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Cuong Vu: It's Mostly Residual

by Terrell Kent Holmes
October 25, 2006

Cuong Vu's trademark as a composer is gradually building tunes that intensify toward the middle and include elements of free jazz and jazz-rock. The key is to have a band that can pull off the demands of such superficially simple yet ultimately complex music. Having the right players makes Vu's It's Mostly Residual a success. Ted Poor's percussion and Bill Frisell's initially subtle guitar give the title tune an elegiac feeling. Then Vu soars and a percussive ...