Vietnam: The Aftermath

Billy Bang | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Justin Time Records
• ASIN: B00005OW61
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Record Is A Masterpiece, September 24, 2002

By 

Scott Alexander (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vietnam: The Aftermath (Audio CD)

Vietnam: The Aftermath is one the finest jazz recordings ever made. Bang's mix of Asian motifs with jazz is simply inspired. This CD soulful, touching, swinging and really just plain beautiful. I can't recommend this CD highly enough. This record is a classic! I know I'll be listening to this CD for the rest of my life.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Music Not War!, October 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Vietnam: The Aftermath (Audio CD)

This new CD is sure to earn Billy Bang rave reviews from the critics as well as devoted fans like myself. This is simply Bang at his very best, with his intense, bouncing style given free range with the full-bodied support of top-flight musicians, including John Hicks, Michael Carvin, Frank Lowe, Curtis Lundy, Ted Daniels, and special guest Sonny Fortune. It is also very timely. It is at once a solemn introspection into the horrors of war and a celebration of the ability of the human spirit to overcome those horrors by facing up to them and choosing to use the experience to create something as wonderful and life-affirming as great music. And this music is so wonderful that it has the power to lift the human spirit even while it compels the listener to contemplate the absurdity of war as a means of resolving conflicts. Asian harmonics infiltrate the more familiar Jazz and Soul riffs, like the Vietcong advancing along the Ho Chi Minh Trail toward Saigon. But this juxtapositioning of Asian and American musical aesthetics is not about who won or lost the war; it signifies instead the interconnectedness of humanity, even while locked in mortal battle. Every human being who was injured or killed lost something or everything and gained nothing. This is a musical portrait of war from the vantage-point of those who fought on the ground and survived to experience the aftermath. And for so many American veterans like Billy Bang, the aftermath was plagued by psychological and physical damage, compounded by unemployment, drug addictions and public scorn for having fought an ignoble war. This is perhaps Billy Bang's personal guide on how to survive the war and its aftermath. Like the Blues, the music and musical performances captured here invoke pain and joy at the same time. The focus on death and destruction forges a new appreciation for and commitment to life and creativity. If only the powers-that-be on both sides of our present-day global conflicts could learn to appreciate Billy Bang, as opposed the bang of bombs dropping and planes crashing into skyscrapers..... Let this be the motto of the new millenium: Make Music, Not War!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Music, May 7, 2003

By 

A. Davis "astandavis" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vietnam: The Aftermath (Audio CD)

"Vietnam: The Aftermath" is exceptional from all musical angles. Billy Bang has managed to capture the essence of great modern Jazz with added texture provided by vivid Asian themes and motifs. The beauty of this music lies in the integration of the two cultures. Billy Bang does an exceptional job of melding the Asian themes with the swinging tradition of great modern Jazz. If you like your music with an edge, this CD will blow you away. Unlike anything else I have ever heard, this music is a breath of fresh air. It is beautiful, open & free and it swings. This is the best Jazz Violin I have ever heard. Congratulations Billy Bang. This recording is a gem. Check it out!