This year alone, the ladies are dominating the jazz vocals. Here are the five albums that are heavily rotating on my iTunes:

Madeleine Peyroux’s Bare Bones
Tierney Sutton’s Desire
Melody Gardot’s My One and Only Thrill
Diana Krall’s Quiet Nights
Jane Monheit’s The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me

On the sublime, live-set Unlimited Symphony, the Unlimited gives Vietnamese audience a taste of prog rock with the support of the HCMC Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Do Kien Cuong. While the rock-opera remake of “Phantom of the Opera” (featuring soprano vocalist Ngoc Tuyen) is less than desirable, the 21-minute rework of Le Thuong’s “Hon Vong Phu” epic is a brilliant incorporation of rock, classical and jazz elements into traditional folktale. Yet, on the rock-up cover of “Noi Vong Tay Lon,” in which the crowd went buck wild singing along to Trinh Cong Son’s lyrics, and the band’s original tunes are where the Unlimited truly brings the noise.

A Vietnamese-American woman who worked hard all her life to buy a villa in Vietnam. Unfortunately she didn’t get a chance to live in it so her last wish was to be buried in it. Read the freaky story in Vietnamese.

“Food Party” is a surreal cooking show hosted by a Thu Tran, a 27-year-old artist. New York Times‘ Dave Itzkoff writes:

The show, which graduates from the Web to the Independent Film Channel on Tuesday, is a place for Ms. Tran to bring her colorful and bizarre fantasies to life. But mostly, “Food Party” is a place for its star to share her abiding, and at times overwhelming, love of food.

Learn more about the show at IFC.

Jay Heinrichs teaches his kids to argue because “persuasion is powerful.” He argues:

An argument is good; a fight is not. Whereas the goal of a fight is to dominate your opponent, in an argument you succeed when you bring your audience over to your side.

I have also added a category called Parenthood.

Love her or loathe her, Minh Tuyet is a pop phenomenon. While most of her peers come, shake up the music scene, and then gone, Minh Tuyet is going to be around for a long time. What is her secret recipe? She turns instant Ramen into a savory noodle house with Chinese-inflected flavors and doses of SMG prepared by the CEO of pop franchise Tung Chau.

With her new release, Da Khong Con Hoi Tiec, Minh Tuyet continues to hone her skill as an operatic actress of song, which is her ability to make even the most exaggerated lyrics convincing. On “I am Sorry,” the Vietglish chorus, “I am sorry, I am sorry, em van anh tron kiep loi thu tha,” seems laughable, but she comes across like she means every damn word she sings. On “Hoang Mang,” she phrases, “Vi anh lanh lung bang gia / con toi con tim that tha / Nen minh toi om long dem nhuc nhoi,” like an Academy-award winner, full of heart-breaking melodramas.

An old high school buddy of mine who used to work at Diamond informed me that Minh Tuyet packed the club every time she came through. Even though she likes to capture our heart, she doesn’t want to abandon our feet either. The Latin-groove “Trai Tim Trao Anh” and the title track are for her club heads.

Before many elites among us condemning me for giving such an artless artist a free pass, let me explain. As much as I want to smack her upside the head, I can’t hate her for getting paid by the industry to be mediocre. I don’t give up. I give in.

Jazz artists cover pop songs is nothing new, but a contemporary rock star who does jazz is hard to find. With her raspy vocals and piano chops, Fiona Apple does justice to “Why Try To Change Me Now.”

Tran Thai Hoa has never been an interpreter. He is an appreciator. With his latest release, he pays homage to Tinh Khuc Tien Chien (pre-war ballads) rather than reinvigorating them. No crime in that.

He reuses some of the formulas in the past that worked for him. Doan Chuan and Tu Linh’s “La Thu” gets a similar bluesy vibe he has recorded before, but it still sounds luscious with his charming voice. On the tango-flavor “Bong Chieu Ta” (Nhat Bang) and paso-double “Dung Buoc Giang Ho” (Hoang Trong), he proves once again that his vocals have rhythm for ballroom styles, even though his feet have none, as we have witnessed on Thuy Nga’s Celebrity Dancing.

With intimate arrangements, Tran Thai Hoa wraps his harmless pipe around the timeless tunes such as Vao Cao’s “Cung Dan Xua,” “Suoi Mo,” “Truong Chi,” Doan Chuan and Tu Linh’s “La Do Muon Chieu” and “Goi Gio Cho May Ngan Bay” like a latex condom. He plays safe, never breaks out of his comfort position and only sticks to what he could perform best. Then again, nothing’s wrong with getting pleasures out of protected sex. Of course, it’s not as stimulating, but still enjoyable.

Songwriter Tung Giang who penned “Toi Voi Troi Bo Vo” died on Thursday in California. He was 69. Read more here.

I ain’t gonna lie, Hammer still grooves me with joints like “Dancing Machine,” “Turn This Mutha Out,” “Pray” and of course the mega hit “Can’t Touch This.” Thepressplayshow.com & Mick Boogie Present: Hammertime: Past, Present & Future mixtape brings back the good ‘ole days. I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow so I could pump up the joint while grilling.