Lucky Man: Music from the Film | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2008 | |||
Studio | Various locations in Vietnam | |||
Genre | Jazz, folk, world music | |||
Label | BBE Music / IF Music BBE650ACD | |||
Billy Bang chronology | ||||
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Lucky Man: Music from the Film is the soundtrack to the 2010 film Lucky Man, directed by Jean-Marie Boulet and Markus Hansen, documenting violinist and Vietnam veteran Billy Bang's 2008 visit to the country, 40 years after his participation in the Vietnam War as a tunnel rat. The album consists of field recordings created during Bang's travels across Vietnam, during which he interacted with local musicians, and came to appreciate the country's culture while at the same time seeking closure for the trauma he experienced during the war. The recording was released in 2021 on vinyl, CD, and as a digital download by BBE Music in association with IF Music. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
All About Jazz | [6] |
Jazzwise | [7] |
In a review for Jazzwise , Kevin Le Gendre wrote: "Bang was nothing if not open-minded and his ability to blend a wide range of black music, from hard blues to open avant-garde, serve him well here in the company of skilled traditional players... This is deeply poignant music that offers invaluable catharsis to the horrors of war." [7]
Karl Ackermann of All About Jazz stated: "The music is unlike anything else that Bang had recorded... Bang sometimes sounds like he has conquered his demons, but at other times, his pain is palpable... Bang's trademark acerbic but animated style is peppered with the violinist's inner dialog." [6]
Writing for Strings Magazine, Greg Cahill called Bang's playing "poignant," and commented: "The personal nature of these field recordings has a healing effect and sheds new light on Bang’s own dogged pursuit of peace." [8]
Jazz Journal's Matthew Wright described the music as "wonderful," with Bang "relating to and recognising the link between the Vietnamese style of playing and sound and his own." He praised the track titled "Mystery of the Mekong," featuring Bang's violin "soaring above a rich aggregation of strings, resonant cellos and almost rhapsodic support from the piano." [9]
In an article for Truth and Lies, Justin Turford called the album "an extraordinary soundtrack to an extraordinary film about an extraordinary man," with music that is "unlike anything I've heard before." He singled out the track titled "Dan Da," on which Bang's violin joins Duc Dau's dan da, a stone lithophone, describing it as "the most perfect example of improvisational skill between two masters from different worlds," and noting: "Their elation and excitement is palpable as they push and drive each other to new heights and is a privilege to behold." [10]
Traditional Vietnamese music encompasses a large umbrella of Vietnamese music from antiquity to present times, and can also encompass multiple groups, such as those from Vietnam's ethnic minority tribes.
Billy Bang, born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer.
Dương Triệu Vũ is the stage name of Tuấn Linh, a singer on the popular Vietnamese diaspora music show Paris By Night.
Paris By Night 89: In Korea is a Paris By Night program that was filmed at the Olympic Fencing Gymnasium at the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday, July 1, 2007. It is Thúy Nga's first venture into Asia to tape a Paris By Night program. Thúy Nga chose to tape at South Korea, rather than any other country in Asia simply because of the popularity of Korean actors and singers to the Vietnamese community. The program is directed by a Korean director, Seounghyun Oh. It is Thúy Nga's fourth "Live" show.
Trần Mạnh Tuấn is one of the two most prominent jazz saxophonists in Vietnam. In 2002, he moved from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and has taught at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory. He is also a composer, arranger and producer.
Paris By Night 92: Nhạc Yêu Cầu was filmed on May 10, 2008 and May 11, 2008 at Knott's Berry Farm, California. In an attempt to make the programs more diverse, Thúy Nga had encouraged the fans to send in their requests in the format of video clips. The requested songs can be done by an individual or a group of people.
Paris By Night 96 - Nhạc Yêu Cầu 2 is a Paris By Night program produced by Thúy Nga that was filmed at the Knott's Berry Farm on April 18, 2009 and April 19, 2009 and release DVD from June 25, 2009. The show was MC'ed by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên.
Rainbow Gladiator is an album by the American jazz violinist Billy Bang, recorded in 1981 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
Phạm Quỳnh Anh is a Vietnamese singer. She is the former member of Sắc Màu girl group and H.A.T girl group. Her songs targets at young audiences which are mostly ballad songs, such as Không Đau Vì Quá Đau, Càng Xa Càng Nhớ, Bụi Bay Vào Mắt, Người Dưng Ngược Lối,...
Dandelion is a 2014 Vietnamese romantic comedy film directed by Nguyễn Quang Huy, starring Sơn Tùng M-TP, Hari Won, Phạm Quỳnh Anh, Ngô Kiến Huy, Hứa Vĩ Văn. The film's screenplay is based on the book "Bắt đầu từ một kết thúc", an autobiography about the life of the ill-fated singer Wanbi Tuấn Anh.
Nguyễn Tuấn Anh is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Thép Xanh Nam Định and the Vietnam national team.
The fourth season of the Vietnamese television mystery music game show Hidden Voices premiered on HTV7 on 27 July 2019. Despite the linear airings ended on 2 November 2019, it was later extended by 11 additional episodes until the formal conclusion on 18 January 2020.
Sun on Sand is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman's trio and string quartet Brooklyn Rider. This is a concept album, interpreting eight compositions taken from a suite written by Patrick Zimmerli. The album was released on 4 October 2019 by Nonesuch Records.
Configuration is a live album by bassist Sirone and violinist Billy Bang, recorded in November, 2004, at CBGB's Gallery in New York City, and released in 2005 by Silkheart Records. On the album, the musicians are joined by the members of the Sirone Bang Ensemble: saxophonist Charles Gayle and drummer Tyshawn Sorey.
Medicine Buddha is a live album by violinist Billy Bang and double bassist William Parker. It was recorded on May 8, 2009, at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, and was released in 2014 by NoBusiness Records.
Prayer for Peace is an album by violinist Billy Bang. It was recorded on August 30 and 31, 2005, at Avatar Studios in New York City, and was released in 2010 by Tum Records. On the album, Bang is joined by trumpeter James Zollar, pianist Andrew Bemkey, double bassist Todd Nicholson, drummer Newman Taylor Baker, and, on two tracks, percussionists Milton Cardona and Joe Gonzalez.
Vietnam: The Aftermath is an album by violinist Billy Bang. It was recorded on April 13 and 14, 2001, at Sorcerer Sound in New York City, and was released later that year by Justin Time Records. On the album, Bang is joined by saxophonist Frank Lowe, flutist Sonny Fortune, trumpeter Ted Daniel, pianist John Hicks, double bassist Curtis Lundy, drummer Michael Carvin, and percussionist Ron Brown. The ensemble is conducted by Butch Morris.
Da Bang! is an album by violinist Billy Bang. It was recorded on February 2 and 3, 2011, roughly two months before Bang's death, at Studio MI of the Finnish Broadcasting Company in Helsinki, Finland, and was released in 2013 by Tum Records. On the album, Bang is joined by trombonist Dick Griffin, pianist Andrew Bemkey, double bassist Hilliard Greene, and drummer Newman Taylor Baker. The recording features one composition each by Bang, Barry Altschul, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and Sonny Rollins.
History of Jazz in Reverse is the fifth and final album by the FAB Trio, a collaborative ensemble named after the first letters of the musicians' last names, featuring double bassist Joe Fonda, drummer Barry Altschul, and violinist Billy Bang. It was recorded on December 13, 2005, at Kampo Studios in New York City, and was released in 2011 by TUM Records, shortly after Bang's death from cancer.