Ben Ratliff, jazz critic of the New York Times, obviously spent a lot of time listening to jazz in order for him to pick out 100 Most Important Recordings. Let it be known that these selected albums are based only Ratliff’s taste and he does have quite a range: from the well-known figures (Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong) to lesser-know cats that I haven’t heard of. What makes the book worth-reading is Ratliff’s clear, approachable, and astute criticism. Here is a beautiful except on John Coltrane:

His playing is intense, lusty, and sometimes smeared with harsh, abrasive noise, but it is not scattershot. He finds areas of exploration and methodically roots around them. Four minutes into “Venus,” he finds a pivot point in the middle register, oscillating back and forth from it toward dark low notes that work their way up the horn. Two minutes and twelve seconds into “Jupiter,” Coltrane starts gushing descending scales, almost making them sound as if they’re overlapping; he starts altering these with shrieks a minute later. Then around the five-minute mark he finally returns to the three-not theme, repeated and bounced around between octaves; when he’s finished, as always, he shakes the bells again—as much a signal to Ali that he’s finished as to the listener.

This is a pleasurable read for both novices and aficionados.

Vassar had put up my original theme that helped kick off the new homepage design. What a lovely winter scene captured by my wonderful colleague Tamar. I am feeling nostalgia already.

Thirty-seven-year-old shrimper, Lam Luong, Accused of Throwing Kids Off Bridge Expected in Court:

Authorities believe Luong threw the children from the bridge after an argument with his wife, but they gave no details on what the dispute was about. Luong had a crack cocaine possession charge pending in Georgia, and his wife’s brother-in-law described Luong as a drug addict.

Damn!

The life of commuting has been interesting. For the past three days I kept taking the wrong bus home and ended up walking and jogging a couple miles to get to the house. The evenings have been beautiful and I get a chance not only to burn off some fats, but also relax with Miles’ Ballads and Blues, so I can’t really complain.

As for work, I left a big office at Vassar to share a small-ass room with a part-time writer. The good thing is that she is very easygoing and they are trying to get me my own space. Let’s hope that will happen soon.

Today I got to check out the “soft” launch of the graduate department of the School of Business. The design will serve as a template for me to adapt to other sites. Unlike Vassar, which distinguishes each department’s individuality, GW wants every site to come under one big umbrella. So I will have to rip off the new design to make all the sites have a similar look and feel. The new site, which took a year and a half to complete, is clean and elegant so I don’t mind working off it. I got the license to steal. Isn’t that cool or what?

Today the writer, who shares an office with me, was writing a welcoming paragraph about me in the bi-weekly newsletter and she asked me what brought me to GW. I told her the tuition cost got me here. I am dead serious. After reading Forbes’s “America’s Most Expensive Colleges” (GW is number one and Vassar is number five on the list), I headed over to GW web site and looked up for web design position and to my surprise, they had an opening. What shocked me even more was that I received a call from my new boss four hours later. And four weeks after that, here I am. Isn’t that crazy? On the resume I will arrogantly state that I have worked for two of the most expensive colleges in the world.

IuneWind (strong design makes up for “weak English”)
Wanda Estudio (Graphics speak for words)

The day kicked off with 50 minutes of bus and metro commute. Spent the whole morning trying to stay awake during orientation. New boss took me out to lunch. The 60-degree weather was unbelievably beautiful, and so she gave me a quick tour to show all the eatery spots on campus.

Went back into the building and a spanking new, unopened MacBook Pro and two 20-inch Apple cinema displays waiting for me to use. By the time I got connected and installed a few programs, it was time to go home. Took the metro back but then somehow got confused during the bus rides. Ended up walked a couple miles home.

Feet hurt and stomach hungry, scooped up a big bowl of rice with pork caramel made by my landlord’s wife. I rented a room from a young couple who love food as much as me, but actually can cook. The wife came from Soc Trang; therefore, she can make southern dishes including Bun Mam, Bun Nuoc Leo, and other savory dishes that she’ll make. She guarantees to get me hooked while I am staying. We’ll see about that. Last night they did make some really banging Thai’s hotpot.

Although the transition is so far so good, I wish she were here. Two days without her went by in a glacial pace, and two weeks seem like forever. Damn! I miss her.

After many empty promises, I finally got to experience Quan Van NoVa live. I didn’t just come alone either. I invited the whole gang, not knowing that my man HML and his crew had already packed the café.

First thing first. I apologize for not only the late arrival, but also the early departure. That’s what happens when you go with a group of people, but at least I got to hear a few unforgettable performances, and Minh Nguyet’s bluesy rendition of Trinh Cong Son’s “Vet Lan Tram” stands out. She started off with a little scat tease and launched into a soul-soothing power with her deep, raucous vocals. The accompaniment responded with her sentiment. HML and the drummer held down the rhythm section while Que Huong sprinkled a few tasty notes around her voice. The result is quite intoxicating for a Sunday afternoon.

One of the negative tradeoffs of drawing quite a crowd is the noise level, which was a bit distracting. Still, Minh and Thanh’s duo guitar was quite savory. On the tango piece, the guitars played together like they were dancing in the air. And the one that impressed me the most is the young Jennifer whose sings her heart out on Trinh Cong Son’s “Cat Bui Tinh Xa.” Despite her nervousness and inexperience (lacks of control), she sounded cute.

I got a chance to talk briefly to anh Tin who wowed me with his interpretation of “Ky Niem” and he told me he would perform another Pham Duy’s tune, but I didn’t stay long enough to hear it. My bad!

Sure, Y Lan’s one those mamas who refuses to grow up, but she could sing like a soul-wrecked woman if she wants to. Her new record, Dung Lay Toi Nhe Cuoc Doi, proves that the ageless songbird can still bring the pain and pathos to Pham Duy’s classic tunes.

Y Lan, believe it or not, sounds much more natural when she chucks out the girlishness in her delivery. “Quan Ben Duong” is a perfect proof. She floats her naked emotion over the breathtaking semiclassical orchestration while recites each word as if she had lived it. “Chieu Ve Tren Song” is the other excellent piece in which she bares her heart and soars her soul on the hypnotic arrangement. Her tone remains flawlessly beautiful on high notes and she rides the orchestra in such effortless elegance, particularly against the intoxicating bass lines on “Mo Khuc.”

Although the last two tracks—ballroom-tango “Pho Buon” and joyful-folks “Ba Me Que”—break the dark, lustful mood, Y Lan has delivered her best album up to date with the support of the economical-yet-magical producer Dong Son. What a great way to start the new year.

In searching for his new sound, Miles Davis partnered up with Gil Evans, the master of mood arrangement who put the renowned trumpeter miles, miles and Miles Ahead of the jazz scene in the late 1950s. Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain also marked the redefining sound of Davis and Evans. Davis’s trumpet solos lead the ensemble, instead of just riding the wave. With the support of Evan’s colorful, mournful and lustful orchestration, Davis’s soul-baring melodic lines take listeners into the epics of fantasies that are filled with exotic tones, colors and textures.

Even at a transitional stage, Miles Davis managed to pull off the beautiful classic Seven Steps to Heaven. “Basin Street Blues” starts off with Davis’s startled, muted tone. Then he opens up on the title track and upgrooves you all the way up to heaven. The tune remains fresh and invigorating every time I come back to it.