Saxing Around With Keith: The Sax-Kuwentuhan of Ketong

The tiny piece of cane or synthetic material that costs $3 and completely shapes your sound. This week, Keith takes you through his entire reed journey—from almost quitting because of a ridiculously hard reed, to finally unlocking altissimo, to diving into the world of synthetic reeds. This episode is part gear exploration, part cautionary tale, and part love letter to the cheapest upgrade you can...

This week, we say goodbye to the Saxophone Colossus. Sonny Rollins - the last of the jazz gods - has left the stage. And for anyone who plays the saxophone, this loss cuts deep. In this extended tribute episode, Keith shares how he discovered Sonny late (thanks to Manila's smooth jazz radio scene), what makes his sound so impossible to replicate, and why his legacy goes far beyond the notes he...

Keith discovers the Manila blues scene he never knew existed — even though he was literally in the same neighborhood, sometimes in the same venues, just on the wrong nights. From Binky Lampano and Dean's December at Red Rocks while Keith was at Birdland watching jazz. To 70's Bistro Sundays he never attended. To Martini's at the Mandarin Oriental where he knew more blues than the band....

Keith shares how he learned to play blues saxophone without a teacher, a local scene, or even YouTube. From Ray Charles's "The Right Time" to a bootleg cassette tape featuring Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton, Keith traces his blues education from Manila in the 1990s — through years of playing in a vacuum — to his current deep dive into blues saxophone through SaxSchool.online and...

Keith and Dr. Anton Marquinez continue their conversation with Part 2 - diving deep into Anton's journey as a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, keyboards, saxophone, and the Brazilian cuica drum!), the legendary Iskul Bluekol cover band days, and a full gear shootout comparing Selmer Mark VIs to Yamaha 62 Purple Logos.

How do you balance the high-stakes world of neurology with the rhythmic demands of jazz? In Part 1 of this special "Sax-Kuwentuhan," Keith sits down with longtime friend, neurologist, and Jazzilog saxophonist Dr. Anton Marquinez. Anton shares his fascinating journey from growing up in the Philippines with Mike Ruivivar to building a medical career in the US—all while teaching himself to play the s...

Is it the player or the horn? In this episode, Keith takes us through the three-decade history of his primary instrument. We start in 1986 in San Juan, Metro Manila, where a $78 Buescher Aristocrat 200 became his first "voice." Keith shares the stories that made that student horn legendary—from failing at transposition in his first band to the "Bugle vs. Saxophone" battle at th...

In this episode, I'm confessing my mouthpiece obsession – from the Selmer Metal Jazz size F that became my college setup, to discovering the CE Winds Studio Sonic (my first altissimo G!), and finally landing on the Theo Wanne Earth 2. You'll hear stories about meeting killer sax players like Scott Solomon in Old Bridge, NJ, the time I shared a cab with Joel Frahm AND a swarm of bees in NYC...

In this episode, you'll hear about my journey from Yamaha Music School in Greenhills, Philippines to gigging in New Jersey with two bands (Jazzilog and Dizzy Cats). I'll talk about the nightmare of practicing altissimo in a living room, then a bathroom, then finally escaping to the garage. You'll hear multiple live attempts at David Sanborn's "The Dream" – including the ones where I completely bom...