LƯƠNG XUÂN THỊNH

This paper of Jazz artist Lương Xuân Thịnh provides readers with preliminary view over
the import of Jazz music to Vietnam. The artist clarifies obstacles that Jazz encounters
when early approaching Vietnamese audience. He simultaneously gives suggestions for Jazz
to develop and to gradually form the Vietnamese Jazz style.

Key words: Lương Xuân Thịnh, New music, Jazz music

To a group of Vietnamese music listeners, Jazz is seemingly a kind of music which is quite hard to listen and apprehend.

Jazz was the combination between Western and African music invented by African slaves in Southern America in the middle of Nineteenth century. It quickly became the typical music genre of the America, conquered other territories and significantly affected the music life of people in the world. As its origin related to many music cultures, Jazz was improvisatory and presented the performer’s personal style. It was collective but still left a room for the performer to improvise. Since its formation over a century ago, Jazz ceaselessly developed and many branches of Jazz was invented namely Ragtime, Blues, New Orleans, Swing, Bebop, Modal Jazz, Latin Jazz, Jazz Fusion, etc. There were many famous artists namely Duke Ellington, Louis Amstrong Charlie Parker, Miles Davis…

Jazz came to Southern Vietnam in 1960s and popularly performed at night clubs and tea rooms. From that time, this music genre took root in the music life of artists and singers in this area. Tuyết Loan was a typical singer who was called “Jazz Lady” of Vietnam. In 1980s - 1990s, when the country completely opened to the world, we had chances to welcome varied cultural - artistic waves from all continents. In music, besides Classical music which made considerable progresses, we mainly adopted Pop and Rock music. Jazz music was still a new and strange world to people at that time.

What are the reasons for that fact?

Perhaps objective elements, namely cultural environment, performing requirements and specific characteristics of Jazz music make it less attracted to people. As mentioned above, the speciality of Jazz is that it leaves a room for the performer to improvise. It sounds strange to Vietnamese listeners as they find it chaotic and hard to understand.

Here it probably is the matter of audience’s feelings. “Feeling for music” does not require high education. The one who feels is the one who “listens, catches and understands” the music piece and gets what the composer means. Jazz is that kind of music. Performing Jazz is the understanding and improvisation between the artist and audience. When audience understand and harmonize with the artist, they reach the sublimation. It is an important factor making the success of a performance and the impression and attraction of Jazz. Jazz always needs an understanding! We must mention an inconvenient truth that too many people apparently hook on easy-to-listen music genres in Vietnam. The “lazy” taste of the audience limits opportunity for Jazz to develop. Very few people care about this music genre. The audience in Jazz places is barely the locals but mostly foreigners who travel to Vietnam or live here. Due to its speciality, the small number of listeners and limited performing spaces, Jazz can only come to massive audience in European music festivals or exchange performances of foreign artists. That is when we have a chance to sink in the exciting and improvisatory atmosphere of Jazz on huge stages.

However, Jazz has made significant progress in the past 20 years. In terms of performing space, some Jazz clubs are established such as the club of Meritorious Artist Quyền Văn Minh (in Hanoi) and the club of artist Trần Mạnh Tuấn (in Ho Chi Minh City). Additionally, the inclusion of Jazz in the regular training program of Vietnam National Academy of Music affirms the development and contribution of Jazz like other music genres to the cultural and social life. Assoc.Prof. Dr. Meritorious Artist Lưu Quang Minh and Meritorious Artist Hoàng Tùng are people who gave birth to the Jazz Department of Vietnam National Academy of Music. It provides Jazz lovers with a chance to learn, practise and exchange in a professional music environment and after graduation, students become the envoy making use of their knowledge to bring Jazz closer to the audience.

Nowadays, thanks to the explosion and strong development of Internet and information technology, World music and Jazz have been popularized to young generation. We also need to consider the effort to learn and renovate of some artists, musicians, young singers who passionately love Jazz. They are able to apply and combine easy-to-understand Jazz styles, namely Smooth Jazz, Blues, Funky, Soul… in their works and make it widespread among listeners, especially young audience. It brings young generation a multi-dimensional view over Jazz and lets them conveniently access this music genre. They can even combine Jazz with Vietnamese contemporary music that makes Jazz become a new special spice added to familiar food. It makes people feel appetizing and takes new taste to them.

Jazz gradually has its position in the rich music life of modern Vietnamese people. In the current context of globalization, not only that Jazz is the new spiritual food for Vietnamese people but its vitality also creates the conditions and opportunities for Vietnamese music to integrate and develop. Jazz possesses enough conditions and means to express emotions, lead the listeners, even introduce and popularize traditional Vietnamese music. It is the harmonious combination of tradition and modernity, of Jazz branches and Vietnamese traditional music.

For instance, talented guitarist Nguyên Lê makes a harmonious combination of Jazz and Vietnamese traditional music in his music piece Tales from Vietnam which has deeply impressed the world. Artist Hương Thanh also contributes to spread Vietnamese music to the world. Though already being titled “the envoy of Vietnamese traditional music” in Europe, Hương Thanh does not end at that achievement. She offers music arrangement of Vietnamese traditional music and Jazz.

They, some of many artists, musicians and singers, are using their talents to assert and praise the quintessence of Vietnamese traditional music. We can positively believe that if we offer good works of Jazz, we are definitely able to attract audience with it. Those works can be the combination of Jazz with either Vietnamese contemporary music or traditional music. It is the method to Vietnamize Jazz, particularly by combining traditional music language and Jazz specialities such as music mixing, modes, cadences, improvisation methods… It is also the challenge and opportunity to Vietnamese Jazz artists.

Not only encouraging the creativity of artists, we need to build a training program and form a high quality group of Jazz artists who passionately love it and are able to digest new music language in the combination of Jazz and Vietnamese traditional music. Jazz artists also should be facilitated to exchange, learn and perform more and more to make a new status for Vietnamese Jazz.

Ultimately, one thing cannot be forgotten is that we need to enhance the ability to enjoy arts of Vietnamese people. Audience will gradually like the combination of Jazz and traditional music or familiar music pieces then they may come to the genuine Jazz. Jazz artists have to harmonize and develop the relation between Jazz and Vietnamese music and make it familiar to Vietnamese listeners. From that point, we may develop Jazz in Vietnam and even shape a style of Vietnamese Jazz.

We can probably raise our own voice, a Vietnamese style of Jazz!