Christian McBride’s New Jawn: Prime

Bassist Christian McBride is still at his Prime. McBride charges right off the opening “Head Bedlam” with his New Jawn—trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist & bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits. “Obsequious” harks back to the hard-pop era with Evans and Strickland improvising like Clifford Brown and Sonny Rollins. My personal favorite has to be “The Lurkers.” It’s a dark beauty with McBride bows broodingly on his bass. The whole album is a masterpiece with four exceptional players joined together.

Jealous Love

O Darling Girlfriend of mine
I want your lips to form a smile
Only when we’re together
And your enchanting eyes
To only gaze at me
when my mind’s faraway

I want you not to think of anyone
Don’t kiss, even when you see a blooming flower
Don’t cuddle with a pillow
when you sleep tonight
Don’t go swimming:
The beach today’s full of people

I want the scent of the perfume,
that you often use,
not to widely spread.
Not to enchant people on the streets,
even though they’re just passing by.

I want, during the cold nights of winter,
Dreams do not, near you, hover
Or else, I want you not to meet
Any young man in your dreams

I want the air that you just breathe
Not to touch the clothes of strangers
Your imprinted footsteps on the roads,
No one’s allowed to tread on.

It just means that:
I am very jealous
I am madly lost in Love
You Are My Everything
And Mine Alone!

Translated by Vương Thanh

Ghen

Cô nhân tình bé của tôi ơi!
Tôi muốn môi cô chỉ mỉm cười
Những lúc có tôi và mắt chỉ…
Nhìn tôi những lúc tôi xa xôi.

Tôi muốn cô đừng nghĩ đến ai,
Đừng hôn, dù thấy cánh hoa tươi,
Đừng ôm gối chiếc, đêm nay ngủ…
Đừng tắm chiều nay, biển lắm người.

Tôi muốn mùi thơm của nước hoa,
Mà cô thường xức, chẳng bay xa,
Chẳng làm ngây ngất người qua lại,
Dẫu chỉ qua đường, khách lại qua.

Tôi muốn những đêm đông giá lạnh
Chiêm bao đừng lẩn quất bên cô
Bằng không, tôi muốn cô đừng gặp
Một trẻ trai nào, trong giấc mơ.

Tôi muốn làn hơi cô thở nhẹ
Đừng làm ẩm áo khách chưa quen.
Chân cô in vết trên đường bụi
Chẳng bước chân nào được dẫm lên.

Nghĩa là ghen quá đấy mà thôi,
Thế nghĩa là yêu quá mất rồi
Và nghĩa là cô là tất cả.
Cô là tất cả của riêng tôi!

Nguyễn Bính

Nguyễn Thùy Linh: The Beatles In Jazz

My wife discovered Nguyễn Thùy Linh’s The Beatles In Jazz and passed it on to me. If I didn’t read her name, I wouldn’t have known that she’s Vietnamese. Her English is flawless and her voice is sultry. Her interpretation of The Beatles is pop-jazz at best. “All My Love” gets a straight-swing rhythm. “And I Love Her” gets a Latin flavor. “Imagine” gets a reggae groove. With “Yesterday” she pronounces through for though: “Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.” It is still an enjoyable album nevertheless.

Mother Heart

Mother Heart’s vast… like the Pacific ocean…
Mother’s Love is everflowing Devoted Affection
Like a brook of loving sweetness…
And her lullaby: warm and gentle,
like a murmuring breeze
across the rice meadows…

Mother Heart for her children
is like the full autumn moon.
Mother’s Love for her children
is gently playful,
like a spring breeze on the lake water.
Her lullaby singing,
like the colorful kites
in a serene country sky.
Rain or shine,
day or night,
sharing in the joy of her children singing…

Many long nights, Mother stays up
with loving tender care
till her sick child fall asleep.
She feels so happy
when seeing [her child] in tranquil sleep.

Mother’s Love endures the months and years,
the hardships of life, its ups-and-downs,
she will shoulder them all and take care of her children
till they are fully grown.

Mother’s Love leads the moon to attentively listen.
Her singing touches rivers, meadows, and mountains.
The world’s in peace when Mother sings her lullaby.
Heart filled with love, her voice is sweet music to her child.

Many years, loving tears have fallen…
Mother’s hair had become almost white.
Wherever you are going this morning or tonight,
wherever you are in the course of your life,
remember Mother’s Love
and the joy of returning to her side…

Translated by Vương Thanh

Lòng Mẹ

Lòng Mẹ bao la như biển Thái Bình rạt rào
Tình Mẹ tha thiết như giòng suối hiền ngọt ngào
Lời Mẹ êm ái như đồng lúa chiều rì rào
Tiếng ru bên thềm trăng tà soi bóng Mẹ yêu

Lòng Mẹ thương con như vầng trăng tròn mùa thu
Tình Mẹ yêu mến như làn gió đùa mặt hồ
Lời ru man mác êm như sáo diều dật dờ
Nắng mưa sớm chiều vui cùng tiếng hát trẻ thơ

Thương con thao thức bao đêm trường
Con đà yên giấc Mẹ hiền vui sướng biết bao
Thương con khuya sớm bao tháng ngàỵ
Lặn lội gieo neo nuôi con tới ngày lớn khôn.

Dù cho mưa gió không quản thân gầy Mẹ hiền
Một sương hai nắng cho bạc mái đầu buồn phiền
Ngày đêm sớm tối vui cùng con nhỏ một niềm
Tiếng ru êm đềm mẹ hiền năm tháng triền miên

Lòng Mẹ chan chứa trên bao xóm làng gần xa
Tình Mẹ dâng tới trăng ngàn đứng lặng để nghe,
Lời ru xao xuyến núi đồi suối rừng rặng tre
Sóng ven Thái Bình im lìm khi tiếng Mẹ ru
Một lòng nuôi nấng vỗ về những ngày còn thơ
Một tình thương mến êm như tiếng đàn lời ca

Thương con Mẹ hát câu êm đềm
Ru lòng thơ ấu quản gì khi thức trắng đêm
Bao năm nước mắt như suối nguồn
Chảy vào tim con mái tóc chót đành đẫm sương.

Dù ai xa vắng trên đường sớm chiều về đâu
Dù khi mưa gió tháng ngày trong đời bể dâu
Dù cho phai nắng nhưng lòng thương chẳng lạt mầu
Vẫn mong quay về vui vầy dưới bóng mẹ yêu

Y Vân

Cécile McLorin Salvant: Mélusine

Cecile McLorin Salvant is a rare jazz singer who has the the vocals and the chops. What makes Salvant a fascinating artist, however, has been her brilliant song choices—particularly her attention to the lyrics. With Mélusine, I just have to enjoy the music and the singing since the entire album is in French, with the exception for half of the title track in English. Since French is Salvant’s first language, her phrasings and annunciations are just sensational. I liked the up-tempo songs like “Il m’a vue nue” and “Doudou” as well as the mysterious slow-burning tracks like “Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent?” and “Petite musique terrienne.” Yet I loved the weirder sounds like “Wedo” and “D’un feu secret.” I enjoyed this album immensely.

The Thụy Du Song

Let’s talk about life
When I’m no longer among the living
What will I bring with me
To the world on the other side
Except for the void in my heart
O Thụy, O Love!

Like a kingfisher
On the wooden stakes of a hundred years
I seek for the life that was lost
In the water puddle of Life
In the water puddle of Life
O Thụy, O Love!

My Love, don’t ever ask
Why we love each other
Why my lips are hot
Why my hands are cold
Why my body shivers
Why my legs are shaking
Why, and why!

Love’s like the edge of a knife
Love’s like a pointed blade
Smoothly and sweetly
Cutting off a first love
Thụy, where are you now?

Thụy, where are you now?
I’m a kingfisher
You’re a reflection of the silver moon
We’re only separated by a lake
But forever apart…

Translated by Vương Thanh

Khúc Thụy Du

Hãy nói về cuộc đời
Khi tôi không còn nữa
Sẽ lấy được những gì
Về bên kia thế giới
Ngoài trống vắng mà thôi
Thụy ơi, và tình ơi!

Như loài chim bói cá
Trên cọc nhọn trăm năm
Tôi tìm đời đánh mất
Trong vũng nước cuộc đời
Trong vũng nước cuộc đời
Thụy ơi, và tình ơi!

Đừng bao giờ em hỏi
Vì sao ta yêu nhau
Vì sao môi anh nóng
Vì sao tay anh lạnh
Vì sao thân anh rung
Vì sao chân không vững
Vì sao, và vì sao!

Tình yêu như lưỡi dao
Tình yêu như mũi nhọn
Êm ái và ngọt ngào
Cắt đứt cuộc tình đầu
Thụy bây giờ về đâu?

Thụy bây giờ về đâu?
Anh là chim bói cá
Em là bóng trăng ngà
Chỉ cách một mặt hồ
Mà muôn trùng chia xa…

Thơ Du Tử Lê, nhạc Anh Bằng

Forms of Đ

Denis Moyogo Jacquerye writes:

Hi Donny,

Thank you for Vietnamese Typography, it’s a great resource.

I’m wondering if it would be worth mentioning the forms of capital Đ with the bar across the whole letter width used in Vietnamese until about the 1980s in the Dyet section of the Diacritical details of Vietnamese Typography. It seems these forms were common in the 1800s and a large part of the 1900s.

For example:

Nguyễn Đình Hoà, Vietnamese-English dictionary, 1966

Của tôi: tập đọc chữ quốc ngữ, 1924

Kind regards
Denis Moyogo Jacquerye

I must admit. The form of capital Đ with the bar across the whole letter is new to me. I don’t recall seeing that. I am not sure when the cross bar was shortened, but it has be been much earlier than 1980s. Though I can’t confirm that. I decided not to include in my book to make it less confusing for type designers since the practice is no longer applicable.

Erik Truffaz: Rollin’

French Trumpeter Erik Truffaz obviously spends lot of time studying Miles Davis. In his latest release, Rollin’, Truffaz channels Davis’s fusion as well as film scores. With mysterious synthesizer and distorted electric guitar backing him up, Truffaz plays like Miles on Bitches Brew, particularly on “Route de nuit” and “Thème de Fantômas.” “Quel temps fait-il à Paris” harks back to Davis’s Ascenseur pour l’échafaud. Sandrine Bonnaire’s reading in French sounds so damn sexy. I enjoyed this short album.

From the 6-8 Folk Verses, She Steps Out

From the six-eight folk verses, she steps out into the world
Soft hair hurriedly brushed, dress still rumpled
A strand of fresh grass caught her toes
Hands holding a few uncompleted, broken-hearted songs of Love

When she smiles, it’s like the moon goddess breathing on the mountaintop
When she departs, the grapefruit fragrance quietly creeps into poetry
From her presence, the verses sway gracefully
From her presence, the music notes dance happily

Night by night, gazing at the sky
The stars dim, the fishes dive, the spider webs remind of home…
From the six-eight folk verses, she steps out into the world
Her lullaby’s filled with nostalgia of the sweet long ago days

A lullaby resounding in her mind from childhood years
On grandma’s shoulders she rests,
Her mind filled with the gentle “ạ ời” lulling sounds
Grandma gently pats her back
In comforting warmth, she falls into deep slumber.

From the six-eight folk verses, she smiles
With a wave of the hand, she spreads simple poetry lines
Floating on the creaking crib of olden years
Flowing with the verses, the night gradually disappears…

Translated by Vương Thanh

Em từ lục bát bước ra

Em từ lục bát bước ra
Tóc mềm quấn vội, áo là chưa tươm
Gót chân vương ngọn cỏ thơm
Tay ôm mấy khúc đoạn trường dở dang

Em cười, trăng thở đầu non
Em đi, hương bưởi khẽ luồn vào thơ
Từ Em, sáu tám đong đưa
Từ Em, mấy nốt nhạc đùa à ơi

“Đêm đêm ra đứng nhìn trời
Sao mờ, cá lặn, nhện khơi nỗi nhà…”
Em từ lục bát bước ra
Ca dao thấm đẫm mượt mà thời qua

Lời ru từ thuở ấu thơ
Trên vai cháu tựa, chị đưa ạ ời
Vỗ lưng bé bỏng tuyệt vời
Giữa khuya tĩnh lặng ấm hơi ngủ vùi

Em từ lục bát mỉm cười
Thả tay rải những ý lời đơn sơ
Bồng bềnh kẽo kẹt nôi xưa
Theo câu sáu tám đêm là đà vơi…

Đặng Lệ Khánh

Edged the Sidewalk and Washed the Deck

I woke up this morning and made myself a vegetable omelet to give me the energy to edge the sidewalk. After the smaller side was done, I took the kids to the skatepark. We skated for an hour and went back home for Mother’s Day lunch. We enjoyed BBQ on the deck we washed last week.

After lunch, my brother-in-law drove his family home. My sister-in-law also drove her kids home. I went back out to continue edging the sidewalk. My kids went out and helped me. We finished the job around 5:30 pm. I couldn’t believe edging the sidewalk took the entire day. Just like washing the deck last week took an entire day—even with the kids helped out a bit.

I would be lying if I say that I enjoyed doing these things. I didn’t, but I had to. I wished I could spend time doing something else. I still have more maintenance to do. Next week I have to take the kids to scouting camping. The following week, our family will have another camping weekend. I need to mow the lawn on a weekday next week.

Welcome to the summertime joy!