Search - Billy Bang :: Vietnam: Reflections

A Fine release

cdog | 08/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was intriuged by the subj of this not having previously heard any other of Billy Bang's releases. I was hooked by the opening hard bop groove of "Reflections". It blends well with Asian melodies and is a fine opener. "Ru Con" i believe is a VIetnamese folk song done exceptionally well with Co Boi Nguyen on vocals. On "Lock and Load" I was expecting a dark and sullen sort of atmosphere however this is one swirling, romping, all out jam.



From the packaging (exceptional!!) to the sound quality this is a release to have."

Vietnam: Reflections

Barry S. Mckenzie | 08/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great follow-up to his first cd on Vietnam I was really impressed with the whole texture of the cd I would truly recommend it as a must buy"

Powerful and joyous music from an all star band

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 04/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are like me, one of the things that sells you on CDs you have not heard is the listing of the personnel. Consider the musicians who took part in this May, 2004 recording:

Billy Bang- violin and composer (except for the 3 traditional Vietnamese songs)

James Spaulding- alto sax and flute

Henry Threadgill- flute (only on Reflections)

Ted Daniel- trumpet

Butch Morris- conduction (I think only on Reconciliation 1)

John Hicks- piano

Curtis Lundy-bass

Michael Carvin- drums

Ron Brown- percussion

Co Boi Nguyen- vocals

Nhan Thanh Ngo- dan tranh (a sixteen string zither-like instrument)

The combination of Bang, Hicks, Threadgill and Daniel alone would have sold me on this CD. The addition of the Vietnamese musicians along with the great rhythm section of Carvin and Lundy is just a wonderful bonus.

This recording has a history. It is the second recording that Bang made in an effort to come to terms with his experience during the Vietnam War.

The orginal recording Vietnam: The Aftermath also included Daniels, Carvin, Morris and Brown in part because they too were Vietnam vets. What I find interesting in part is that musicians like Spaulding (who is one of the great heroes of the '60s Blue Note era)were jazz musicians who those guys may have listened to while in Nam. Someone like Threadgill (who also served in the War - see the section on his life in A Power Stronger Than Itself, pp. 176-178) would have been among their peers who infuenced them. In effect, what you have on this CD is a combination of the knowledge/approaches to jazz that are associated with hard bop (Hicks), Blue Note (Spaulding), AACM (Threadgill) and New York downtown scene (Bang during his String Trio of New York years). That is a combination that is full of possibilities.

What is interesting is that music that resulted is absurdly good and jaunty postbop jazz which uses Vietnamese musical tropes as source material. Inbetween that good stuff is other good stuff- the three traditional Vietnamese songs presented with improvisations.

One last somber note to reflect on. This CD is dedicated to Bang's musical partner and friend Frank Lowe who had died just in 2003, just months before this was recorded. Since then, John Hicks has passed away as well. I cannot express how much skill and knowledge a group of musicians like this has among themselves. While you are out there foraging among all the new and rising talent of the musical world take some time to appreciate the alto solo that comes out of James Spaulding

during Lock & Load. This man has been a musical monster for almost fifty years. So all you young whippersnappers out there listen up and pay your respects. The music that is now would not exist without what came before. Many of the musicians on this CD are just that- What came before and what is now.



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