Cam Ly is apparently not a very exciting singer. On her new release, Em Khong The Quen, she gives an oral report instead of singing Minh Vy’s mundane, Chinese-inflected songs. She hardly pushes her delivery simply because her range is as wide as a virgin’s ass. She sounds consistently flat throughout the album. “Cafe Miet Vuon” is the only tune she switches up her tone to mimic a jealous wife—something Minh Tuyet would have made more convincing. In fact, Minh Tuyet covers most of the sister’s songs with much more success. This one is going to be a Minh Tuyet’s record as well.

This debut release marks the emancipation of Hoa Mi after twenty years on hiatus. Through the test of time, the nightingale’s soprano shows no sign of deterioration. She still sounds sensational and sentimental on classic songs like Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Ban Tinh Cuoi,” Lam Phuong’s “Mot Minh” and Trinh Cong Son’s “Ru Ta Ngam Ngui.” Unfortunately, Bao Chan’s lackluster arrangements aren’t doing her ageless voice the service. Even on his own tune, “Ben Em La Bien Rong,” he brings nothing but a smooth, snoring flavor that is perfect for airplane restaurants.

Like the Chinese Twelve Girls Band, Co La is a group made up of seven beautiful Vietnamese ladies who were academically trained in traditional instruments including the bamboo flute, zither, pipa and monochord. On its debut, Dau Cham Hoi, the band brings old instruments as well as modern electronics to Vietnamese popular tunes.

Nguyen Cuong’s “Dan Cam,” highlight of the album, gets a mesmerizing fusion between eastern traditional sounds and western rhythm. The tune kicks off with the northern folksy intro and then proceeded into an upbeat tempo courtesy of Roland TR-808. While the beat is bouncy, the traditional instruments play in unison and the powerful voice never led up. “Ngua O Hue” also stands out. Love the Hue accent and the sawing of the two-stringed dan nhi to make the horse’s neighing effect.

Van Cao’s “Suoi Mo” starts off with the sensational bamboo flute taking listeners into the dreamy state of mind. The sixteen-stringed zither (dan tranh) and the monochord (dan bau) are no less hypnotizing. Trinh Cong Son’s “Hoa Vang May Do” is just achingly beautiful when being revived with traditional instruments.

When being asked about the name Co La “Rare Grass,” a member explains that grass is everywhere, but this is not just the ordinary, wild grass. I wonder if it’s the I-can-roll-it-and-smoke-it type. It’s indeed a different kind.

Following the current trend, Hong Ngoc released two albums at once to target different demographics. Vet Thuong Cuoi Cung, which featured classic tunes, is for the old heads. Qua Khu, which featured come-and-gone pop hits, is for the young fans.

On Vet Thuong Cuoi Cung, Hong Ngoc obviously tries to throw a bone for the old folks. She makes no investment in the productions and she covers each song in her sleep. The beats get drowsy; her voice gets drowsier. She simply puts Trinh Nam Son’s “Di Vang” out of its misery and into an afternoon nap. I hope that Lam Phuong won’t listen to her rendition of “Co Ua.” He might get another stroke.

The good thing about Vet Thuong Cuoi Cung is that the album makes Qua Khu more listenable. Although Hong Ngoc has such an old, smoky and husky voice, the best she could do is singing instant pop songs. On the title track, she means every word she sings: “Nhung than oi long nguoi thay doi / Anh ra di chi gi qua khu cua em / Qua khu ngay xua anh da chap nhan de den ben em.” Any lyrics with the words “anh ra di,” she nailed them. On “An Nan Muon Mang,” she cries like rain on the chorus: “Gio day anh da ra di / Anh quyet ra di / Bo mat em voi bao dam me muon phien / Em khoc nhu mua / Anh van quay di / Vi trai tim anh da qua suc nguoi oi.”

Qua Khu testifies that Hong Ngoc still holds her spot as a star in the pop market. Moving beyond that, however, is out of her reach and Vet Thuong Cuoi Cung is a proof.

Winner of Asia Entertainment’s 2007 singing competition, Quoc Khanh has quickly become one of the rising pop stars with his charming voice and cute look. On his debut, Van Mong Ve Em, he shows more than just those two qualities. He could also write and produce his own tracks. Unfortunately, the title opener, one of the two tunes he has penned, sounds like a soundtrack to a romantic Chinese TV series from the hook to the melody to the incorporation of the traditional instrument.

Production wise, Quoc Khanh obviously spends way too much time with Truc Ho. Without looking over the credit, one would have guessed that “Moi Tinh Tho” was written and arranged by his mentor. That’s not necessarily bad a thing. At least he could deliver Truc Ho songs such as “Dung Khoc Hoi Em” and “Nhu Anh Can Em” with soul and sincerity. In addition to Truc Ho, Sy Dan is responsible for a couple of arrangements including the robotic dance mix of Truc Ho’s “Van Trang Tinh Yeu” and the lethargic “Tieng Song,” in which Quoc Khanh desperately tries to please his father who has written the lyrics for the tune.

“Tieng Song” is the only song that Quoc Khanh sounds unengaged. His honesty and personality come through on the rest. Looking past the lollipop hits and lackluster productions, the strength of Van Mong Em Ve is his fullest effort. He seems to give his best. There are plenty of room and time for improvements. He is young with potentials and this is just a beginning.

On his debut Khong Gian Bach Bien, Vietnamese-Australian Ethan Thoi tries to please everyone from teenyboppers to club bangers to ballroom dancers. While he succeeds in giving “Thu Ca” a refreshing tango flavor, he flops miserably with the horrendous use of Auto-Tune effects (T-Paining too much) on “Hot Stuff.” Just when I thought “Hot Stuff” is an unsurpassable dud comes the Chinese bonus track, “Ai De Chu Ti Ya,” and the worst part is when he started to rap in Chinese. Ethan’s voice is actually decent (clear and forceful), but his song materials are pretty much garbage.

On September 11, 2001, Jay-Z’s now classic The Blueprint was born. Backing up by the then-hungry producers like Kanye West and Just Blaze, Jay-Z ran his own show with his impeccable rhymes and ruthless disses. The Blueprint featured only one guest spot (Eminem on “Renegade”) and no club hits (yet the beats were still banging). A year later, Jay-Z followed up with the double-troubled The Blueprint, Vol. 2: The Gift and the Curse and boasted, “Rumor has it, The Blueprint classic / Couldn’t even be stopped by bin Laden.” True, the first installment was unstoppable, but the second was a disaster full of distracting guests. The double disc was so unnecessary long that Jay-Z had to quickly release a 2.1 to trim down the fillers.

The final installment of the Blueprint trilogy is scheduled to release on September 11, 2009. Unfortunately, The Blueprint 3 is more like the second album than the first classic. Guests show up on most of the tracks and nearly every production is a club banger. On a Swizz Beatz’s typical bouncy production, “On to the Next One,” Jay-Z shows that he is still a maestro of flow and he could wrap his swag around any beat even the forgettable ones. The problem is that the beat doesn’t match up to his bravado: “Baby I am a boss / I don’t know what they do / I don’t get dropped / I drop the label / World can’t hold me / too much ambition / Always knew I will be like this when I was in the kitchen.”

One of Jay-Z’s artistic assets is, without a doubt, his braggadocio. The down side is that he uses it way too much already. We already know that Jay-Z doesn’t run rap anymore; he runs the map (“What We Talkin’ About”). We already know that Jay-Z’s the only rapper to rewrite history (“D.O.A.”). We already know that Jay-Z makes the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankee can (“Empire State of Mind”).

What lit the fire under Jay-Z’s ass though are his enemies. On the Kanye-produced “Already Home,” Jay goes hard at rappers and his critics: “Tell me I don’t get it / Everybody could tell you how to do it / They never did it.” Jay-Z obviously still doesn’t get it. If he got it, he would have learned his lesson from The Blueprint 2 and he wouldn’t cut embarrassing tracks like the sex-bragging “Venus vs. Mars,” self-congratulating “Reminder” and age-denying “Young Forever.” Jigga, get your grown-man on!

I am not yet a classical fiend, but I already am hooked on Michel Camilo’s jaw-dropping virtuosity. Backing up by the vigorous BBC Symphony Orchestra, jazz pianist Camilo displays his exemplary classical techniques on Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The 15-minute opening track alone is captivating and the energetic “Tropical Jam” is highly addictive. Duke and I have been enjoying this album every night until he goes to sleep. Check out “Caribe,” an electrifying solo piano.

Nowadays young singers try to cover timeless songs, but with not much success. Trinh Hoang Hai is an elderly man who could almost do the justice to the classic tunes on his debut Bien Hat. Though lack in techniques and range, he has a raspy voice and an understated approach to ballads. Unfortunately, his use of vibratos killed his effortless delivery. On Tu Cong Phung’s “Mat Le Cho Nguoi” and Pham Duy’s “Thuyen Vien Xu,” he sings like a man in constipation trying to push and pull his way through. His rendition of Trinh Cong Son’s “Ru Em” and Anh Bang’s “Hoa Hoc Tro” are the only two tracks where he sounds less shaky. If he dropped the pulsating effect altogether, his flow would have been so natural.

When a band plays together for 15 years, the members breathe the same air and that was how the Tierney Sutton Band holding down the tiny-ass Blues Alley on Monday night. The band, which consisted of Tierney Sutton (vocals), Christian Jacob (piano), Kevin Axt (bass) and Ray Brinker (drums), performed together as a unit.

Ms. Sutton was not just a jazz singer. She was an integral part of the group. She used her voice as an instrument. Trading lines with the instrumentalists, Sutton always played around with her vocals, especially on the up-swinging tunes. On “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” Sutton showed her remarkable sense of rhythmic by scatting and catching up with Ray Brinkers’s speedy tempo. Together the dynamic duo gave the standard a complete makeover. “Cry Me a River” also got a fantastic cover with an original arrangement and vocal treatment. “I Got a Kick Out of You” was fun, energetic and very unique. Love the opening bass solo, sensational piano improvisation, vigorous brushwork and Sutton’s playful scatting.

Alternating between fast swing and slow meditation, the band played some of the materials off its latest album, Desire including “It’s All Right With Me,” “Then I’ll Be Tired of You” and “Heart’s Desire.” The show was a perfect escape for a Monday night. My only dissatisfaction was that it was way too short. I wish the band covered my favorite “You Are My Sunshine.”