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Re: My experience on Jazz & other Western music
> Something to stir up the list :-)
>
> My experience on jazz was kinda funny...
My attitude toward jazz is more like "ki'nh nhi vie^~n chi"! :-)
But then I'm far from unexposed and incapable of appreciating it.
It's just that I enjoy it better when it's integrated into some
other musical form/tradition, esp. opera (Gershwin, Weill, Krenek)
or musicals.
> When I was first attended college, I didn't really
>know what kind of music I like so I tried every musical classes that my college
> offered (ie, classical piano/guitar/violin, voice & choral) and after the 1st
> semester of piano & guitar I loved it and go on 2nd semester and also tried to
> pick up on violin but had to dropout after midterm for I kept playing
> either sharp or flat (no frets like guitar and that was the culprit :-)).
Not all of us are born with perfect-pitch, you know? :-)
> After that I tried voice and in our 1st session, the instructor asked everyone
>in the class to come up with some kind of jazz tunes (anything that they could
> come up with.)
> Everyone did their part which was very amusing, you know, all kind of funny
>noises (bu`lu, bu`la ble't, ti't te't...:-)) and when it was my turn I couldn't
> make a sound, just stood there smiled and turned really red. Fortunately, at
> second meeting classical (opera) & choral music were introduced to the class
>& I loved it.To me choral music (ha't ho+.p xu+o+'ng) has some kind of bonding
> substance in it that connects you with other voices singing in several parts,
> sometimes as many as 8 and yet all united as one powerful voice and can create
>some powerful/wonderful impact on the listeners and the performers themselves.
>
> Well that was some of my experiences w/ Western music. As of now I'm still
> looking for a Vietnamse chorale (not church, btw) to contribute (but w/ no
> success yet. :-))
Unfortunately, the Ngan Khoi chorus is operative mainly in Southern CA,
but surely there should be enough talents/interest in the Bay area to
organize some amateur singing groups.
>I guess when you like something (such as jazz or choral music) which is not yet
>popular in the VNmese community then you just have to listen to or stick with
>Western artists/audiences.
At least the Vietnamese have dabbled into jazz and choral music with some
success, whereas opera still seems to be terra incognita and I've rarely
encountered a Vietnamese singer with the vocal and technical potential to
approach operatic music. No offense intended to Nguyen Thanh Van, but his
light tenorino voice is at best suited to semi-classical chansons, and he's
among the best conservatory-trained Vietnamese singers (better technique
than vocal endowment, alas). Actually, talking about jazzing up Vietnamese
music, in the pop area, I was rather pleasantly surprised (when I expected
otherwise) by the CD "No^~i Lo`ng" by Julie.
I'll leave ha't bo^.i, ha't che`o, and ca?i lu+o+ng aside, because they're
fairly different in vocal demands to Western opera, despite the common
denominator of music theater. A few Vietnamese composers have tried their
hands at composing Western-style operas, but with little if any success,
I'm afraid.
> KT
By the way, anh Kha?i, if you're interested in Vietnamese jazz, perhaps
you should check out a guy named Nguyen Le (from France). He has had a
few CDs out on the ACT Music + Vision label. He plays in a fairly large
French/German/Vietnamese jazz band. And though I haven't heard the other
CDs of western stuffs, his "Tales from Vietnam" shows a very clever and
interesting blend of Vietnamese folk songs and the jazz idiom (which
suits them surprisingly well! much less to my horror than Truc Ho's
minimalist Glass-esque murdering of Vietnamese folk music in the Asia
12 video!) It's rather surprising/amazing how rhythmically "jazzy"
Vietnamese folk music can be in and of itself, thanks to lively and
intricate use of percussionist instruments. Dressing it up with some
western jazz improvisation in the background is like icing on the cake.
FYI, here's the info on the disc:
Nguyen Le
"Tales from Vietnam"
ACT 9225-2 (CD), released in 1996
1. Qua Ca^`u Gio' Bay (7:30)
2. Ly' Ngu+.a O^ (4:10)
3. Ngu+o+`i o+i ngu+o+`i o+? ddu+`ng ve^` (7:26)
4. Tro^'ng co+m (4:04)
5. He.n ho` (5:24)
6. Ly' Ca^y DDa (8:19)
7. Hoa`i xua^n (3:21)
8. Ting Ning (3:42)
9. Mangustao -- Part 1 (4:36)
10. Mangustao -- Part 2 (5:54)
(Total playing time 54:46)
It's a new disc so it shouldn't be difficult to track down (the US
distributor is Blue Jackel Entertainment, Inc. (516) 9321608). If
you can't find it, then I might make a tape out for you (illegal
though it can be), but don't hold your breath on it!
Vinh
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