Lea Salonga, Kuh Ledesma, and Regine Velasquez.
Maghirang recalls when Herrera appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival as member of the Philippine Jazz All Stars and was voted a top bassist along with musical heavyweights like Ray Brown, Charles Mingus and Ron Carter.
Pocholo Concepcion writes in the Philippine Inquirer, singer Basil Valdez said, “Everyone knew he was the best bass player in the country.”