Luong Gia Huy’s Vua Nhac San should be translated as King of Crap. From the robotic dance beats to the ear-deafening use of Autotune, the album truly is a piece of crap. And of course the lyrics are crappy as hell too: “Khi doi ta ben nhau, I love you / Khi doi ta khong yeu, say goodbye.” Strangely, the only groovy track is the hilarious remix of “Thang Bom.”
Quynh Vi’s solo debut is like a pack of bubblegum with flavors coming from different parts of the world: China, America and Enchilada. The melody on the opening track, “Yeu Khong Hoi Tiec,” is Chinese and the chorus is a mixture of Vietlish: “Vi khi da yeu la khong bao gio noi I am sorry.” And for the rest, it’s a forgettable first listen. A second return is unnecessary.
With droopy vocals backing up by drowsy arrangements, Tuan Hung’s Nhac Xua seems primarily to put people to sleep. Play this album on a hot, lazy afternoon and you’ll be snoring before the first track is over. The mixture of the synth and the smooth sax on the jazzy rendition of “Toi Di Giua Hoang Hon,” is soothing enough for a massage parlor. On “Co Ua” and “Niem Khuc Cuoi,” Tuan Hung murmurs his way through the tunes so he could go to bed as well.
Steve Kuhn gigged briefly with John Coltrane, but the leader’s profound influence never left him. On this respectful, tasteful tribute to the jazz legend, Steve Kuhn Trio and Joe Lovano bring their own chops to Coltrane’s compositions. Lovano gives a reserved yet gorgeous solo on “Song of Praise” and the rhythm section gives the tune a cool, relaxed swinging vibe. On “Spiritual,” Lovano plays the tárogató, a Hungarian instrument, for a softer, yet warmer sound than a tenor while the trio swings gently behind him. Covering Coltrane is not an easy task, yet Steve Kuhn and his men had done the justice to Mostly Coltrane.
Without a Song captures some of the finest live performances from trumpet virtuoso Freddie Hubbard backed up by his impeccable rhythm section: Roland Hanna (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums). While title track displays Hubbard’s quicksilver solo over the band’s hard-swing tempo, “Body and Soul” shows off their lyrical balladry. “Space Track” and “Hub Tones” are among the unreleased gems.
Trieu Hoang’s seventh release, Xuc Cam, takes damn near three years to complete, yet the quality pays off. The lyrical contents are forgettable, but the flows and the productions are memorable. Right off the opening track, “Buong Xui,” producer/songwriter Nguyen Hong Hai crafted a wicked beat (rock-pop with a club flavor) to go with Trieu Hoang’s throaty voice. The result is stunning. The title track gets even better with just Trieu Hoang pouring is heart out on nothing else but the solo piano. Unfortunately Trieu Hoang’s own tunes bring down the album. “Hen Uoc” is straight Chinese-melody jacked and “Yeu” is just ill-rhymed. Even a top-notch production can’t save lyrics like this: “Moi dem anh ngu anh mo / Chi thay em ma thoi (Every night I sleep I dream / I only see you).”
An impressionistic work of art, Unit Structures is chaotic, energetic, yet tightly controlled. From the opening “Steps,” jazz avant-garde Cecil Taylor leads his septet into the world of abstraction. His percussive piano bursts like fireworks on 4th of July allowing the reed section to roar with ferocity. Like many of Taylor’s albums, Unit Structures is not so pleasing on the first spin. Time, patience and opening ears are required to appreciate the masterpieces.
“It’s music, and I like it,” Miles Davis responded when being asked if his 1959 release, Sketches of Spain, was really jazz. 50 years later, the provocative collaboration between Miles Davis and Gil Evans on the Latin flavors still sounds as fresh as it was first recorded. What makes this album so damn delicious is the way Gil Evans’ sensual, textual arrangements hugged like clouds around Davis’ fragile, pointed trumpet. The legacy edition includes extraordinary materials, such as alternates and live version of “Concierto de Aranjuaz.”
One of the cool things about jazz is that you could make any classic tune sounds fresh if you have the right chops to do it. The proof? Check out Sophie Milman’s third release, Take Love Easy, and her tasty, sexy rendition of “My One and Only Love” in particular. She has the sultry voice, an impeccable sense of rhythm and a gift for interpretation to not only reinvigorate jazz standards (Duke Ellington’s “Take Love Easy”, Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale” and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Triste”), but also give rock tunes (Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and Joni Mitchell’s “Be Cool”) new flavors. Her distinctive version of “Day In, Day Out” (music by Rube Bloom and lyrics by Johnny Mercer) and “Beautiful Love” are highly addictive.
If you thought Duc Tuan’s rounded tone and over pronunciation in Vietnamese were hair-raising, wait to hear you hear him sings in English. Music of the Night is Duc Tuan’s worst concept album up to date simply because he covers Broadway tunes in English. His voice gets under my skin right from the opening track. The only reason I could get through the album is the sensational productions from Ignace Lai. The good thing about Duc Tuan is that his accompaniment has always been top quality. This album could have worked if the lyrics were translated into Vietnamese and he straightened up his quiver delivery. He has a gorgeous tenor for Broadway songs and great orchestration backing him up. Duc Tuan needs to open up his ears and listen to himself.