Jazz Articles about Nguyen Le

Nguyen Le: Encanto

by Mike Jacobs
October 14, 2023

Per Mathisen: Sounds of 3 Edition 3

by Geno Thackara
July 24, 2023

It was just a matter of time until Norwegian bassist Per Mathisen brought this series to its logical conclusion. Where the first Sounds of 3 (Losen, 2016) pounded the floor with hard-rocking grooves, and its followup Sounds of 3 Edition 2 (Losen, 2019) went a bit subtler and jazzier, Edition 3 drops the fusion blueprint entirely. With another new and versatile pair of fellow travelers on board, Mathisen takes a left turn into impressionistic territory and paints some aural pictures ...

Jazz Rock and Progressive Rock new releases, plus Japanese fusion

by Len Davis
March 10, 2023

New music from Italian band Drift Lab with Matteo Mancusco, New York band Aberdeen, featuring Antonio Sanchez, Japanese fusion from T Square, Koici Yabori, FazJaz and Tomo Fujita. From Brazil Reunion with Sandro Haick and Pepe Cisneros, and The Meridian Suite from Antonio Sanchez & Migration.Playlist Drift Lab “Chatterland" from Moonlight (Self Produced) 00:00 Aberdeen “Where Y'aT" from Held Together (Self Produced) 05:51 Nguyen Le “Tigers Dance" from Silk and Sand (ACT Music) 11:40 T Square “Trial Road-Live" ...

ARC Trio and the John Daversa Big Band: ARCeology: The Music of MSM Schmidt

by Jim Worsley
June 10, 2022

What would happen if fusion, already a hybrid of musical genres, was compounded with the sound of big-band? Further, that both genres were stretched well outside the box? An ensemble of bright musical minds came together on just such a project. The results could have been the disastrous soup of too many cooks in the kitchen or, perhaps, something special and creative. Fortunately, they served up an entree which is very much the latter. It starts with quality ...

Ethnic Embraces

by Mike Jacobs
August 16, 2021

For the fourth installment in the continuing BackTracks series, we take a look at some notable releases that infuse their jazz with stylistic spice indigenous to different regions of the world—namely North Africa, the Iberian peninsula and the Balkans. As BackTracks was on a hiatus of sorts (and because these recordings seemed to emerge in matched pairs), this edition features six albums instead of the usual five. As before, there is a YouTube link below the article to a playlist ...

Gergo Borlai: The Missing Song

by Jim Worsley
May 29, 2020

The Missing Song has been heralded as a tribute to Gergo Borlai's nine most influential drummers still alive and performing today. This is much more than just listing them and perhaps covering one of their songs. Borlai composed eight of the nine new songs on this album. He plays them all in the manner, or mindset, of each drummer. The thought process, and level of preparation was meticulous for every drummer and every song. The drum kit, cymbals, sticks, pedals, ...

Nguyen Le: Overseas

by Don Phipps
November 16, 2019

Robust and compelling, guitarist and composer Nguyen Le's Overseas continues his explorations of hybrid jazz--a jazz which combines traditional Vietnamese music with a personal style of jazzy soulful funk. Ancient instruments and urban rhythms collide, creating a kaleidoscopic musical mix that is at times hopping, like a busy Ho Chi Minh City avenue, and at times peaceful, like a morning sunrise over the ocean on an deserted tropical beach. Le composed the music as part of a performance ...