Life and death in the Philippines and beyond since 1980 in words, music and paintings
Jay (John Leslie) Maclean has been living in Manila, Philippines since 1980. He met Margie in 1981 and since then they have accumulated experiences and stories together about life and travel in the Philippines and beyond; and in 1996, a son named Marlon. Some of the experiences are expressed in the stories, artworks, and music on this site.
Jay, Margie, and Marlon, March 2008
BOOKS: We have self-published books to share. There are 9 books about Jay's life; most are about events since he arrived in the Philippines, including one about the Melon Patch--living by the sea in Anilao, Batangas. One book by Marlon is about a puppy who goes on the adventure of a lifetime. A more serious book that Jay co-authored describes North Atlantic ocean ecosystems. For details on all these, click on Books.
MUSIC: Since late 2007, Jay has been home-recording experimental spontaneous jazz compositions. Lately, he has begun to combine music with his paintings, making jazz interpretations to accompany fish portraits based on his knowledge, as a marine biologist, of their behavior. Some paintings can be heard on the oil painting page.
Two tunes are now on YouTube. One is a spontaneous composition called River of Rice . The International Rice Research institute made a video to accompany it. The other one is a tune to lyrics by Robert Salamon. The song is If I had the Chance and is about poverty--a universal problem--set here in the Philippines. Rob wrote it as one of six new songs for a Christmas play performed by street children in Manila, December 2007.
