Is Thuở Ấy Có Jazz jazz? The album kicks off with a swing cover of Văn Phụng’s “Tôi Đi Giữa Hoàng Hôn.” Tuyết Loan sings the melody straight on. The rhythm section, made up of Vũ Trọng Hiếu (piano), Thanh Tân (guitar bass), Kiên Hoài (drum) and Hoàng Loan (guitar), comes out swinging and then switching to bossa nova for a novelty ending. Lê Tấn Quốc plays a brief saxophone solo on the break.

Throughout the record, Tuyết Loan who has a coarse contralto delivers well-loved ballads including “Cho Em Quên Tuổi Ngọc” (Lam Phương), “Chuyển Bến” (Đoàn Chuẩn and Từ Linh) and “Ai Về Sông Tương” (Thông Đạt), as they were written. Her flows are rigid and she lands perfectly on every beat. She never pushes her phrasings. She doesn’t play around with time and syncopation. With such a recognizable repertoire, she could have abandon the familiar melodies and reinvent something new. Heck, she could have thrown in some scat phrases or sung behind the beat. The only rule in jazz is to sing or play something not there. With “Huyền Thoại Người Con Gái” (Lê Hựu Hà), she could have challenged the band in double time and the outcome could have been more spontaneous.

The only track that comes close to jazz is “Thuở Ấy Có Em” (Huỳnh Anh). Except for Tuyết Loan, each band member gets a brief solo. I wish more songs were approached this way or even stretch out longer. Since improvisation is so sparse, Thuở Ấy Có Jazz could only be a pop-jazz record, an enjoyable one.

The best part of Thanh Lam and Tùng Dương’s new release, Yêu, is the spellbinding orchestral work. Lê Phi Phi’s elegant, captivating arrangements, which lift the vocalists to a higher level, stand out by themselves. In fact, I hope they would release an instrumental version of this album for pure classical pleasure. In particular the magnificent orchestration of Phạm Duy’s “Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau.”

Vocal wise, Tùng Dương has done an exceptional job of delivering Nguyễn Văn Túy’s “Dư Âm” and Phạm Duy’s “Ngậm Ngùi.” His phrasing is at the borderline between technical and emotional, noticeably the use of vibrato in “Dư Âm.” Although the technique is an obvious influence from Thanh Lam, he knows not to abuse it. As a result, he is still listenable.

On the other hand, Thanh Lam’s overuse of vibrato is irritating. In Cung Tiến’s “Hoài Cảm,” she applies the technique in every bar. I must admit that I have this issue with her for the past few years already and can’t seem to get past it. I am starting to wonder it might just be me being an asshole about it; therefore, I revisited some of her earlier works to see if I am just hearing things. Re-listening to both Tự Sự and Ru Mãi Ngàn Năm confirmed that she treated vibrato with subtlety and her phrasings were clean. She ended each bar without extra emphatic. The precision in her delivery not only made her a strong vocalist, but also a woman with authority. She didn’t fuck around.

Now the excessive sentimentalisms in her delivery make her sound whinny, uncertain and fabricated. Nguyễn Ánh 9 was spot on when he criticized her performance of “Cô Đơn” as a theatrical act more than conveying the lyrics. Even though she pulls herself back on this version, she didn’t go not far enough, especially on the high notes. I wish she could strip all that out and refocus on the emotional core once again.

Aside from the technical annoyances, Yêu is a solid record. Their duets on Phạm Duy’s “Kiếp Nào Có Yêu Nhau,” Cung Tiến’s “Hương Xưa” and Văn Phụng’s “Yêu” are compelling. Tùng Dương turns out to be a much better musical partner for Thanh Lam than Trọng Tấn and Đàm Vĩnh Hưng.

For those of us celebrating Vietnamese New Year in the ass-freezing weather, Hồ Trung Dũng’s new release, Xuân Thênh Thang, is a pleasant treat to warm up our soul for the holiday spirit. Unlike most xuân music, which has to have an upbeat vibe, Hồ Trung Dũng’s goes for mellow xuân selection.

Standout is his sensational, charming rendition of “Cảm Ơn Một Đóa Xuân Ngời.” His amiable baritone brings out Quốc Bảo’s romantic lyricism, especially on the low stanza: “Em qua cho tình ta dâng lên / Tình ơi hết thơ ngây rồi / Em qua tha thướt lụa là / Rào đón cơn mơ nguy nga.”

Production wise, most arrangements are elegant and straightforward with the exception of “Hãy Mang Đến Những Mùa Xuân” (Nguyễn Đức Trung). By incorporating some Arabic rhythm, Minh Hoàng, a producer to keep on ear on, gives the standard a brand new flavor.

With Ngọc Tuyền’s operatic support, Hồ Trung Dũng closes out the album with his own song. He wrote “Thênh Thang” for himself as well as the lonesome hearts. He reminds us that this is the time of the year to leave all the worries behind and let our spirit shine.

The other day we were jamming to the remix version of Thanh Thảo’s “Bạc Trắng Tình Đời” in the car and Đạo asked me the meaning of the hook: “Thà là bỏ đi hết ta làm lại từ đầu.” I explained to him, “Well, you know when you watch a movie in the car and you ask me to restart the DVD. That’s what it mean.” He was like, “Oh, OK.” I am not even sure why I made such a terrible analogy.

Because of Đạo’s verbal skill, Đán is picking up his chops as well. He speaks with authority. He uses phrases like “Muốn coi TV” (Want to watch TV), “Muốn ăn phở” (Want to eat phở) and “Muốn iPhone.” The other day, he put his hand into his diaper and got poop on his fingers. He ran to me and said, “Trời ơi… My hand… Dơ quá” (Oh God… my hand… so dirty).

Đán is a handful. He’s strong; he’s big; he likes to run; and he has endless energy. His terrible-two phase is much worse than Đạo. Just two days ago, he was like a little sick puppy. Yesterday, he returned to his normal self and he is exhaustive to keep up. Then again, I am glad that he’s healthy.

Female singers dominated my list this year. Only Tùng Dương made it to the 10th spot and not even with his newest Đọc Đạo, which I thought would be on my number one spot. It didn’t turn out that way. Congratulations to the ladies.

1. Tân Nhàn – Yếm Đào Xuống Phố: With the support of Trần Mạnh Hùng and talented musicians, Tân Nhàn reinvigorates chèo with jazz.
2. Đỗ Bảo – Cánh Cung 3: Trần Thu Hà managed to bring together Đỗ Bảo’s colorful compositions into a cohesive listening experience. It’s a daunting task that only she can accomplish.
3. Hiền Thục – Tằm Tháng Năm: Hiền Thục did nothing but brought good taste and elegant to traditional folk songs. It works like a charm.
4. Hồng Mơ – Khi Tình 30: Hồng Mơ moves beyond the pop bubbles and explores jazz territory. The result is refreshing.
5. Phương Linh – Tiếng Hót Từ Bụi Mận Gai: Seven years after winning “Sao Mai Điểm Hẹn 2006,” Phương Linh releases her sophomore album with intricacy, maturity and confidence.
6. Ánh Tuyết – Duyên Kiếp: Duyên Kiếp breathes new air into over-sentimental ballads such as “Tình Bơ Vơ” and “Mưa Chiều Kỷ Niệm.”
7. Y Phương – Tình Vẫn Thiết Tha: In many ways, this album could be a tribute to the late great Ngọc Lan, but she also held her own.
8. Thu Phương – Biển, Nỗi Nhớ và… Em: Thu Phương is apparently very conceptual. This album weaves together eleven songs about the sea to create a storytelling experience.
9. 5 Dòng Kẻ – Yêu: Even though Yêu is not as successful and coherent as the group’s previous works, it is still an impressive record that’s filled with original compositions.
10. Tùng Dương Hát Tình Ca: This album showcases the soother side of Tùng Dương.

Bổng nhiên tôi rất thích cái clip em này ca bài “Bạc Trắng Tình Đời” trong lúc đang ăn nhậu vui chơi. Có cái gì đó rất thú vị và sống động. Mời nghe thử nhé.

In his last checkup, which was on December 3, 2013, he weighted 30 lbs and 4 oz (82%) and grew 35 and 1/2 inches (79%) in height.

The last few months, we have witnessed a terrible two at full force. He’s active and aggressive. In our vacation last week at Iberostar in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, I spent most of my time chasing after him around the resort. The good thing was that Iberostar has two bars from the front desk to swimming pool. Each round, I would get a mojito break.

The time on the airplane was also a nightmare, especially when we left the US to DR. He wouldn’t sit still and he wouldn’t go to sleep because we boarded right on the clock. On our way back, I let him ran all over the airport until boarding time. As soon as we got on the plane, he slept for about an hour before got up and moved around. The experience was less dramatic than the previous flight.

Just about a month ago, his language skills had picked up at a surprising speed. He knows how to comments on things like, “Tàu đẹp quá. Máy bay đẹp quá.” As soon as he woke up (when we were at the hotel), he asked, “Bà ngoại đâu rồi? Muốn bà ngoại.” I replied, “Bà ngoại đang ngủ. Đán ngủ đi.” He responded, “I am not sleeping anymore. That’s it.”

While we were playing in the pool, he grabbed a hold of me and said out of the blue, “I love you, daddy.” Nothing felt better than hearing your son saying that. When we were at the beach, I lost balanced when a strong weave hit us, he asked, “Are you ok, buddy?” He picked that up from me whenever he fell or something.

Yesterday, I tried to feed him some pasta and he refused. I kept on putting the spoon to his mouth and he finally busted out, “No, you eat it.” Witnessing him developing is joy even though it is exhausting to keep up.

For my graduate course on Brand Identity Design (AVT 614), I came up with Vietjazz Records for my project. The reason is obvious. I am passionate about Vietnamese music and jazz and my goal is to connect and advance the two distinctive musical forces. The concept of Vietjazz had been on the back of my mind for a while and I have thought of creating a side project to highlight Vietnamese music sets in jazz arrangements. over the years, I have been collecting these type of tunes and I have over 100 tracks to listen to whenever I am on the road for a long trip.

What piqued my interest in Vietjazz was the first time I heard Tùng Dương’s debut Chạy Chốn. Both the bossa-nova flavor on title track and the country-blues feel on “Trăng Khát” hypnotized me. The way Tùng Dương bent the notes, changed the phrasing and played with the syncopation to get the Vietnamese lyrics to mesh with the jazz sound were quite inventive. On top of that, Trần Mạnh Hùng and Lê Minh Sơn played some of the best jazz and blues solos coming out of the Vietnamese music scene.

As a jazz fan with Vietnamese music in my blood, I love the marriage between the two distinctive musical landscapes and want to explore more in this direction. In my informal research, what I have learned is that most Vietnamese listeners aren’t familiar with the jazz sound. My goal for Vietjazz Records is to produce and promote Vietnamese music with jazz flavors. From signing artists to album concepts to art direction to distribution, Vietjazz will be involved in every aspect of crafting an experience.

Since the target is to reach Vietnamese listeners around the world, the web would be the best medium for the company. The web would give us the limitless possibility to create a true experience. Once the album is set to release, the customers would be able to get it immediate through our web site.

That was my pitch for Vietjazz and my professor approved the concept. During the course, I spent weeks developing the logo. I literally did a hundred variations before we came up with the final version. I am happy with the result. The logo consists of eight vertical bars, which could be interpreted as the piano keys. The slight tilting and offset of each bar conveys spontaneity. All the bars are in blue expect for the green accent on the letter “j” to signify syncopation.

After the logo, the next assignment was to develop the stationery, which included business card, letterhead and envelope. Designing and developing the three applications for the brand were the most fun part of the project. I chose the web site, the mobile app and the vinyl album cover for Vietjazz. Designing the vinyl cover were the most challenging one. I had to paid Goodwill a visit to see a a vinyl record were designed.

Even though I had a blast designing the applications, my favorite assignment for the course was the development of the brand guidelines, which was our final project. I had never done a branding guide before; therefore, I loved the new challenge and I could also pull everything together for a portfolio piece. While all of my classmates chose to do a book, I convinced my professor to let me do a web site. The reason was that my company is primarily online; therefore, it makes much more sense to go with a web version. In addition, the brand guidelines are constantly changing; therefore, the web could be much quicker to update and could save some trees. A third reason would be that people could download and use our logo and templates immediately.

I spent quite a bit of time researching big companies like Apple, Adobe and Facebook to see how they have created their brand guide. I also picked up some great tips from MailChimp and Squarespace. The Vietjazz Brand Guidelines turned out quite well. It’s responsive and intuitive. Even though I had spent quite sleepless nights working on it, I am very proud of the outcome.

The branding class is one of the best courses I have taken at George Mason. The professor is awesome. He has real world experience and his critiques were very constructive most of the time. From our interaction in class, he values simplicity and he is a typographic geek. One of the things that I learned from him in this class is that every design decision has to have a reason. You can’t just pick a color or a typeface simply because it looks right or feels right to you. Especially for a brand, you have to have a reason for it like Tiffany has its distinctive blue, Coca Cola has its red and Starbucks has its green. Overall, this semester has been quite rewarding for me even though I had my moments of stress and anxiety.

Without further ado, I am proud to present the Vietjazz brand guidelines.

Lần đầu nghe Y Phương song ca cùng Nguyên Khang qua một liên khúc Trịnh Công Sơn trong video Asia 53: Bốn Mùa thu hình vào năm 2007, tôi có ấn tượng ngay. Tuy kỹ thuật nén hơi còn kém nhưng cô bắt những nốt cao dể dàng. Còn khi hát thấp, giọng Y Phương có nét dịu dàng tựa Ngọc Lan.

Từ đó tôi thường chú ý những hoạt động của cô. Trong vài video của trung tâm Asia, sự xuất hiện của Y Phương có phảng phất hình bóng Ngọc Lan. Nhưng đến nay Y Phương mới cho ra mắt một sản phẩm đầu tiên do chính cô thu âm chứa đựng nhiều ảnh hưởng và màu sắc của Ngọc Lan.

Với nét hòa âm đơn giản, nhẹ nhàng và sang trọng, Y Phương gợi lại những hình ảnh thời vàng son của Ngọc Lan qua Tình Vẫn Thiết Tha. Album mở đầu với “Chuyện Tình Yêu,” một trong những nhạc phẩm được ưa chuộng của Ngọc Lan. Tiếp theo “Chờ Phone Của Anh” là một bài đã gắn liền với tiếng hát Ngọc Lan. Cả hai Y Phương đều thể hiện rất tốt.

Riêng “Bài Ngợi Ca Tình Yêu” là một trong những nhạc phẩm đã khiến tôi đam mê giọng hát Ngọc Lan. Cho đến bây giờ tôi mới nghe được bản tương đương như vậy. Y Phương đã bỏ ra rất nhiều thời gian để nghe kỹ cách hát của Ngọc Lan trong nhạc phẩm này. Vì cô đã chuyên chở lời ca nhẹ nhàng và điêu luyện. Tuy hình bóng của Ngọc Lan hiện ra rất rỏ nhưng Y Phương có đặc điểm riêng của mình trong đó. Khác với giọng trong trẻo của Ngọc Lan, Y Phương có một chút khàn. Nhà sản xuất cũng nhận ra được điều này nên đã soạn cho Y Phương một lối hòa âm theo nhiệp điệu bossa nova rất nồng nàn và trang nhã.

Từ bài tựa đề, “Yêu Nhau Đi,” “Ngàn Đời Chờ Mong” cho đến “Người Yêu Ơi Giã Từ,” bài nào cũng có sự xuất hiện của Ngọc Lan. Riêng “Người Yêu Nếu Ra Đi” Y Phương muốn tỏ lòng kính trọng đến với thần tượng của mình: “Người yêu nếu ra đi, một hôm nắng lên cao / Xin hãy mang đi theo, cả mây trắng trong veo.” Đến đoạn cuối cô chuyển sang lời Anh, “Please don’t go away.” Như hàng triệu trái tim đã yêu mến Ngọc Lan, Y Phương cũng tiếc thương và không muốn Ngọc Lan ra đi. Cám ơn Y Phương đã đem lại cho những ai hâm mộ Ngọc Lan những kỷ niệm khó quên.

Viết cho iLoveNgocLan.com

The new Tình Vẫn Thiết Tha indicates the emancipation of Y Phương. She is free from drowning her soul in Asia’s mechanical, recycled productions. Hearing her sensual voice covering non-Vietnamese standards without Asia arrangements is quite refreshing.

Y Phương is also experimenting with something new in term of getting the record out. Tình Vẫn Thiết Tha is released through digital channels like Amazon and iTunes rather than the traditional distribution, which is quite impressive, but the only issue is that she didn’t put too much effort into the album design. No credits are listed even though the producer had done an outstanding job of keeping the arrangements simple and tasteful, particularly on the bossa-nova flavors like “Bài Ngợi Ca Tình Yêu,” “Ngàn Đời Chờ Mong” and “Yêu Nhau Đi.” Her rendition of “Bài Ngợi Ca Tình Yêu” is the only Vietnamese version that is pretty damn closed to Ngọc Lan’s thanks to the swaying rhythm.

In many ways, this album could also be a tribute to the late great Ngọc Lan. From “Chuyện Tình Yêu,” “Chờ Phone Của Anh,” Yêu Nhau Đi,” “Người Yêu Đã Ra Đi” to “Người Yêu Ơi Giã Từ” are all classics that Ngọc Lan had built her fame on. Y Phương obviously got her inspiration from Ngọc Lan, but she also held her own. In Asia, Y Phương has been known to be a belter, but she has learned to refrain and to lay back. In “Ngàn Đời Chờ Mong” she never pushes beyond her range and only glides up just a tiny bit to give the lyrics a nice touch.

Y Phương caught my ears when she opened Asia 53: Bốn Mùa with Nguyên Khang back in 2007. I knew she has potential, but then she kept on disappointed us with release after release from Asia. It’s about damn time she makes her own record.