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eDataRack Sucks

eDatarack is an evil web-hosting provider. Please stay away from them if you are looking for reliable host and responsible customer service. And if you are currently with them, my suggestion is to get out now, or else your site will end up like iLoveNgocLan.com, which was removed from their servers without a notice even though our contract isn’t expired until May 2006. I won’t even bother to ask them for the refund because they haven’t answered my email for two days.

Essay

The Duke of Jazz

The name Duke Ellington is ubiquitous in the jazz world. He was a great bandleader, skillful composer, meticulous arranger, and extraordinary pianist. Throughout his career, which expanded over fifty years, he constantly pushed his music to a higher level. Although he never changed his styles to fit in with the new trends, Ellington had always experimented and adapted new techniques to enrich his art. From his mastery of applying the twelve-bar blues into big band, his ability to get the sounds he wants from his musicians, his inventive “Ellington effect,” his creative call-and-response method, to his interest in mood and tonality, Ellington’s compositions are not only rich in sound, but also broad in range.

One of Ellington’s special techniques is the incorporating of the twelve-bar blues into his big band’s repertoire. “Creole Love Call” demonstrates his rich compositional style as well as his perfect timing—he needed to stay within the three minutes timeframe in order to fit in one side of the 78rpm record. In the first chorus, Adelaide Hall’s horn-like scat fuses naturally into the sweet sounds of the clarinets. At 0:30 seconds into the song, Bubber Miley’s growl trumpet takes over the second chorus with a big, hypnotizing solo. At 1:00, the third chorus kicks in with Ruby Jackson’s sensuous clarinet, and then the next two choruses (1:30-2:30) take off by the high-register reed section. Hall’s wordless singing comes back at the last chorus closes out the piece.

Another classic piece that structured on the twelve-bar blues is “Happy-Go-Lucky Local,” which takes up both sides of the 87rmp record. The arrangement proves Ellington’s talent as a bandleader who could find the sounds he wanted from his musicians. From the whistle blows to the escaping-steam sounds, his players bring the train’s atmosphere right to our ears. The experience is stunning; especially the way Oscar Pettiford’s bass resembles the motion of the train, and how Cat Anderson makes his trumpet screams to create a fascinating brake sound. Other train-liked composition that is filled with Ellington effects is “Daybreak Express.” The introduction’s crescendo and accelerando warn us that we’re about to enter a fast and powerful ride. Once the train takes off, the up-tempo rhythm captures the speed of the train, which travels about a hundred miles per minute. The best part of “Daybreak Express” is how the various train’s noises come together to produce such a lively harmony. Ellington knows what kind of sounds his men can give him; therefore, he tailors his music to a particular player, and he knows when to leave room for that musician to improvise. As a result, his compositions are affected whenever his personnel changes occurred. As a skillful big bandleader, however, Ellington always finds suitable replacements. For instance, when James “Bubber” Miley was struck by a bullet at a bar, he was replaced by Cootie Williams who is well known for his distinctive muted trumpet sound. His growl technique, which could be heard at the bridge in “Ring Dem Bells,” is breathtaking. Williams is not only a great horn player, but also a wonderful scat singer with a clear and playful timbre. The teasing, which occurs right before Williams’s two-part solos in “Ring Dem Bell” between Johnny Hodges’s alto saxophone and William’s vocals, creates a fantastic musical interaction.

The call-and-response method between the instruments and the voices is one of Ellington’s specializations. In “Hot and Bothered,” James “Bubber” Miley’s trumpet and Baby Cox’s vocals scream musical notes at each other. The alto saxophone also carries on a musical conversation with the reeds in the last chorus. In “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” the trumpet phrases like a human voice complementing Ivie Anderson’s vocals. So when she sings, “It don’t mean a thing / if it ain’t got that swing, “the trumpet would finish her sentence with “doo wah, doo wah.” On first listening, I thought the male vocalist was doing the back up, not the horn.

Ellington’s interest in tone color makes him an astonishing composer with an oceanic imagination. In “Mood Indigo,” he paints a quiet picture with calming and soothing melody. The relaxed solos from Barney Bigard’s clarinet and Arthur Whetsol’s trumpet add gorgeous colors to the muted palette. In contrast to the dreamy tempo in “Mood Indigo,” “Harlem Air Shaft” captures the city vibes, in which Ellington describes, “You get the full essence of Harlem of Harlem in an air shaft. You hear fights, you smell dinner, you hear people making love, you hear the intimate gossip floating down… Jitterbugs are jumping up and down, always all over you, never below you. That’s a funny thing about jitterbugs. They’re always above you. I tried to put all that into ‘Harlem Air Shaft…'” (Davies 203). The amazing part is that Ellington and his musicians created this lively scene within three minutes. Ellington lays down the melody in the introduction; Williams’s ingenious trumpet solo takes charge in the second chorus. On third, Bigard’s clarinet bounces off the trombone section creating an engaging tune. The last chorus is even livelier with the whole band joints together to reach the climax and close out the composition. Another exhilarating piece that demonstrates Ellington’s artistic vision is “The Clothed Woman.” His intricate piano playing draws an image of a classy woman. The introduction is beautifully executed with touches of piano’s “shout,” which reflects the ragtime style. This piece showcases not only his composing skills, but also his unorthodox arrangement.

This short essay focuses only a few of his massive masterpieces. There is so much more to Ellington’s work to be studied and absorbed. With half a century of playing, writing, and refining, Ellington continued to excel and pushed his art to the limit. With the number of impressive works under his credit, Duke Ellington was one of the most significant jazz figures in the twentieth century.

Work Cited: Davis, Peter. Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya, ed London: Hentoff and Shapiro, 1955.

(Written for Jazz History Class)

Music

Ngo Minh Tri – Buon C Major

Ngo Minh Tri is a sentimental songwriter. His debut Buon C Major is filled with melancholy melodies and languishing lyrics. For instance, the title track—his first jazz composition—was written during the darkest period of his life; “Dau Nang” describes his excruciating pain; and “Buon Cung Sol” was born as a therapist to cure his misery. Only music could relief his aches; therefore, he drowns his sorrows in heart-rending and soul-touching ballads.

The album is consisted of eleven tunes, ranging from jazz to bossa nova to semi-classic, performed by various vocalists: the composer himself, Bao Kim, Trieu Vinh, Nguyen Thao, and Kim Phuong. As a singer, Ngo Minh Tri has a warm, handsome voice, and no trouble pouring out his emotion into “Buon C Major.” Though Bao Kim only featured in one track, her contribution is substantial. She gives the semi-classical “Tieng Ca Dan Hien” an unforgettable performance with her rich-in-tone, exquisite vocals. While Trieu Vinh’s gorgeous baritone supplies the bossa-nova “Pho La” a heartfelt presentation, Nguyen Thao’s clear, charming voice provides “Mot Coi Lung Chung” a soulful rendition.

The key singer of the album, however, is the twenty-three-year-old Kim Phuong whose voice is way more mature than her age. When I first encountered “Mua Xuan, Ruou va Toc Dai,” her dark-voiced quality and expressive delivery commanded my attention. She knows how to wrap her raspy vocals around the intoxicating alto saxophone, plays by Quang Trung. Together with Luat Hoang’s sensuous keyboard, they painted a musical portrait of an elegant lady with long, beautiful hair, and a figure that is more voluptuous than an evening spring. Inspired by Kim Phuong’s remarkable voice, Ngo Minh Tri wrote “Mot Chut Jazz Vao Giong Hat Em,” in which she makes a powerful statement with her outpouring flow and ineffable grace.

Kim Phuong is also a versatile singer. Besides bending her voice around jazz phrases, she could maneuver her ways in and out of semi-classical “Hanh Phuc” as well as ballroom-ballad “Dem Tango.” While it may seem strange to include a tango piece in a jazz album, Ngo Minh Tri has cleverly weaved jazz elements into the habanera dance rhythm—something ragtime pianists occasionally used in their performances. As a result, “Dem Tango” offers a unique approach to jazz instead of falls out of place on the album. Ngo Minh Tri certainly knows what he is doing.

Although the performers are doing an exceptional job, what the album lacking is the liveliness interaction between the vocalists and instrumentalists, an important aspect of jazz. Unlike pop, hip-hop and other styles of Vietnamese music, jazz needs her flexibility to build up her spirit and soul. The musicians need to be in the same studio in order to feed off each other’s vibe. The pre-recording (music and vocal separately) leaves no room for improvisations, scat-singings and solo performances. Since this is a homegrown production, I do understand the limitations. And even though these qualities are missing, Buon C Major is still a strong and solid album. It is not, however, an easy-absorbing one. The recordings require time and attentive listening in order to get acquainted with, and what followed are gratifying experiences. In “Roi Cung Sang Mua He,” performed by Kim Phuong, Ngo Minh Tri expresses how isolated and hard it is for a Vietnamese musician to write jazz compositions exclusively. The path he has chosen might be cold and lonely, but the compensation and the appreciation are much deeper. So keep on walking, and keep on singing like the lyrics have suggested, “Duong ta van di, nhac ta van hat, van hat.”

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Assorted Flava

Jazzy’s “Toi Thu Sau.” Her solo piano is hypnotizing because of the strange syncopation and eccentric chords.

Tim’s Winter Break design. Vassar’s first black-background frontpage I have seen.

WordPress 2.0, the “Duke” (in honor of Duke Ellington) release, with jazzier user interface. Visualgui.com is now running with the latest version, and I am loving the Akismet spam plugin. Big up to the WordPress crew!

A sketch of Ngoc Lan by Vu Uyen Giang.

Book

The Voodoo Sound

Philip Freeman’s Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis is a detailed analysis of the Prince of Darkness’s fusion albums including Bitches Brew, On the Corner and Doo-Bop. Freeman who is a jazz critic has done a marvelous job of breaking down Davis’s masterpieces to help readers understand not only what they listen to, but also Davis’s artistic vision, and how he chose his musicians to get the sounds he wanted. In addition, Freeman delves into the controversial issues of Davis’s music, his influence on other musicians, as well as his musical openness. Freeman’s beautiful descriptive language combined with his meticulious observation makes Running the Voodoo Down a fantastic read for anyone interested in Davis’s ingenious and organic sound.

Music

Thanh Thuy CDs

While waiting for the ladies (mom, aunts and sisters) to do their things (shopping at the jewlery store). I checked out the local Vietnamese music store in Austin, Texas. To my surprise, I found a nice collection of Thanh Thuy’s albums. I copped volume 16, 17, 22, 26, and 27 released under her own Thanh Thuy Productions. In addition, I came across her rendition of Dang The Phong’s “Giot Mua Thu” in vol. 17 Quen Nguoi Tinh Cu. Y Van’s “Long Me” is also featured in the same album, and she her performance is heartrending. Although her voice has not changed much, I prefer the musical arrangements that were produced prior to 1975. The electric sounds on the latter albums aren’t as compelling as the earlier recordings in which real instruments were used. Those trumpet/sax breaks still take my breath away, and I don’t get them on her later records.

Book

Jazz Readings

I picked up Jazz: A Century of Change for my plane rides, and it turns out to be an invaluable reading on jazz criticism. From defining the word jazz to the analysis of early jazz, swing era, and bebop to the drug and race issues, jazz scholar Lewis Porter pulls together informative essays and incorporates them into specific topics to illustrate his presentation. One of my favorite pieces is “The Technique of the Jazz Singer” by Richard Rodney Bennett, in which the author uses Billie Holiday to demonstrate what it takes to be a true jazz vocalist. Bennett writes, “I feel simply that a singer who is at his best with jazz accompaniment and who naturally sings freely and ‘swing’ is singing jazz.” In addition to positive articles, Porter also includes negative excerpts to give readers both sides of the controversies, including a letter from Wynton Marsalis responses to the Voice’s jazz critic Kevin Whitehead. A Century of Change is highly recommended for those who are interested in the discussions of jazz beyond the music and the history.

Music

Pham Hong Hanh – Give Thanks

I spend many quiet nights alone with Thelonious Monk’s Himself and Bill Evans’s Conversation With Myself. For the holidays, however, I’ll be hanging out with Pham Hong Hanh—a fine pianist with a master degree in solo piano performance and pedagogy from McGill University—and her inspirational Give Thanks album for a spiritual, semi-classic experience.

When it comes to church music, I must confess that I am not too familiar with religious compositions. In fact, the only recognizable tune for me on the album is “O Holy Night,” and her rendition is a glorious one. She begins with a choppy intro, which reminds me of Monk’s angular style, but her virtuosity reveals once she glides into the harmony, and gives a fresh and lively delivery.

Give Thanks is an ingenious solo piano album that is filled with divine power. From the opening “I Sing Praises” to the ending “Give Thanks,” she expresses her love to Christ through music, and she connects with music through her piano. While “Glory to His Name” and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” are relax, calm with breathless ease, “Praise Him! Praise Him!” and “Awesome God” are spontaneous with sonorous details. And the recitals that keep me coming back again and again are “As the Deer” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Her nimble style, in which she sprinkles the high keys to produce a cascading sound, is irresistable.

Thank goodness, the album was shipped on time for the holiday season. I was expecting it to be in my office a couple of days ago; therefore, I kept on checking my work mailbox, and nothing showed up. As I shut down my computer, and ready to hit the road, something prompted me to check it one more time before I leave, and there it was. As a result, my four-hour trip from Poughkeepsie, New York to Lancaster, Pennsylvania was a smooth ride with nothing else in my car stereo but soul-soothing solo piano presentation from Pham Hong Hanh. I left at 2:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I arrived, which was around 6:30 in the evening, the album’s spellbounds, aesthetic beauties, and ethereal chords had already crept up on me, especially when the darkness of the night took over.