SOME bands are born with the blues, some achieve the blues, and some have the blues thrust upon them.

Such was the case with the Brat Pack, a band that started out four years ago as a jazz quartet with piano, bass, drums and vocals.

Late last year, the band was in the doldrums and was almost ready to throw in the towel when they happened to learn about the 2nd Philippine Blues Competition.  The winner would represent the Philippines in the 30th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, the very heartland of the blues.

Previously, the Bleu Rascals had planted the Philippine flag in Memphis in 2012, and in the process boosted their career and profile immeasurably.

Only one hitch: the Brat Pack wasn’t a blues band per se.  They didn’t even have a guitar player.

“We were told by a lot of people if we wanted to win, if we wanted to go to Memphis, we had to have a guitar player,” recalls Brat Pack bassist David de Koenigswarter.

“Before we left we were scared because we were a blues band with no guitar and to most people, that’s very unorthodox because when you hear ‘blues’ you think ‘guitar.’ We started out as a jazz band and modified into a blues rock band and only recently discovered our sound.”

After some deliberation, however, they decided to stick to their guns and their lineup.

“We debated it but in the end I said ‘this is who we are,’” adds de Koenigswarter.  “So we just played the blues as well as we could. Bahala na, parang suntok sa buwan—they might like it, they might not.”

As far as actually playing blues was concerned, however, it only required a minor shift for the band members, who had grown up playing rock and jazz. Blues is hard-coded in the DNA of jazz, soul and rock ’n’ roll: Dig deep enough and you’re bound to strike the mother lode.

The Brat Pack must have struck something, for to their surprise, they won the Blues Challenge—much to the consternation of a certain segment of hardcore blues fans.

“When we won the competition last year, we immediately got a lot of hate,” recalls de Koenigswarter.  “Blues purists said we’re not really a blues band because we didn’t have a guitar.  We were like, ‘so what?’   There will always be purists, but we don’t want to label ourselves.  Jazz and blues are like brother and sister.  Soul, funk, rock are all elements of each other, they came out of each other. Blues is not a question of what notes you’re playing, blues is a feeling, it’s the way you let your instrument be your voice, it’s about telling a story.”

Their reception in Memphis last January sealed the deal.

“Our first performance in Memphis was at the international showcase for foreign acts.  Much to our surprise, we were the only band to get a standing ovation.”

They got the same warm reception whenever they played in Memphis, which included gigs at such legendary blues venues as the B.B. King Blues Club.  Their success in Memphis further reinforced the blues direction they were taking.

“When we got back, we were in a dilemma,” says de Koenigswarter.  “We love blues, we love jazz, we love rock ’n’ roll and soul and funk and R & B.  What are we?  Ano ba talaga tayo?”

De Koenigswarter had started the Brat Pack with cohort and piano prodigy RJ Pineda, whom he describes as “a Promil gifted child, he’s one of these super-galing musicians ever since childhood.”

The band started out doing acoustic jazz and pop.  In fact their name was a nod to Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack.

Now the “Brat” could stand for “Blues with Rock ATtitude.”

“If I had to define us, I would call us a blues-based band with elements of jazz, rock ’n’ roll and soul.  But blues is our foundation at this point.  It’s at our core: We play off blues progressions and blues feeling.  It’s very lively.”

Actually, it’s best not to worry about labels when listening to the Brat Pack: just leave your prejudices at the door and enjoy the music.

When we caught them at Strumm’s—one of their four or five weekly gigs—the set list included an eclectic mix of original compositions and standards.  Among others the band played Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle,” Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” and “Respect,” and even their version of “Black Magic Woman” that takes off from the Santana version rather than the bluesier Fleetwood Mac original.  But they all came out sounding like the Brat Pack, a sign that the band had finally arrived at their sound.

In fact, guitar aficionados won’t really miss the guitar, partly because the Brat Pack cheats a little: apart from belting the blues, vocalist Christine Mercado does quite a bit of wailing on the piccolo bass, complete with the requisite funk face.  Tuned an octave higher than a standard bass guitar, the piccolo occupies some of the musical space that would have been taken up by a guitarist.

But mostly, it’s because each member is an accomplished soloist.  RJ Pineda can do barrelhouse piano, bebop changes, and faux-Hammond organ trills that owe more to Jon Lord than Jimmy Smith on his arsenal of Roland electronic keyboards; new drummer Allan Abdulla has the range implied by his simultaneously being a drum professor and percussionist with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, and de Koenigswarter brings ex-metalhead chops to his bass solos.

“We all came from rock before, I used to be a metalhead,” explains de Koenigswarter.  “Blues has a very distinct feeling when we play it.  It’s like we’re rocking out even if the song is slow.  Blues is very emotional, but it’s fun at the same time.  A lot of people think blues is slow and sad, but it can be fast and happy at the same time.”

De Koenigswarter credits his parents with igniting his passion for music.  If his name rings a bell, it’s because his father is photographer Patrick de Koenigswarter and his mother socialite Eva Abesamis. At one point in the late 1980s, they were  Manila society’s “it” couple.

More to the point, his paternal grandmother is Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, the renegade Rothschild heir who left family and fortune behind to champion jazz greats Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker in the 1950s.

“My dad listened to Thelonious Monk and my mom was into Ray Charles,” recalls de Koenigswarter, 24, who was born two years after his famous grandmother died.

His father would tell him stories about bebop greats in all-night jam sessions in Pannonica’s New York pad, stories that would make his hair stand on end.

“My dad always told me that if she had met me, it would have been like magic because of how much we both love music,” he says.

“My grandmother was very passionate about what she wanted to do with her life.  I’m so honored that she was so involved with all these musicians whom I idolized.  It pushes me to pursue my passion even more.  It’s like taking over from what she did, except this time it’s me doing the music.”

The band have released their first independent album, “Brattitude.”  Early next year, the Brat Pack is scheduled to return to Memphis, this time to represent the Blues Asia Network, an online community of blues bands based in Asia organized by Lampano Alley harmonica player and blues aficionado Tom Colvin.

They might also get to realize another dream and have their second album recorded and produced in the US by Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan, who got to jam with the band last Halloween.

“Jazz is really up and coming in the country, it’s in turbo mode right now,” says de Koenigswarter.

“Seeing how much passion there is for this kind of music right now, pretty soon this country is going to be full of the blues.”