I don’t know anything about The Friends other than the group is founded by violinist Luan Vu, but I have admiration for concerts they had put out. If I live in Cali, I would love to come and see their show. However, I just came across a vicious attack on The Friends regarding to the missing of Ngo Thuy Mien, Tu Cong Phung and Vu Thanh An on their recent show called “Du Doi Cho Nhau.” I am skeptical the credit of the source, but want to put it out here to see what others have to say about it. Here is what Dao Nuong Hoang Duoc Thao said:

Chương trình ca nhạc Giữ Đời Cho Nhau, dùng một tên bản nhạc của nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng làm chủ đề, bán vé với giá $60, $50, $40 và $30. Dưới giòng chữ ghi giá tiền vé vào cửa, Đào Nương tôi lại đọc được một một hàng chữ nhỏ: Sẽ trích một số tiền vé thu được vào quỹ đào tạo tài năng âm nhạc thiếu nhi hải ngoại. Nhưng đây không phải là lần đầu tiên Đào Nương tôi nghe than phiền về sự kiện “công tử” Luân Vũ lợi dụng tên tuổi của nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng, trước đây, khi nghe tin có sự hiện diện của ông, Đào Nương tôi có mua vé đi xem. Đến nơi, ông Luân Vũ cho biết nhạc sĩ Từ Công Phụng… không về kịp vì đang ở bên Houston hay Dallas gì đó mặc dù vẫn nhận lời. Sau này khi có dịp gặp nhạc sĩ họ Từ tại Cali, ông cho biết ông không hề được mời hay nhận lời xuất hiện trong buổi nhạc của ông Luân Vũ.

Online chats and blogs are changing the youngster language in Viet Nam. For expample: “Ấy check cái phần test đó rồi send cho tớ, nếu thấy good thì sẽ request lại nhé.”

Due to traffic, our ride from Virginia to New Jersey took almost eight hours last night. I am not complaining though. I had my coffee to keep me awake. I had my jazz to calm my nerve. Best of all, I had a wonderful lady by my side to keep me warm. Glad to be home for Thanksgiving (or more like family gathering). Please take the time to be with your love ones. Like Lam Phuong once wrote: “Cách xa mặt nhau chỉ làm ngày tháng hư hao / Tuổi xuân là bao chẳng đợi thời gian vụt tới / Rồi mai đây trăng tà soi bóng ngó quanh lại còn ai.”

As I sat down to write about “our story,” I couldn’t possibly sum it up without delving into the details. Dung and I met through my website (Visualgui.com). I invited her to a movie. On our first date, she impressed me with her appetite by cleaning up a huge plate of shrimp pasta at ten o’clock at night. The long hours we sat by the Hudson River trading our stories. The first time we held hands and didn’t want to let go. The days filled with continuous emails back and forth. The evenings filled with food, music and laughter.

The memories are endless; therefore, I would like to do something a bit different instead of writing a novel about us. One of the things that connected us is music, particularly Vietnamese intimate ballads. So we wanted to put together an album with the songs we have loved and shared. And instead of writing the sleeve notes, I put together the “love notes” for the seven tracks that recollect glimpses of our story:

Tình Tự Mùa Xuân
Music & Lyrics: Từ Công Phụng
Vocal: Tuấn Ngọc

I can still remember the fresh vibe of the clear, breezy summer night like yesterday. On a dark, lonesome throughway, I was driving Dung home from our first date. We glanced at each other as “Tình Tự Mùa Xuân” began:

Em lại đây với anh
Ngồi đây với anh
Trong cuộc đời này.
Nghe thời gian lướt qua
Mùa xuân khẽ sang
Chừng như không gian đang sưởi ấm
những giọt tình nồng.
Come to me,
Sit by my side,
Share this life with me.
Listen to the time glide by,
As the soft approach of spring,
Warms the air
And our tender tears of love.

I didn’t need to say a word. Tuấn Ngọc’s romantic voice said it all.

Bài Ca Hạnh Ngộ
Music & Lyrics: Lê Uyên Phương
Vocal: Thiên Phượng

Although the journey ahead could be rough and treacherous, we can make it if we hold on to each other’s hand. We promised never to get go like Lê Uyên Phương had suggested:

Rồi mai đây đi trên đường đời
Đừng buông tay âm thầm tìm về cô đơn.
Later, on the journey through life,
Don’t let go of my hand to seek your quiet solitude.

Vì Đó Là Em
Music & Lyrics: Diệu Hương
Vocal: Quang Dũng

Dung used to call me “dẽo miệng” (slick mouth) when I lip-synced the following lyrics to her:

Không cần biết em là ai
Không cần biết em từ đâu
Không cần biết em ngày sau.
Ta yêu em bằng mấy ngàn biển rộng
Ta yêu em qua đông tàn ngày tận
Yêu em như yêu vùng trời mênh mông.
Who you are doesn’t matter,
Where you’re from, I don’t wonder,
What you’ll be, I don’t worry.
My love is a thousand oceans strong,
My love will fight winters and eternities long,
My love, like the sky, will always be.

Sure my dear, I love you just the way you are.

Nụ Hôn Gởi Gió
Music: Hoàng Việt Khanh
Lyrics: Hiền Vy
Vocal: Quang Lý

Besides Hoàng Việt Khanh’s composing skill and Quang Lý’s gorgeous delivery, what makes this contemporary folk tune irresistible is Hiền Vy’s playful poetry:

Môi em mọng đỏ, là đỏ như mơ
Cho anh nhờ gió hôn vào là vào môi em.
Your full red lips, crimson like a ripe apricot,
Let me summon the breeze to give them a gentle kiss.

Dung pointed out how folks back in the days revealed their feelings in such a graceful approach. I wanted to sing this tune dedicated to Dung on our wedding day but my voice fails me.

Niệm Khúc Cuối
Music & Lyrics: Ngô Thụy Miên
Vocal: Thụy Vũ

We danced to this romantic ballad together for the first time and we knew it has to be the theme song for our wedding:

Cho tôi xin em như gối mộng
Cho tôi ôm em vào lòng.
Xin cho một lần, cho đêm mặn nồng
Yêu thương vợ chồng.
Be the pillow I embrace,
Let me hold you in my arms,
Let us share warm nights together,
Loving one another as husband and wife.

Rồi Đây Anh Sẽ Đưa Em Về Nhà
Music & Lyrics: Phạm Duy
Vocal: Mộng Thúy

A lovely ballad from Phạm Duy reminds us of the days we sat in the Eastman Park talking about life, family, music and everything else until two in the morning. Accompanied by a simple, elegant piano, Mộng Thúy’s sensual soprano brings back the memories:

Rồi đây anh sẽ đưa em trở về
Về nơi công viên yên vui lặng lẽ.
Hãy ngồi đây, ghế đá ngày xưa
Dưới hàng thông có gió lửng lơ.
And I will return with you
To the quiet park of our youth,
Where we may sit on the old bench
Under pines caressed by the breeze.

Bài Không Tên Số 28
Music & Lyrics: Vũ Thành An
Vocal: Tuấn Ngọc

Our story is long and filled with memories and this is just the beginning. Each day our love grows stronger than the day before and we’re looking forward to sharing our lives together like Vũ Thành An had written:

Cho đến trăm năm vẫn còn say
Xin đến trăm năm không rời tay.
Until a hundred years pass, our love shall never end,
For a hundred years more, never letting go.

The big day is coming, so I won’t be blogging much. After the wedding we will head to Jamaica for a short honeymoon; therefore, I am going to leave you with the album we have compiled for you to enjoy while I am away. Thanks everyone for being such wonderful visitors.

Thanks to Trong Do and Anh-Chi Do for all English translations.

In his “Hà Trần: Mỗi lần đến còn mang theo bí mật?,” Xuân Anh nails it:

Một năm sau khi ra “Đối thoại 06” thì nhìn lại có thể thấy album đó không làm cho Hà Trần tiến thêm bậc nào trên con đường âm nhạc ngoài việc được đánh giá là ca sĩ luôn tìm tòi cái mới.

Đối thoại 06 came and went despite how much the press ate it up. What has she contributed in Tình ca qua thế kỷ? Ain’t a damn thing.

Since I only skimmed through Miss Vietnam Global 2007 (even the bikini part), I don’t remember much about the contestants. One in particular, however, stood out to me not because of her beauty (she didn’t even make it to the top 25), but her flowery name: Daisy Lan Huong Lieu. Didn’t remember what she looked like but the name sure stuck.

The music part gets skimmed even quicker. I couldn’t even get through Tran Thu Ha’s performance even with my eyes closed. (I have heard repeatedly from people that she is the type that you listen to and not watch.) Her snoozing, jazzlite cover of Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Dau Tinh Sau” is exactly what she once commented: “Nhạc jazz VN tới nay thường là ‘râu ông nọ cắm cằm bà kia’ hoặc đu đưa cho có vẻ jazz một tí.” And sadly the entertainers get worse from Dam Vinh Hung to Hong Ngoc to Nguyen Thang. Still the most disturbing performance is from Angelina Cat Tien who is an adorable, innocent, little girl dressed up as Barbie and singing “Barbie Girl” backing up by a dozens of dancers around her age (no older than 12). Obviously she is too young to understand the lyrics, but it is quite unsettling when hearing she sings lines like: “Life in plastic, it’s fantastic! / You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere / … / kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky… / You can touch, you can play, if you say: “I’m always yours.” / … / Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please / I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees.” I just can’t believe the parents who allowed their daughter to portrait such a horror image.

Speaking of image makes me wonder what is the value to a show that competes for external beauty. Nothing wrong with that really except when one of the show’s sponsors, Bich Ngoc Cosmetic Surgery Center, gives away a certificate worth $10,000 to a lucky winner who wishes to change her image if she wasn’t born with a beautiful one. I must hand it to Ms. Bich Ngoc and Dr. Vu Ban for their business mentality. That’s a $10,000 worth of free advertisement for them. If you were that lucky winner, would you come to their clinic after looking at her? I doubt it.

What a “Ngam Ngui” tune. Duc Tuan has done a great job of bringing out the compassion in Huy Can’s lyrics:

Cây dài bóng xế ngẩn ngơ
Hồn em đã chín mấy mùa buồn đau
Tay anh em hãy tựa đầu
Cho anh nghe nặng trái sầu rụng rơi.

Before heading off to the shore (Wildwood, New Jersey), I leave you guys with Duc Tuan’s outstanding rendition of “Hoi Trung Duong” from his classic Pham Dinh Chuong songbook for you to enjoy while I am gone. Not sure if you’ll miss me, but I am sure the magnificent orchestration and Duc Tuan’s soulful, powerful vocals will keep you entertain for the rest of the week. Love his Hue accents:

Miền Trung vọng tiếng
Em xinh em bé tên là Hương Giang
Đêm đêm khua ánh trăng vàng mà than
Hò ơi, phiên Đông Ba buồn qua cửa chợ
Bến Vân Lâu thuyền vó đơm sâu.
Hỡi hò, hỡi hò, Quê hương em nghèo lắm ai ơ
Mùa đông thiếu áo hè thời thiếu ăn.
Trời rằng, trời hành cơn lụt mỗi năm à ơi,
Khiến đau thương thấm tràn, ngập Thuận An
Để lan biển khơi, ơi hò ơi hò.

I am outta here!

Not too long ago, Ha Tran made the following audacious statement: “Nhạc jazz VN tới nay thường là ‘râu ông nọ cắm cằm bà kia’ hoặc đu đưa cho có vẻ jazz một tí.” Now she is contributing a hot-tub, smooth bossa nova number on Tran Viet Tan’s new record, Biet. Despite her contradictory, I find her singing on the Latin-flavored “Vet Chan” way better than the electric shit she has done. She knows how to work the sensual lithe in her flow against the faintly syncopated arrangement. Elsewhere, she gives “Me Ganh Nuoc” a heart-lifting performance with such effortless control. And she pulls it off with just a simple accompaniment of piano and violin.

Beside Ha Tran, Biet features two other vocalists, Thanh Lam and Tung Duong, yet they couldn’t hold up to Ha Tran. Yes, even Thanh Lam too. Unlike Ha Tran, her flow is stilted on the Latin groove of “Dong Song.” She does not have the playfulness to ride the mid-tempo beat. The worse part is that Thanh Lam uses her vibrato all over the place, to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore. Doctor Tan should have subscribed her some chill pills before she stepped into the booth. Tung Dung also seems to be limiting his range and recycling the same delivery lately. The versatile Tung Dung is hidden in Chay Tron.

As for songwriter/doctor Tran Viet Tan, I don’t know if he is a good doctor or not since I’ve never paid his office a visit. I do know for sure, however, is his passion for music. He knows how to make songs for his patients. Biet is a perfect album to be played in his waiting room. The first track would calm them down. The second track would ease their pain. The third track would anesthetize them until the time their name is called. The doc is in.

When being asked about Vietnamese jazz, Tran Thu Ha said, “Nhạc jazz VN tới nay thường là ‘râu ông nọ cắm cằm bà kia’ hoặc đu đưa cho có vẻ jazz một tí. Hiện tại, chỉ có Jazzy Dạ Lam theo đúng kiểu” (Phụ Nữ Chủ Nhật).

Jazzy’s Moon & You is a mixture of pop, jazz and funk. I like its uniqueness, but that’s not necessarily the “right” approach to jazz. It’s more like Norah Jones’ pop, jazz and old country buffet that attracts the bourgeois but not the aficionados. To dismiss Vietnamese jazz as “râu ông nọ cắm cằm bà kia” is not entirely accurate. Maybe some of Tran Thu Ha’s own jazz-up songs were, but there are still some decent tunes like Le Minh Son’s “Trang Khat” performed by Tung Duong. That’s some deep shades of blues right there. The voice is raspy and soulful, and the instrumental improvisations are damn hypnotic. While we’re at it, let’s not forget that he blew her out like candle not once but twice with his bossa-nova rendition of “Chay Tron.”

In addition, I see nothing wrong with taking the basic chords of Vietnamese ballads and extending them into jazz improvisations. In fact, Trinh Cong Son compositions are perfect because they are simple, which give musicians plenty of space to work around the minimal structure. For examples, Art Pepper and his sidemen took “Besame Mucho” (the last track in TTBlue’s collection) and pushed it to twenty minutes plus of exhilarating solos, or completely reinvented “História De Un Amor” (A Love Story) with his own personal interpretation.

Even though jazz is sophisticated, you shouldn’t be discouraged from it. You don’t have be at the level of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, or Art Pepper. Playing and singing with your own heart and feeling is all that needed. There is no right or wrong way to approach jazz. The question should be how you approach jazz.