No Complaints , No Regrets: Louis Soliano in Retrospect

Louis Soliano celebrates life, love and an intense passion for jazz in this delightful pictorial memoir No Complaints & No Regrets. Conferred Singapore’s Cultural Medallion in 2018 for his invaluable contributions to music, Louis has mentored countless jazz musicians here. He was an ‘influencer’ even before the word took on its present connotation. Easy to understand when you realise that Louis Tan Soliano, who recently turned eighty, has been performing for close to seven decades. And, passionate as he is about his craft, he’s kept almost every photograph, news clipping and souvenir detailing his exciting odyssey.

As Louis says: “From the time I was in my teens, I have been collecting mementos of my musical journey. These are very precious to me, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think they would be published in a book. Now here I am, decades later, with this compilation of mostly black-and-white photographs and yellowing news clippings from my scrapbook.”

To go through this cherished collection is akin to reliving Singapore’s history of jazz; the illustrious Soliano pedigree makes certain this goes back to even before Louis was born. Pick up facts on how the first in the family came to be in Singapore, be captivated by the goings-on at the old (some would say seedy) cabarets at the same time the Cathay Restaurant was being patronised by Singapore’s elite, discover the joys of tea dances and talent quests; bone up on the history of the first jazz festivals and other firsts that marked the local music scene. Besides these, snippets on Louis will intrigue the reader: Did you know, for instance, that he was once an altar boy and his aunt a Carmelite nun? Or that he auditioned to be a professional dancer? Or that he had a cheeky encounter with a former US President? We assure you there’s more in this never-a-dull-moment memoir.