When I am about to be brainwashed by meaningless lyrics from young and trendy songwriters, Hoang Viet Khanh comes to resuscitate. In Tinh Khuc Hoang Viet Khanh, which featured ten of his selected ballads, he has me paid attention to his every word because the music is filled with poetic aesthetics. In fact, his compositions could be read like poems without musical notes.

The first time I was struck by “Cho Xuan,” the image of a mother, waiting spring after spring for her son to return, never escapes my mind. Backed up by the soul-stirring orchestral arrangement from Luan Hoang (HVK’s younger brother who is responsible for the production of the album), Trinh Vinh Trinh gives one of her finest performances. Her bona fide delivery aerates the song. When she blazes the chorus, the smoke of the burning golden leafs is visible.

Beside TVT, Cam Van is no less expressive in her poignant rendition of “Goc Nay Cua Em.” The scabrous bite in her voice thickens the emotional narrative of a parentless child being lonely in the cold corner of an empty street. Accompanied by Thanh Huy’s strumming guitar, she sings with so much soul that we could almost hear the cries in her voice. She has placed herself in HVK’s genuine lyrical content, and performs as if she has lived the character’s life.

Although Ngoc Anh is younger than Cam Van, she has a stickier (not necessarily better) gravel quality in her voice. With a razor-sharp emotional expression, she gives a nostalgic presentation of “Dong Song va Tinh Toi,” a river that is filled with HVK’s childhood recollections. Her duet with Quang Minh on “Tim Toi” is a strange combination. Unfortunately, his sweet voice doesn’t blend right with her densed timbre.

Quang Ly and My Dung are the two vocalists I’ve heard of for the first time, yet their indelible contributions attract me. With his pitch-perfect vocals combined with his sinuous phrasings, Quang Ly gives “Bong Dang” and “Ngay Xua Yeu Dau” (HVK’s first composition written when he was eighteen) exotic tinctures. My Dung also delivers a ravishing recitation of “Nho Ve Da Lat.”

Unlike today’s popular hits, HVK’s music takes time to assimilate. Each song requires personal attention, and best to be experienced in an intimate atmosphere. What makes HVK a fine musician is that he is both a composer and lyricist. The combination gives singers a solid understanding of his music for their individual interpretations; therefore, they are capable of expressing his art to its fullest potential.

Like A Love Supreme, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus documented four timeless masterpieces. Unlike John Coltrane’s spirituality, Mingus’s joints are filled with humanity. Charles Mingus Quartet (trumpeter Ted Curson, alto saxophonist/bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist/bandleader Charles Mingus, and drummer Dannie Richmond) is at its best. The musicians feel each other’s vibes, and play together like soldiers in combat, especially the level of energy they bring in “Folk Forms, No. 1,” which sets off the atmosphere for the next controversial piece. “Original Faubus Fables” is one of the most powerful and political jazz compositions in which Mingus and his musicians exercise their freedom of speech, “Boo! Nazi Fascist Supremacist / Boo! Ku Klux Klan (with your evil plan).” There is so much madness coming out of this tune, particularly the shouting from Mingus and Richmond. The screaming of Curson’s trumpet solo is just crazy. Once the band lets the chaos out of its system, it drops the mellow groove on “What Love.” Although the insanity is toned down, the spontaneous never left the building. The energetic mood picks up again on the forth track, which has a long title, “All the Things You Could Be By Now If Sigmund Freud’s Wife Was Your Mother.” CMPCM is amazing, and it shows how daring these musicians were willing to push their art to the limit. Imagine watching these cats in live action; it must be a rewarding experience.

When the great late 2pac Shakur dropped his classic Me Against the World, he was locked up for sexual harassment. A decade later, Kimberly Jones aka Lil’ Kim tells the world the Naked Truth about the shootout incident and the snitches before spending a year and a day behind bars. Despite the drama heading her way, Kim is more focused than ever. She pens tighter lyrics and spits slicker verses on her latest album.

With hit-making producers, including Scott Storch, T.I., and Fredwreck, laying down the beats, Kim has done a fabulous job of riding out her enemies. On “Spell Check,” she uses Biggie’s style spelling out the word “P-U-S-S-Y” to describe her former Junior M.A.F.I.A crew. She also pounds the homo-thug 50 Cent with, “The man, Five Oh, I don’t see him in the club / Cause he’s out in the CT with a dick in his butt.” On “Quiet,” with the Game on the hook, she applies Eminem’s aggressive and gimmick flow bitchslapping Foxy Brown, “… hoes wanna go to court til I pay them for their nails.”

When not dissing, Kim takes listeners back to her sex standards. Although the mind-freaking “Kitty Box” is raw, nasty, and highly erotic, she does not impressed me as much as her battling style. Plus, I really don’t give a damn if her vagina is “wetter than the whole Niagara” or how tight and right it is. Just give us the streetwise Bella, and leave the hardcore freaky stuffs out, especially “Gimme That.”

The juice of the record are those genuine joints such as “Slippin,” “All Good,” and” Last Day” where Queen Bee pours her heart out and rhymes like she has to get words out of her system. Naked Truth is Kim’s best work to date, in which her delivery has shown tremendous maturity, and she has proved it is true that “a cell’ll hold [her] body and never [her] mind.”

Last Friday, Cedar Walton Quartet‘s two-hour concert felt like ten minutes long. Pianist Walton mesmerized me with his effortless but electrifying style. I was watching his fingers moving up and down the keyboard the whole time. His bassist David Williams was also blazing, especially the way he smacked the bass up during his improvisations. The young saxophonist Vincent Herring was arresting. The musicians gave Vassar a fantastic time. For me, it was definitely too short.

Ly Hai, the hommie from the lovely little town called My Tho (my hometown), is a slow burner. He doesn’t make too much noise in the music scene, but somehow has managed to stay around for years while many young faces flash then pop like lightning bolts. He is well adapted to the current trends. His style reflects whatever the hottest music young listeners are into. His successes were Chinese-inflected ballads, and he translated most of the tunes. Now hip-hop is vibing up in Viet Nam, and so he is right there with her. The problem is that he can only create imitated hip-hop hits, which are far more artless than those Chinese melodies.

With his latest album, Thien Duong Co Em, he enervates not one but two popular ballads with hip-hop/trance/dance remix. In both Y Van’s “Thoi” and Duc Huy’s “Nguoi Tinh Tram Nam,” Ly Hai’s moderate flows are in one direction while the booty-shaking beats are in another. The synchronization is nowhere to be found. In addition, the nursery rhymes from guest MCs are irritating. Fellows, please respect the cultures (both Vietnamese and hip-hop). The title track, which is written by Duy Manh who is obsessed Chinese music, is sported by a cotton-candy tune harmonized with the computer-manipulated vocals. The end result is as flavorless as a piece of chewed bubblegum.

The whole record is a dud except for Xuan Hong’s “Doi Mat” (“Pair of Eyes”), which has straightforward but uplifting lyrics: “Me cho em doi mat sang ngoi / de nhin doi va de lam duyen / Doi cho em doi mat mau den / de thuong, de nho, de ghen, de hon” (“Mom gave me a pair of bright eyes / to look at life and to be charming / Life gave me a pair of black eyes / to love, to miss, to envy, to resent”). Ly Hai’s delivery is compelling, and the production is engaging. If he focuses his energy on more meaningful songs like “Doi Mat,” I wouldn’t be so condemning.

Ornette Coleman’s Shape of Jazz to Come is an avant-garde masterpiece of jazz. Two horns blow side-by-side creating call-and-response effects while complemented by the virtuous assistant of drums and bass. The sounds that come out of the talented quartet (Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgings) are pure, unique, and filled with human voices: “Lonely Lady” is exotic; “Eventually” is eclectic; “Peace” is elusive; “Focus on Sanity” is elaborate; “Congeniality” is exquisite; and “Chronology” is exhilarating.

Not sure why Dam Vinh Hung looks like a redneck on the cover of his latest album Mr. Dam, which obviously has nothing to do with country music. It just shows how off he is in the fashion world, but that’s another story. Although fashion and music go hand in hand, let’s just focus on his music world, and see if DVH is any good on his seventh’s studio solo.

Truth be told, I miss the good old DVH who struck me with his soulful performance of “Tinh Tho,” powerful presentation of “Goc Pho Reu Xanh,” and indelible rendition of “Tan Tro.” His singing used to be lighter but strong and captivating. Now he has developed an emphatic style. On “Ngoi Nghe Yeu Thuong Troi Xa,” his stressed phrasing gives Do Dinh Phuc’s music way more drama than it needs to be, and his heavy delivery comes across as if ton of bricks have pressed against his chest. Back in the early days, his breath control was perfect. But now, on the duet of Duc Huy’s “Nhu Da Dau Yeu,” both himself and Hong Ngoc sound like they are puffing a Cuban cigar together, and passing it to each other while recording. He breathes heavily not only on this particular track, but also on other performances.

DVH also loses his touch in revitalizing old tunes. Duc Huy’s “Nguoi Tinh Tram Nam” is another nightmare recovered, where his moaning and groaning add nothing but distraction to the work. Why does he love Duc Huy’s music so much? Duy Huy’s compositions – mellow, elegance, and simple – do not match his style at all, and he could not bring anything new to them. Furthermore, his version of Huynh Nhat Tan’s “Bac Tinh” is nowhere near Tuan Ngoc’s performance. As soon as Tuan Ngoc kicks off the first lines, “Voi vang lam chi trach nhau bac tinh,” he grabs listeners’ attention immediately, and continues to sway them with his flawless and effortless technique even after the song is over. On the other hand, DVH tries his hardest, but still could not take the song where Tuan Ngoc has taken it. Part of the flaw is also in the arrangement. Huynh Nhat Tan is behind the board on Tuan Ngoc’s version. Who could compose the music better than the composer himself? The result is hypnotizing. On DVH’s part, the producers (Bao Luu and Anh Khoa) could not bring any texture or color to the musical table. Not only for this track, but the over all production is also weak.

Is there anything good on the album? Of course, there has to be something. The best part is that he stops singing Marc Anthony’s songs. Remember “My Baby You” and “I Need to Know?” Thank gosh, right? Actually the decent track is Tran Ngoc’s “Tinh Em Xu Quang,” a sweet, rural ballad. It’s a Quang Linh’s style, but DVH sounds nice for a change. The new songs, including Thai Thinh’s “Dung Thuong Toi” and Hoai An’s “Noi Nho Tinh Toi,” are huge disappointments. They are just a bunch of syrupy ballads with bland productions and banal deliveries. Mr. Dam is done. It’s time to drop the mic and pick up the clipper.

“Berkeley Campus Blues,” “You Can’t Run Around (Blues),” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Undecided Blues,” “Evil Blues,” “Sunny Boy Blues,” and “Cryin’ Blues” are all savory blues pieces delivered by an exceptional blues vocalist Jimmy Rushing. After playing his album, Every Day I Have the Blues, several times straight through, I can’t even pick out a bad song, and there are sixteen tracks to choose from. Now that is an example of a perfect album. Rushing’s voice alone is a work of art: effortlessly in control, warm in tone, sweet in harmony, and expressive in phrasing. In addition, his singing varies from energetic swing (“Sent for You Yesterday (Here You Come Today)”) to soulful blues (“Take Me Back, Baby”). However, the record wouldn’t be as hot as it is without a good band to back up the singer, and the band that accompanied Rush is outstanding. They not only bring out the aesthetics of Rush, but also their own with a delicious instrumental “We Remember Prez,” a dedication to Lester Young composed by trombonist Dicky Wells. With the reissue version – two superb records (Everyday I Have the Blues and Livin’ the Blue) packed into one – this album rules!

Kanye West still got the beats. His sophomore album, Late Registration, featured some of the finest samplings including the mesmerizing orchestration supported by Jon Barron on “Gone” (Cam’ron sounds dope on this track), the drunken bass lines on “Heard ‘Em Say” and the smooth jazz vibe on “Drive Slow.” From the lyrical standpoint, West isn’t so impressive (even though he throws quite a few humorous punch lines), and his breathy delivery is not helping either. “Hey Mama” is stunning from the production to the story, but not West’s singing, and it gets worse when he sings again on “Celebration,” which ruins the elegant arrangement. On the remix “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” guest appearance Jay-Z delivers a brilliant thirty-two-bar verse. I have to give it to him for his clever wordplay: “I am not a businessman / I am a business, man.” It reads perfectly well on paper, but tough to pull off on the flow, and yet Jigga punctuates clearly without breaking a sweat. He is good. That’s why he’s the big boss, but West is not so bad himself. He has definitely stepped up from The College Dropout as a producer, creating more rich and soulful harmonies.

With an experimental project that takes two years of sweats, hard work and dedication to complete, My Linh drops classical 101 on the young listeners. Chat Voi (With) Mozart attempts to bridge the gap between popular and “unpopular” music. Gigging hand-in-hand with Duong Thu (who is responsible for all the Vietnamese lyrics on the album), Anh Quan and Huy Tuan, My Linh hopes to bring the aesthetics of classical form to the mainstream. To accomplish their goal, these four musicians have to make the classic tunes easy to listen, and they do so by the blending of pop, hip-hop, jazz and funk grooves.

Passing right through the lame-rapping intro, we’re presented with rejuvenating versions of Bach’s “Ave Maria” and Edward Elgar’s “Salute D’amour (“Gio va La Cay”) where slinky songbird My Linh releases exotic classical aura over Anh Quan’s gorgeous arrangements. However, I could mentally block out the instruments and just enjoy a cappella for a pure classical experience. Sported by Huy Tuan’s funk-pop production, she gives a sultry performance of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” (“Ngay Xa Anh”) through her sweet, romantic and undoubtedly sensuous voice. In addition, I can’t get enough of that funkdafied flavor from Manh Dung’s terno.

With the assisting of Khanh Linh’s sensational soprano vocals, My Linh reinvigorates Vivaldi’s “Four Season” (“Mua Dong”). Together, the dual Linh unleashed musical spells that filled with everlasting imagination. Coolest piece is the bossa nova’s transformation of Shumann’s “Traumerei” (“Nhung Ngay Mong Mo”) produced by Son Thach. Huy Tuan’s flute hangs on My Linh’s voice like cloud while Quyen Thien Dac’s saxophone gives the break an exquisite vibe. Saint Saens’s “The Carnival of the Animals” (“Ve Day Thien Nga”) is another pop-jazz inspired production with luscious sax sound.

Chat Voi Mozart is based on western compositions, instruments, and styles, yet the distinction is in the lyrical content. Duong Thu has done an exceptional job of keeping the words true to Vietnamese tradition. His lyrics carry Vietnamese images, colors and poetries. Naturally, he gets his inspiration from natures; therefore, his writing reflects those elements including sky, sunshine, wind and spring.

I enjoy the work not because of its easy-listening approach, but its creative fusion, which has enlivened the ancient tunes. I admire My Linh’s voice, but it is still not strong enough (she gasps for air on most of the tracks) to deliver classical high notes. Yet, what she has — clear diction, emotional expression, and dexterous reflection — more than made up for her slightly breathy vocals. With spellbound lyrics, hypnotic vocals and persuasive productions, Chat Voi Mozart could well be paving the path for classical to enter Vietnamese popular music just like jazz, r&b and hip-hop (I am not so sure about hip-hop though).