This Record Is A Masterpiece
Scott Alexander | Berkeley, CA USA | 09/25/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Exceptional Music
A. Davis | Greenville, SC | 05/08/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
""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!"
Sincere, honest and moving
Douglas H. Watts | Augusta, ME United States | 02/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first saw Billy Bang perform with the Sun Ra Arkestra at the Tree Cafe in Portland, Maine in the late 1980s and was blown away by his intense and joyous performance. It was obvious that Mr. Ra enjoyed Billy's playing and afforded him many opportunities to lead the band. By closing, the band enticed the entire audience to form a conga line to a Cab Calloway standard, with the musicians playing in the line as the bartender screamed for last call. A decade later, I had the privilege of listening to Billy Bang and his band perform the music on this CD at the Waterville Opera House in Waterville, Maine before maybe 200 people in a very informal and friendly setting. Mr. Bang is a supremely likable, honest, serious and often humorous person and his personality is fused to his music. His fellow musicians are as well. After hearing the performance of these pieces, everyone in the small, aging theatre knew they had experienced something unique and valuable and everyone went into the humid July evening with a smile on their face. If more musicians in the jazz idiom played with the depth, lyricism and humanity of Billy Bang, jazz would be a much more popular form of contemporary American music.Thank you, sir."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1