HK: Please explain what "Jazzipino" is?

Charmaine: It is the soul and swing of American jazz music blended with the languages and melodies of my homeland the Philippines.

HK: What did your family do to encourage you musically?

Charmaine: My house was full of music all the time! My parents played a lot of jazz and American standards. They also gave me piano lessons. These childhood memories inspired my enduring love of American music. At the age of 3, I was entertaining passengers - whether they liked it or not! - in the back of buses traveling to Manila.

HK: Who are your musical inspirations?

Charmaine: Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Vaughan, Shirley Horn just to name a few.

HK: What kind of music do you listen to today?

Charmaine: Eclectic World Music, My homeland music, Jazz, Classical, music of today, R & B and Soul.

HK: Where would you most like to perform?

Charmaine: WOMAD... Which is the World of Music, Arts and Dance, the internationally established Festival, which brings together artists from all over the globe. The central aim of the WOMAD festival is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance, as well as to create awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society.

HK: Who would you most like to open for?

Charmaine: Kurt Elling, who is an American Jazz vocalist, composer and lyricist. World Musical Artists: Omara Portuondo a Cuban singer and dancer whose glorious career has spanned over half a century.

HK: If you weren't singing what would you be doing?

Charmaine: I'd still be singing no matter what! (She said this with such passion and expression; it truly made me understand the depth of her commitment to what she does!)

HK: What hidden talents do you have?

Charmaine: I have a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy, I love and tend to my organic vegetable garden and I also write the "Green Is Gorgeous" column for Asian Journal.

HK: If you had to describe your music in three or four words, what would they be?

Charmaine: Soulful, Real, Expressive and Healing.

HK: For the last question, I asked Charmaine, "What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome in your career?" Her response was very profound...

Charmaine answered, "Putting myself in a vulnerable position. Putting myself and my music out there. Putting yourself out there is one of the most vulnerable things anyone can do."