Let’s be frank. No one can do Johnny Hartman like Johnny Hartman. He was a singer’s singer with a deep tenor voice and a distinctive ballad style. He also had John Coltrane by his side. Mahogany has a great voice of his own and he takes on Hartman’s signature tunes with his personal interpretation, like scatting on “Green Dolphin Street.” The live recordings of Mahogany Sings Hartman featured only bass, piano and vocals. While Mahogany’s voice remains terrific, the poor quality of the recording engineer brings down the album.

Do Bao’s Thoi Gian De Yeu features way too many vocalists. The record is all over the place like a compilation of songs rather than a well-crafted concept. If Do Bao worked closely with just one singer, preferably Nguyen Thao, and focused on one or two styles, preferably blues and jazz, the result would have been tighter and more coherent.

Out of all nine vocalists, Nguyen Thao seems to be the most suitable singer for Do Bao’s lovely melodies and romantic lyrics. She has a gorgeous voice—sweet and slightly gravel—and she could maneuver her way around the pop-jazz arrangement on both the title track and “Nhung Khuc Troi Khac.” Nguyen Ngoc Anh is another mesmerizing vocalist who gives an intoxicating rendition of the bluesy “Chim Trong Muon Thuo.”

Ho Quynh Huong is a return guest from the first album and she opens with the listenable “Buc Thu Tinh Thu 4.” It seems as if Do Bao is obsessed with his love letters. One or two is enough; three or four is a little bit too much, unless he has four different lovers. Ha Tran also returns with two tracks and only “Cau Tra Loi” is passable. The other guests—Tung Duong, Thanh Lam, Le Hieu, Tan Minh and Huy Pham—aren’t contributing anything worthy.

Saigon Lounge, a collaborative effort between MC/singer Nguyet Anh, songwriter/producer Quoc Bao, and French arranger Laurent Jaccoux, is a perfect cure for insomnia. Like its title suggested, the album is intended for lounging bars, café shops, and maybe some make-out places in Ho Chi Minh City. Over electronic, mellow-out arrangements, Nguyet Anh delivered Quoc Bao’s eight familiar tracks like a really-bad-French-romantic-ballad singer. On “Vang Em,” her indistinctive voice comes through like an audio-reading device. Then there’s the horrendous Caribbean jazz groove on “La Yeu Chua Tung Yeu,” an unbearable smooth sax on “Cho Em Noi Them Trang,” and “Vua Biet Dau Yeu” is more like a disco joint than a relaxing track. Saigon Lounge is supposed to be for chilling out, but I rather kick back with Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck with Paul Desmond, or Stan Getz.

Quynh Lan, a bar singer with a sensual, smoky voice, knows a thing or two about intimacy. On Nguyen Anh 9 songbook, Ky Niem, she sings his song as if she’s living it. The minimal setting, accompanied by guitar or piano, helps bring out the personal interpretation in her phrasings.

Over a gorgeous strumming guitar, Quynh Lan gives “Co Don” a sense of solitude. She doesn’t belt out, but her words are filled with passion even on the low register. Many singers covered “Tinh Yeu Den Trong Gia Tu” in a bossa-nova groove, but Quynh Lan approaches it in a much slower pace and just bares her soul over Nguyen Anh 9’s elegant piano. The advantage of singing it in a relaxed tempo allows her the time to express the lyrics word for word. “Mua Thu Canh Nau” is another savory take on the blues. By leaving out drum, bass and horns (saxophone or trumpet), the piano provides only the essential chords and what left are simply the raw emotional vocals.

Though Ky Niem is not groundbreaking, the record is perfect for those who enjoy Vietnamese intimate ballads. Listening to it song for song on a rainy night is a pure melancholy pleasure.

Kevin Mahogany’s last night performance in the Kennedy Center was enjoyable but not as ecstatic as the first time I saw him at Jazz in the Valley in West Park, New York. His gruff, husky voice hasn’t changed, but the band, The Godfathers of Groove, accompanied him didn’t hold up. The trio group consisted of Grant Green Jr. on guitar, J.T. Lewis on drums and Reuben Wilson on Hammond B3 organ. Personally, I prefer the piano to the organ. The major drawback was no thumping double bass to accommodate Mahogany’s hypnotic low register.

The Godfathers of Groove opens the show with an instrumental number and Kathy Kosins whose voice sounds like Diana Krall but less smoky sang two Kansas City blues, included “You Turned Your Back on Me.” She introduced Mahogany to the stage and he kicked off with him own blues tune called, “Kansas City Born and Bred.” He performed a handful of Kansas, shouting blues including “Centerpiece,” in which he scatted the entire B section. My favorite piece is “Please Send Me Someone to Love,” in which he sang with a soulful, gospel feel. There was also a medley that started in slow blues, but progressed in triple tempo. The best part was when he invited Kosins to join him for a scat duet.

The show was an hour and a half long, but it went by so fast. Mahogany was quite a funny man and he made us laughing in between the songs. I copped his live recording of Mahogany sings Hartman after the show. By the way, the Kennedy Center was gorgeous, and looking down to DC at night in the rain was a wonderful experience.

Just hours away from his scheduled performance on the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Awards, T.I. was arrested for attempting to purchase several unregistered machine guns and silencers. He was bailed out, but required to stay inside his home at all times. While under house arrest, T.I. decided to make good use of his time. He cut an album called Paper Trail. The title refers to the technique of writing down rhymes, something he has abandoned after his 2001 debut, I’m Serious.

Although T.I. has proved his lyrical skills without the aid of pen and paper, his rhymes get more complex and evocative when he takes the time to write them down. The John Legend assisted “Slide Show” provides snapshots of T.I.’s life in vivid details as well as some retrospection: “If I only knew back then what I know now / how much better life would have been if I slow down.” The jazz-inflected “You Ain’t Missing Nothing” is a devotion to his hommies who are locked behind the walls counting months after months. The stories are eloquent and sentimental, but T.I. managed to throw in some light humors: “The club on hold and the bras on pause / You get home it’s going to be waiting on y’all.”

Still, T.I. is at his best when he boasts his braggadocio. On “I’m Illy,” T.I. presents his virtue in rich rhythmic flow and doses of arrogance: “hip-hop champion,” “five-star general,” “OG veteran,” and “stack cash like US treasury.” One of T.I.’s assets has to be his swag. He knows it and never shies away from displaying it. On a contagiously catchy “Live Your Life” with Rihanna holding down the hooks, T.I. boosts: “I am the opposite of moderate… Spirit of a hustler and a swagger of a college kids.” On “No Matter What,” T.I. spits with confidence: “Never have you seen in your lifetime / a more divine southern rapper wit a swag like mine / Facing all kind of time, but smile like I’m fine / brag with such passion and shine without trying.” If those aren’t showcasing enough swag already, T.I. invited three more swaggers (Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West) to join him on “Swagga Like Us.” Unfortunately Kanye and Lil Wayne killed the track with the use of Auto-Tune.

Paper Trail suffers when T.I. throws a bone for the ladies (“No Matter What’), drops a club hit (“Swing Ya Rag”), and reveals his horniness (“Porn Star”). Toss out the mainstream fillers, the album is quite impressive. With his virtuosic flow and articulate lyricism, T.I. lives up to his self-proclaim title: “king of the south.”

Van Son needs some serious renovation in his production. The skits have always been his niches, but Van Son 40 in Dallas had shown that the comedies were getting drought out. I tried my hardest to get through Kieu Oanh and Le Huynh’s charmless acting as well as Quang Minh and Hong Dao’s phoniness, and I couldn’t. Kieu Oanh annoyed the heck out me. Even Van Son and Bao Liem’s second skit was such a repetitive.

What Van Son needs to revamp the most is the musical production. Nguyen Khang and Diem Liem gave a superb performance of “The Phantom of the Opera,” but the music brought down their vocals. Van Son should invest in real orchestra, but the budget wouldn’t allow that (my prediction). I could barely get through the songs because of the crappy arrangements. As for the singers, V-pop sang and moved like a bunch of pussies. They even had a clown-ass rapper to join them.

One of the enjoyable performances was Tinna Tinh. She’s cute rock chick and Viet Thao needs to cut out his dick joke. He kept pressing on and on about how many “cu” she brought with her. I don’t know about you, but that shit is sexual harassment to me.

As for Van Son, was he mocking Tuan Anh in his rendition of “Nail Nail Nail.” But then again, the song is actually more suitable for him than Don Ho. The lyric is such a joke and only a joker like Van Son could make it funny. Van Son 40 is a waste of time.

Ha Tran apparently realizes the disaster of going overboard with the production on her Communication ’06. With her new release, Ca Khuc Tran Tien, she scales all the way back to a minimal approach. Electric guitar is the main instrument and the beats are mostly spare and ambient. Wise decision.

“Ra Ngo Tung Kinh” is a great starter. Although the production is very subtle, you could hear the temple bell ringing, voices of the children chanting, organic sounding, electric guitar licks, zither plucking and clap-like drums all come together to create an atmospheric vibe. Best of all, Ha Tran’s angelic voice never drowns in the production. “Ngau Hung Pho” sets in a straightforward Latin rhythmic and her vocals ebb and flow effortlessly along with the guitars. “Mot Minh” is an unadorned beauty. She starts off with the first few bars naked and then the simple plucking guitar joins in to allow her to pour out her heart and soul.

The major flaw of the album is that Ha Tran allows too many guest spots and they just interrupt the flow. Hoa Tran isn’t contributing anything outstanding. “Lien Khuc Chi Toi” is saved by the hypnotic beat and her gorgeous rendition of “La Dieu Bong.” Tung Duong is also a disappointment. His restrained delivery on “Doc Huyen Cam” is utterly awkward. The album would have been better if Ha Tran is the only one to run the show.

With her new album, Nhip Dap (to the Beat), My Tam tries to take her fans back to the club one more time. After the failed attempt of Vut Bay, she has learned some valuable lesions. Gone are the rubbish rap verses, generic productions and Korean singings. She knows that a dance record has to be driven by the beat, but she also knows damn well not to let the beat overpowers her voice.

Nhip Dap spins off with Le Quang’s “Quen Di Ngay Yeu Dau,” a speedy cut with Andre 3000’s drum loop that will guarantee to groove you. Tran Tuan Anh’s “Nho Anh That Nhieu” features a flavor of sunshine Bollywood sound, but what make the tune works are My Tam’s swift flow and the way she rides the tempo. She has written three tunes for the album. The standout one is “Vu Dieu French Cho Anh,” a fantastic mix of Latin riff guitar and classical sample (Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”) over pounding beat. Mad proper to producer Cho Sung Jin for the hypnotic production.

Getting rid of her useless English singing is something My Tam has yet to learn. Ho Hoai An’s “Lac Loi” and her own “Do It (Niem Tin)” are perfectly ruined by interjecting one or two lines of English into the chorus. On the straight English “Tic Tac Toe,” her accent is somewhat forgivable though. Who wouldn’t even when she sings in imperfect English lines like, “Tic tac toe, trap you in the corner / Where you gonna go?” Wouldn’t you just want to stand there and let her grind you?

All kidding aside, My Tam has definitely upped her game with each release since her previous return. If Tro Lai captured your heart, Nhip Dap would move your feet.

What makes Celebrity Dancing entertaining is that singers don’t have to lip-synch if they don’t want to. They just have to dance. Before the show, I could see why they picked Nguyen Hung and Shanda Sawyer as judges. After the show, I could figure out why they picked Khanh Ly and Duc Huy. They were on the panel to provide comic releases. Among the judges, Sawyer gives the most invaluable criticisms from the way she compliments on the technical skills to body chemistry to facial expression.

Mad props go out to Huong Lan and Huong Thuy. They made my jaw drop, especially Huong Lan. I couldn’t even imagine she could pull it off the way she did. Mai Tien Dung got his swing on. He was such a lovely puppy. Minh Tuyet was hot in Salsa. She knows how to work her assets. Still the one that leaves me breathless is the mambo MILF Khanh Ha. Her dress was sexy and she has the groove as well as the attitude. He spanked her ass and she returned with a slap. Don’t mess with hot mama. Furthermore, her rendition of “Mambo Italiano” is gorgeous. She has the Italian accent down pretty well.

Mad kudos goes out to all the professional dancers too. They have done a great job of turning some of these singers whose feet have no rhythm into some viewable performances. Well, maybe not Tran Thai Hoa. The dude simple can’t dance. But when you watch the chick who was Luong Tung Quang’s partner, you just have to say: God bless dancing.