While most people will consider Jacqui Magno as one of the country’s finest jazz singers, she was also many other things to many other people.

For Roni Tapia-Merk, journalist and former bank executive who had known Jacqui since grade school, Magno was always “the life of the party.”

“Jacqui is one of my best, best friends. I was with her in her life journey and she was with me in mine. In school and in parties , she was definitely the life of the party. She was one of us, happy and we always had our own stories to tell. She’s loving, funny, always speaks her mind and doesn’t mince words,” Merk told this writer in the wake of the 65-year old singer’s demise after battling pancreatic cancer.

Atek Jacinto, who managed the sought-after Circus Band during the 1970s, remember her as the “quintessential free spirit.”

The showband ultimately became the launching pad for the successful solo careers of singers like Basil Valdez, Hajji Alejandro, Tillie Moreno, Pabs Dadivas, Pat Castillo and Magno herself.

“[It was that] very quality that made me get her to join the Circus Band. There was no artifice in the way she sings. Certainly no artifice the way she relates to anyone. What you see is what you get,” Jacinto recalled.

Magno’s free-spirited personality was certainly reflected not only in her choices of colorful stage wardrobe but also in at least one intriguing photo at the back cover of the 1973 “Circus On Tour” album that showed the then afro-haired singer smiling with arms and legs wide open in a welcoming gesture.

As a singer, Magno, in her time with the Circus Band, was best known for her soulful and silky smooth renditions of Carly Simon’s “The Right Thing to Do” and Tavares’ “Check It Out” that eased her transition to jazz initially with her association with jazz pianist Bong Peñera and his Batucada band and later, as a sought after solo live performer.

What distinguished Magno not only from her contemporaries but also from today’s singers was that she did not need to belt out a song to command her audience’s attention. Whoever came up with the term smooth jazz must have had a singer like her in mind.

“She was a multifaceted artist who gave her best in everything she does. No one can be like her in her style, rendition and performance,” Merk further shared.

Magno was a standout wherever she performed, whether it’s at the Calesa Bar at the Hyatt Regency Hotel as singer of Batucada or as a solo attraction in joints like the legendary Birds of the Same Feather (where she was an opening night attraction) that later became Birdland, Strumm’s and Merk’s.

Thankfully, some of her classic performances with the Batucada were uploaded in YouTube particularly this breathtaking rendition of Jobim’s “One Note Samba” from the TV series “Two for the Road,” which over the years became a staple in Magno’s live sets.

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There’s Magno’s much-talked about show-stopping interpretation of Flora Purim’s “Bridges,” which over the years became her signature song.

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There’s also her jazzed-up performances of kundimans and other traditional Filipino songs that she recorded in her album “Paglingon: Return of the Native,” including this lovely take on Ernani Cuenco’s “Gaano Ko Ikaw Kamahal”.

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And then there’s this recorded version of Nat King Cole’s “The Very Thought of You” that Merk lovingly uploaded on the day of Magno’s passing.

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In recent years, Magno sang with her contemporaries in several concerts that reunited members of the Circus Band and the New Minstrels, a popular vocal group from the 1970s.

In a promotional radio appearance with her fellow Circus Divas, Tillie Moreno and Pat Castillo, Magno showcased her scat-singing prowess in a jaw-dropping performance of The Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life.”

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Ceres Jacinto, a fellow singer who later joined the Circus Band and got to know Magno up close and personal best sums up the former’s legacy for the three things that sustained her career: “her beautiful, soothing voice, her charisma and natural command of the stage.”

“She will always be remembered as one of the top and best Philippine female vocalists… I will miss her dearly and so [will] the Philippine music industry, her family, friends and fans,” Jacinto posted on her Facebook page.