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"Moon and Wind" is a new CD for Huong Thanh, the singer from Nguyen Lê´s Band "Tales from Vietnam". Nguyên did all writing, production, recording & mixing like a "Tales from Viet-Nam" in a small format, more intimate & peaceful.
EASTWARD, SOMETHING ELSES
Huong Thanh is not unknown to those who like and appreciate Vietnamese traditional music. As her father was Huu Phuoc, a great cai luong (1) artist, the water-like arpeggios of the dàn tranh, the 16-string zither, or the melancholy plaint of the dàn bàu, the monochord, have always been part of her life. But not satisfied with just following the path paved by her ancestors, Huong Thanh manifests a sincere will to, on the one hand, sing everything, i.e. every kind of Vietnamese traditional music, wherever it comes from - North, Centre or South - and on the other hand, open up to the world as well as modernity. Disregarding the prejudices of the purists, she does not hesitate to play all modes and every repertoire.
Moon and Wind , her first solo album, created by her producer and friend Nguyên Lê, provoked many a surprising encounter: on "One River, Two Streams", a lovesong which probably goes back to the XVth century, Huong
Thanh sings accompanied by the Berber gumbri player(2) Karim Ziad. (He owed her that one: she sang on the Maghreb & Friends album). «The Soaring of the Heron », a melody all vietnamese people have sung, hosts an unexpected guest: Tino di Geraldo, ubiquitous Flamenco artist from Madrid, with his
palmas (3) and his cajón (4). Happy accident, not so accidental, as it were, for it seems that both musical sensiblities blend into one intense
emotion: Huong Thanh's voice is reminiscent of flamenco's sensuality.
Thus, encounters and blends all concocted by Nguyên Lê, who had already made Huong Thanh sing on his Tales From Viêt-nam (1995, ACT 9225-2), and without whom, she would never have taken the first stepS Like him, she proves that cross-culture is no lesser culture, if the mixing is true, and the understanding of the other people and culture really means
something, not just a superficial mixture with commercial ends.
But Huong Thanh, remember, is a child of the tradition and also comes from the Mekong region, a mix of different cultures. So like that land's first settlers come from the North, who had to conquer and assimilate the original traditions (Chinese, Cham, Khmer and Montagnard), Huong Thanh, today a Vietnamese exile living in Paris since 1977, had in
turn to feed on this outside world, that has become like a second home to her.
Through the grace of her vocal presence, Huong Thanh just reminds those who might have forgotten, that Viêt-nam, despite her regional diversity, is one, and at the same time, need partake of universal culture.
New sounds from the World
Let's redefine « World Music » as the new identity the children of the diaspora are building between the streams of today and the search for the deepest tradition. As we have lived here, we have integrated the tools of the West to create our own culture. From Tales from Viêt-nam to Moon
and Wind, I have always tried to weave the threads of those encounters where each one, with his own culture, can give the best of himself. So many things are yet to be shared !
Nguyên Lê
Huong Thanh (artist name) voice Tran Ngoc Thanh (official name)
Born in Saïgon, Viet-Nam, Huong Thanh comes from a family of renowned traditional musicians. Her father Huu Phuoc ( ? 1997) was one of the most famous singers of Cai Luong, « Renovated Vietnamese Theater », a kind of opera which mixes traditional singing, dance & theater. Cai Luong was created in 1916 by a group of southern music lovers, with the heritage of traditional theater styles from the north, Hat Boi & Hat Cheo, southern chamber music and the introduction of elements of french music. Cai Luong was very popular from the 30's on. Unfortunatly, the young generation in
Viêt-Nam is losing interest now. Huong Lan, Huong Thanh's sister, now established in USA, is also one of the most famous vietnamese singers, in Cai Luong as well as in traditional & modern music.
In vietnamese singing there's a special & very strong relation between melody & words : there are six linguistic tones, and the same syllabe can have different meanings depending on the pronounced pitch. The poetry of the text has its internal melody, and the singer has to convey
the emotions of both. Huong Thanh embodies the particularities of the vietnamese traditional singing, full of detailed inflections, ornements,
finesse & diversity of expression & timbres.
At the age of 10 Huong Thanh began to learn Cai Luong & traditional singing in the family context -her parent's house was always full of visiting singers & musicians, who also acted as her teachers. At 13 she perfected her skills in studying intensively in Saigon music & theater schools & at 16 she performed on stage for the first time.
Since her move to Paris in 1977, she has taken part in several shows of Cai Luong theater with great traditional artists -including her father- in the vietnamese community in Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland & Belgium). Each time Huong Thanh returned to Viet-Nam she has worked for several recordings which include the best musicians of the country. In 1995 she met Nguyên Lê who brought her to the world of jazz, a music she had never performed before. The adventure of « Tales from Viet-Nam » began : the band has toured in the most important festivals of France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, England, Switzerland. The CD (1996) has received a great welcoming from international critics : Diapason d'Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Choc of Year 1996 Jazzman, 2nd best CD 96 for JAZZTHING (Germany), Best CD 96 on radio TRS 2 (CH), "a minor masterpiece" JAZZTIMES (USA).
In 1996, in Banlieues Bleues festival, Paris, Huong Thanh was part of a complete show where traditional & contemporary vietnamese dancers wereintegrated to the "Tales from Viêt-Nam" orchestra. She performed as a singer, as usual, but also as a dancer (the traditional sword dance of Trung Trac Trung Nhi, two sisters heroines of Viêt-Nam, training their troops for battle). The same year Huong Thanh was invited to sing for the celebration of the anniversary of the declaration of human rights in Unesco. In 1997 she recorded in Los Angeles, USA with her sister Huong Lan. In 1998 she appeared on « Maghreb & Friends », Nguyên Lê's last CD, on «
Louanges », a song by Algerian musician Karim Ziad. After translating the words from arabic to vietnamese, she sings the replica to the north african singers. After several months of work, she now presents « Moon and Wind », her first CD for ACT, produced, written & engineered by Nguyên Lê. A peaceful celebration of all the aspects of love : child love, with lullabies from different regions of Viêtnam; parents' love, love of the one who will share our life, love of the far away homeland.
DISCOGRAPHY
traditional music
Chuyên Ba Nguòi 1995
Chuyên Phim Buôn 1996
Duyên Ta Nhu Mây 1996
To Duyên 1996
Suo Em No Vôi Lây Chông 1998
Dôi Thay 1999
world jazz TALES FROM VIET NAM Nguyên LE (1996) ACT 9225-2
MAGHREB & FRIENDS Nguyên LE (1998) ACT 9261-2
MORE MAGIC IN A NOISY WORLD (1997) ACT 9250-2
compilation MOON AND WIND Huong Thanh (1999) ACT
PRESS REVIEWS
Born in Saigon from a renowned family of traditional musicians, Huong Thanh embodies one of the most beautiful voices of the vietnamese community in France.
Fara C. Humanité Dimanche 24/8/1995
The delicate, passionate, ethereal voice of Huong Thanh is accented by the interplay & the synthesis between diverse cultures. Nguyên Lê's Tales from Viet-Nam is full of wonderful enriching tales, history, culture, sounds. The fusion, the energy, the interplay of the rich, highly complementary work of these creatives artists is fine, mystical, magical. It's a marvelously beautiful work.
Global Beat Jazz,Roots, Rhythms (Internet)
One of the few recordings to bring the unusual beauty of vietnamese traditional music in contact with Western styles. Fascinating overall, especially Huong Thanh's soulful vocals.
City Pages Minneapolis jan 1997
Vocalist Huong Thanh is the real star of the show. There's a determination there that propels her to the front of the listener's awareness.
Jim Trageser North County Times dec. 1996
Le has silkfully weaved a musical cultural fabric between traditional Vietnamese themes & American Jazz. The result is simply delicious. While Le's paint brilliant musical pictures & fresh guitar improvisations, our attention was really captured by the Vietnamese vocal colorings of Huong Thanh. A simply wonderful musical experience.
Donald V. Adderton The Sun Herald MS, nov. 1996
From the first bars the miracle happens. We can feel Viêt-Nam right there, within reach: "Tales from Vêt-Nam", a popular vietnamese songs recording (by Huong Thanh's constant presence) relates to each of us. Here we find the same perspective Black Americans invented when they appropriated the dominant culture to build their own truth.
Franck Bergerot Jazzman n°14, may 1996
actual live project:
Huong Thanh & Nguyên Lê "MOON AND WIND"
Nguyên Lê Gtr, Arr. ( Vietnam ) Huong Thanh Trad. vocals ( Vietnam )
Hao Nhien Trad. instr. Zither, Dan Bau, flutes, perc. ( Vietnam )
François Verly Perc, Tablas, Synth. (France )
following areas can be booked by
Concertbüro Uli Fild: Europe
record company: indigo - label bleu