Raffy Bleu understands love. He’s experienced it through his craft, community and country.
Each has played a significant role in his life on and offstage. The jazz vocalist earned a degree in music education in his native Philippines, going on to teach there, Singapore and eventually the U.S. He focused on helping others hone their skills because he was “never taken seriously as a performer.”
“I experienced insecurity as a gay man — it was not as open as it is today,” Bleu says of his time overseas. “There are laws where people get punished… I was not always free to show who I am, so performing was really shut down.”
Things changed in 2013. Bleu fell in love and he and his partner moved to the U.K. The couple relocated to the U.S. after he got an offer to teach music in New Mexico.
“We always looked to the U.S. because this is where it all started — the protest and the fight for equal rights,” Bleu says. “I was very happy to be here and to finally be myself. My dream to become a performer started again, then we got married and moved to Florida.”
Tampa Bay’s arts scene inspired Bleu to start laying down roots, both personally and professionally. His efforts were dampened by the onset of COVID in 2019, however, and the subsequent death of his husband from cancer in 2022.
The unimaginable loss knocked him “back to zero.”
“I didn’t know what to do — but there’s one thing I’m sure of now, and that’s if I wasn’t living in St. Pete, how I healed would not have been the same,” Bleu says. He leaned on live performances at venues like Ruby’s Elixir in Downtown St. Petersburg to help find his way.
“St. Pete, as a city, there is a lot of hope,” Bleu explains. “For a person like me who just wants to express themselves, who I really am through music and performance, it is a really inspiring place.
“After my husband died I was just roaming around, but then I went to Ruby’s Elixir and asked to jam,” he recalls. “That was the start of it. They gave me a chance and it inspired me to really pursue who I am, who I want to be.”
He also found karaoke nights at local LGBTQ+ venues like Cocktail, Enigma and the Garage. Bleu says event nights like these “were instrumental for me in a time that I didn’t know what to do.”
The entertainer found solace on stage at major events as well, including St Pete Pride and Winter Pride. He’s regularly performed at each in recent years.
“I always make sure to mention how much this community has helped me in healing and finding who I am,” Bleu notes. “It’s a big factor.”
His U.S. citizenship is another. Bleu became a citizen last year and voted for the first time in the 2026 midterm election, something he shares proudly.
He also keeps a photo of the judge who presided over his naturalization ceremony on display at home. It’s a reminder of how far he’s come.
“What she said at the time was instrumental,” Bleu explains. “She said historically America is the place where people came to pursue their dreams and freedom — and since I became a citizen, it clicked. I’m here to pursue my dream and enjoy freedom.”
All that and more led Bleu to create “Love Set,” his first full-length album. The musical debut releases Nov. 11 wherever music is streamed and a vinyl edition is in the works.
It’s officially described as “a deeply personal celebration of resilience, healing and rediscovering purpose through music.” The album was “made possible by the extraordinary community of artists and musicians he has embraced in St. Petersburg and the greater Tampa Bay area.”
“Love Set” features 11 tracks exploring devotion, loss, longing, heartbreak, gratitude, friendship and the courage to begin again. Each draws on his love of jazz, blending “sophistication, spontaneity and expressive freedom with contemporary influences and deeply personal songwriting” while offering “a fresh and approachable perspective on the genre while honoring its musical traditions.”
Bleu calls jazz “my first love.”
“I really love living in the retrospect. I really love the old school,” he explains. “That’s my thing — old school fashion, with maybe a modern touch — and culturally, jazz started as a protest. I am a jazz artist.”
Bleu isn’t alone on the endeavor. Contributors include Hiram Hazley, a St. Petersburg jazz musician, bandleader and fellow fixture at Ruby’s Elixir. They collaborated on “My Pleasure,” a representation of the musical relationships that have shaped the album.
“Love Set” also features arrangements by Ross Strauser. The Tampa-based saxophonist, composer and bandleader worked with Bleu on “It’s Not You (But Definitely Not Me),” which he calls “the most promising track.”
Written for a 12-piece band with strings Strauser engineered himself, Bleu says the song sets a new standard.
“I don’t know who else has done something like this,” he teases. “I’m sure there are great artists who have, but I’m not sure how many queer Asian artists have produced at this capacity. It’s something really great and really colorful.”
The album features other instrumentalists, vocalists and creative collaborators as well, each bringing “their individual musical voices to a project that celebrates both personal storytelling and collective artistry.” It was recorded in Tampa at Morrisound Recording in another love letter to the region.
As for its name, “Love Set” is “a playful but meaningful double interpretation.”
“In tennis, a ‘love set’ refers to a set won without the opponent scoring a game. In tennis, love means zero,” Bleu notes. “But in the game of life, when the challenges become too difficult and the odds seem stacked against us, we often find ourselves feeling as though we have nothing left on the scoreboard.
“Through my own experiences of love, loss and starting over, I have come to see that zero doesn’t necessarily mean nothing,” he continues. “Instead, it reminds me of why I continue to play. Not always to win, but for the love of the game, for the people who make life meaningful, and for the joy of simply being able to play again… Even when life leaves us at zero, we can still have everything to play for.”
Bleu will celebrate the album’s release at Banana Records Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. The St. Petersburg party will include food, drinks and giveaways with limited edition “Love Set” merchandise.
“Ultimately, ‘Love Set’ is a tribute to the transformative power of music and community,” Bleu says. “It is proof that love does not end with loss, that healing can happen through shared creativity, and that sometimes the most meaningful victories are not measured by the score.”
He hopes it inspires listeners to pursue their own passions — proof that “the greatest victory is being able to love, create and play again, surrounded by the people who made it possible.”
Raffy Bleu’s “Love Set” releases Nov. 11. Learn more at RaffyBleu.com.
