Customer Reviews

Tales From Vietnam

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Nguyen Le is one of the most original and listenable guitarists in music today. A deep passion for jazz is here coupled with a sublime reverence for the folk songs of his home country, and it is one of the CDs I listen to most in my collection. The songs are simply great songs and his arrangements carry an Indochine mystique to them that have you searching the web for the next flight to Saigon, Hue or Hanoi.

Based in Paris with his friend Huong Thanh, who sings like an angel, and is often Nguyen Le's colleague, Nguyen Le creates soundscapes richly imaginative and passionately evocative of the spirit of his country. These are romantic songs at heart, and there seems little as captivating as listening to the seductive voice of Huong Thanh present her entreaties to the listener. This is a great, great CD, as sensual as KIND OF BLUE, as passionate as anything in Pat Metheny's catalogue.

The session musicians assembled here are the cream of the current French jazz scene, including Michel Benita and Francois Verly. Trilok Gurtu adds his remarkable percussion, and fellow Viet Namese musicians, Thai An and Hao Nhien round out the textures and flavours that enrapture the listener.

One of the great tributes that you can pay someone who takes explorative and creative directions with traditional material is if this creative pulse sends the listener to inquire more about the source material. This CD did just that for me. It is a brilliant testament in a stellar body of work. The mysteries unveiled in these rapturous songs wil intoxicate your spirit.

Nguyen Le is extremely versatile, from Funk to Rock, Jazz/Fusion to World. It is a pleasure listening to this album because the spectrum of music/techniques change from song to song. His techniques combine many styles unlike other vituosos with somewhat signatory chops eg. abstract (John McLaughlin) subtle (Pat Metheny) rapid (Al Di Meola) rocky (Van Halen) emotional (Santana) intense (Jeff Beck) etc. He uses the tremolo bar to retaine micro-tones (the between-notes) which are some of the distinctions and characteristics unique to Vietnamese Music. In this album, his licks are simple but the essence of his music/sound is far more telling. It is quite evident that music and breathing are one and the same for Nguyen Le.

Tales From Viet Nam is a work of genius. The cuts are varied and of uniformly high quality. The more I listen to this recording, the more I appreciate the subtlety and creativity with which Nguyen Le has blended traditional Vietnamese elements and instruments with modern Western ones. Such cultural fusions are difficult to bring off convincingly, and he has succeeded where many artists with greater name recognition have failed.

I sent this CD to a Vietnamese friend who immigrated to the US. Said she had not heard some of these songs since she was a child. Very moved.

I'm a 25 year guitar vet and I don't much care for fusion, but I make exception for this extremely brilliant man and this album. It melds Vietnamese folk songs with the prog stuff in a very natural way. The singer is nothing short of great, I wish I could find more by her. Le's guitar work makes much use of the tremolo arm in a very musical fashion. Really, it sounds like Vietnamese pop with a rich instrumental palette played by people with serious chops. Definitely worth your time!