Dana’s brother gave me Roger Kamien’s Music: An Appreciation. I find the first part of the book to be valuable in helping readers understand the fundamental elements of music such as pitch, dynamics, tone color, rhythm, melody and harmony.

My co-worker gave me The Penguin Guide to Jazz by Richard Cook and Brain Morton. The book is about 1600 page; therefore, I won’t read it from cover to over but keep it for reference on jazz albums.

The GW Hatchet reports:

The University is scrapping its current website management system – part of a $1 million website revamp started nearly two years ago – claiming it no longer suits GW’s online needs.

As a web developer for The School of Business who had been involved with the project, I applaud the University for making the change. Although Vignette is a very powerful system and I am getting a handle of its complexity from a user perspective, it is not the right CMS for GW. The University is in the process of selecting a replacement. The choices look promising.

Simplexpression opens its door on Etsy. Come and check us out. We will add more items as time permits.

Mood: happy, chatty, playful.
Enjoyed: story time, outside/gym

Notes and reminders: “Whenever we do anything and requires getting dirty he cries and don’t want to do it. We still try to keep him interested so he will get to play with different things.”

You must have picked up your grandma’s gene. You even refuse to play in the snow because you afraid of getting dirty.

On a different note, today is Vietnamese New Year. You received gifts from Co Tam. Although she is not your primary teacher, she loves you and takes great care of you. She is a very sweet teacher.

You also received your first “li xi” of 2011 from Bac Quyen tonight. Let’s wish bac and her family a prosperous new year.

You talk nonstop nowadays. You talk as soon as you wake up in the morning and your first word with your eyes closed is “sua” (milk). You talk throughout the day at school and you talk before you go to bed. Your last word of the day is also “sua.”

Keep yakking away, baby. We take great pleasure in hearing you talk and building up your words. You started out with “xuong” (down). Then you added “xuong lau” (downstairs). Mom was surprise that you could say three-syllable “di xuong lau” (walk downstairs). She didn’t realize, however, that you had already mastered five syllables: “The train is coming.” I am still not sure where you get that from.

Bedtime reading is a bit different now then before. You pull out the book and read to us. You read the pictures instead of words. No wonder you’re a son of a visualgui.

Kathryn Schulz, author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, gave an inspiring talk at the GW School of Business about the merits of being wrong, admitting mistakes and how these lessons can apply in our personal and professional lives.

With Bird Songs, saxman Joe Lovano doesn’t set out to chase after Charlie Parker. Instead, Lovano and his Us Five (with pianist James Wheidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummers Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III) use Parker’s compositions as a springboard and go off in their own direction. “Passport” starts out with the original melody with Lovano plays a lyrical solo before heading into his blazing chops. With “Barbados,” the band replace the bebop rhythm with the Caribbean groove and yet still provide the space for Lovano to pour out his soul. Bird Songs is indeed a compelling reimagination of Parker’s music.

Renowned jazz pianist Jason Moran and his Bandwagon (with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits) cut one of the best jazz albums of 2010. Ten celebrates a decade of the band working together with an imaginative reinterpretation of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule with Nellie,” a modern approach to composition based on Jimi Hendrix’s infamous technique (“Feedback 2”) and an intriguing incorporation of funk, jazz and hip-hop (“Gangsterism Over Ten Years”). Listening to the trio reminds me of a Vietnamese proverb: “A lone tree cannot make a forest, but three trees gathered together form a high hill.”

We just released 12 new necklaces on Simplexpression for Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for her, come check them out.

Thanh Thao’s musical direction is best describe as “deafness fears no gun” (diec khong so sung). Even though most of her hits are mediocre, you have to hand it to her for playing around with different styles ranging from trendy pop to dance pop to imitated hip-hop and r&b to to over-sentimental ballad. Her new release, Hoang Tu Trong Mo, is a bolero devotion. She also enlisted an impressive roster of guest princes including Thai Chau, Ngoc Son, Truong Vu and Le Hieu for the duets.

What makes Thanh Thao intriguing is that she is not afraid to mix and match styles. She picks out her beats as if she shops for her clothes. Hoang Tu Trong Mo is based on the bolero foundation, but she also adds some pop, hip-hop and even jazz on top. The most fascinating arrangement on the album is the blend of jazz, hip-hop rhythm with traditional instruments on “Nho Nguoi Yeu” with Ngoc Son. The track sounds both “sen” (cheesy) and “sang” (elegant) at the same time. Who else, but Thanh Thao could pull that off?

Her collaboration with Truong Vu on “Duong Tinh Doi Nga” works surprisingly well. His over-emphatic singing is a perfect foil for her straightforward delivery and they seem to feel each other’s pain. In contrast, she sounds as if she is done with the Quang Dung drama on the medley “Nhin Nhau Lan Cuoi” and “Xin Dung Noi Yeu Toi.” They both sound flat and tired of the past. While Dam Vinh Hung is on top of her on “Gap Nhau Lam Ngo,” Vuong Trieu Vu is at the bottom of her on “Sao Em Vo Tinh.” They should get together and do a threesome.

Another standout duet is “Em Ve Keo Troi Mua.” Le Hieu’s northern accent in singing a southern tune is quite pleasing. Like most of Thanh Thao’s album, Hoang Tu Trong Mo contains both hits and misses. It’s nice to hear her messing around with different flavors.