Cuong Vu

Cuong Vu 4TET: Change in the Air

by Neri Pollastri
December 17, 2018

Dopo la collaborazione nello splendido It's Mostly Residual, uscito nel lontano 2005 per la nostra Auand, e Ballet: The Music of Michael Gibbs, del 2017, omaggio al musicista inglese, Cuong Vu torna a collaborare con Bill Frisell, ancora una volta per RareNoise e con il medesimo quartetto del lavoro dello scorso anno. Stavolta, però, in programma solo composizioni originali a firma di tutti i membri del gruppo e una musica dalla spiccata coralità, come esplicitamente testimoniato sia dal leader--che afferma ...

Cuong Vu 4Tet: Change In The Air

by Mark Sullivan
October 15, 2018

Seattle-based trumpeter Cuong Vu continues his collaboration with guitarist Bill Frisell that began with It's Mostly Residual (AUAND, 2006). His previous 4Tet release, Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs (RareNoise Records, 2017), was also made by the same personnel. But this time, instead of interpretations of an outside composer, every group member contributes compositionally, including Vu, Frisell, bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Ted Poor. Vu emphasizes that this is very much a collective project; his role as “leader" was basically ...

Cuong Vu 4Tet: Change In The Air

by Dan McClenaghan
September 18, 2018

Trumpeter Cuong Vu introduced this particular 4tet in 2017, with Ballet: The Music of Michael Gibbs (RareNoiseRecords). An all star affair that included guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Ted Poor, it seemed to signal something of a gentler Cuong Vu, with a music that had a spaciousness, patience and ruminative quality that didn't show in outings like the in-your-face Agogic (Table and Chairs Music, 2011), the deep space electronics of Vu-tet ( ArtistShare, 2017,) or the eerie ...

Cuong Vu: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs

by Nicola Negri
July 31, 2017

Cuong Vu si muove da sempre in una dimensione stilistica misteriosa, che trae ispirazione tanto dalla tradizione del jazz--non è raro ascoltarlo in concerto rivisitare a suo modo gli standard più classici--quanto dalle correnti più avventurose della downtown scene newyorchese, in cui ha mosso i primi passi a metà anni novanta. Questa capacità di confrontarsi con il linguaggio del jazz tradizionale, di esplorare, scomporre e ricostruire le composizioni altrui per riproporle sotto una nuova luce, è ben presente in Ballet, ...

Cuong Vu: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs

by C. Michael Bailey
July 23, 2017

Having recently immersed myself in Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969) and Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969), the journey to the music on trumpeter Cuong Vu's Ballet (The Music of Michael Gibbs) is a necessarily short one. Davis had been working up to his “Freedom Principle" throughout his recordings with is second great quintet, featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. He achieved with his recordings closing out the 1960s, a compromise between the noises of ...

Cuong Vu/4-Tet: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs

by Dan McClenaghan
May 27, 2017

It sounds as if Seattle-based trumpeter Cuong Vu is in the early stages of lining up the jazz guitar gods and recording and releasing an album with each. The year 2015 saw him offer up Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (Nonesuch Records), and 2017 finds him bringing Bill Frisell into his orbit, with Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs. These are two distinct guitar voices, joining in the crafting of two distinctly different sounds. The Metheny collaboration featured--like much ...

Tom Collier: Impulsive Illuminations

by Dan McClenaghan
October 28, 2016

Vibraphonist Tom Collier offers up something quite different from his previous Origin Records CDs, where he covered the jazz standards like John Coltrane's “Giant Steps; Miles Davis' “So What," and some seemingly unlikely pop hits: The Rolling Stones “What a Shame" and Brian Wilson's “God Only Knows," alongside his own always engaging compositions. With Impulsive Illuminations, the thirty year University of Washington educator (now retired) explores the world of improvisation with pianist Richard Karpen, in the trio mode, with five ...

Cuong Vu And Richard Karpen Join Forces On Provocative Ellington/Strayhorn Tribute, Indigo Mist

Source: Antje Hübner
June 19, 2014

That The Days Go By And Never Come Again, Scheduled for August Release on RareNoiseRecords Trumpeter-composer Cuong Vu has established himself as a distinctive voice on the new music/improvising scene for his adventurous work over the past 20 years with the likes of guitarist Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and Laurie Anderson as well as his four recordings as leader. Composer Richard Karpen has earned accolades for his work in the classical field as well as for being a cutting edge ...
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PDX Jazz @ The Mission Theater Presents Cuong Vu, October 26

Source: DL Media
October 10, 2011

PDX Jazz, the presenting organization of the Portland Jazz Festival in partnership with The Mission Theater, along with The Crystal Hotel and our media sponsor KMHD Radio, is set to continue the PDX Jazz @ The Mission Theater series with Cuong Vu on Wednesday, October 26th at 8pm. The world renowned Vietnamese trumpeter will be performing with the Seattle-based quartet, Burn List. Burn List is a new collaboration out of Seattle featuring Vu on trumpet, tenor saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi, keyboardist ...
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Trumpeter Cuong Vu Interviewed at All About Jazz...And More!

Source: All About Jazz
August 8, 2011

New York may be the major incubator for all that's best in American jazz but there are healthy signs that vibrant scenes are emerging in other cities. In Seattle, there's something going on; an exciting scene is developing around a core of young musicians who see the jazz tradition not as one of emulation, but as essentially one of innovation and progress. The emergence of so many like-minded, forward-thinking jazz musicians in Seattle has much to do with the influence ...
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Three from Trumpet Wunderkind Cuong Vu (2011)

Source: Something Else!
July 22, 2011

Cuong Vu is a Vietnamese-born, Seattle-raised trumpet player who can be considered a pretty damned impressive and forward thinking just by looking at the list of bandleaders who he impressed enough to have in their bands: Pat Metheny (Group), Dave Douglas, David Bowie and Satoko Fujii put him in their groups at one time or another [read about Vu's contributions to one of the Pat Metheny Group's best latter-day records The Way Up here]. Vu's career has consistently favored going ...
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Cuong Vu Does More Good Things in Seattle: "Leaps of Faith"

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards
June 18, 2011

Cuong Vu has reaped the benefits of a change in place since he moved to Seattle. At least so it seems from the evidence of yesterday's CD (see below) and now another today. This one is his 4-tet, Cuong on trumpet, two electric bassists—Stomu Takeishi and Luke Bergman—and Ted Poor on drums. The CD is titled Leaps of Faith (Origin 82585) and it's a very creative thing going on there. They use delay effects and lots of space. They take ...
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Q&A: Cuong Vu

Source: Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
May 26, 2011

Cuong Vu has been one of the most creative musicians in jazz since the late 1990's. I remember first hearing his album Bound in 2000 and being blown away by the sheer scale of the music featured on that recording. His later album called Come Play With Me was even better. In 2003, I remember seeing him perform brilliantly with Pat Metheny Group—a stint that lasted for many years. What's so exciting about Cuong is that he is unpredictable and ...
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Living Room Spin: Cuong Vu 4-Tet - Leaps of Faith

Source: Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
March 19, 2011

One of my favorite pastimes is to gather a few friends in my living room with some good food and drink to hang out and listen to a new jazz recording. Just take it all in and then talk about our impressions of what we heard. So instead of keeping it a small and private affair, I have decided to open my living room and invite the Jazz Online community to participate through an ongoing feature I'm calling the Living ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Cuong Vu

Source:
September 19, 2010

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Q&A with Cuong Vu of Speak

Source: Michael Ricci
April 9, 2010

Forward-thinking trumpeter Cuong Vu has performed with the likes of Pat Metheny, Laurie Anderson and David Bowie. He's toured the world and released four albums under his own name. After a stint in New York, Vu moved back to the Northwest, where he is now assistant professor of jazz studies at the University of Washington.

It's there at UW that he coached an ensemble that included members of Speak. After mentoring the students -- saxophonist Andrew Swanson, keyboardist ...
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Jazz: The Ultimate in Undead

Source: Michael Ricci
January 22, 2010

Among my collection of articles musing on the death or waning days of jazz, my favorite (so far) appeared in the spring 1997 issue of the Wilson Quarterly. Embellished with an engraving of Wynton Marsalis's face pasted atop a lace-cuffed frock coat and cocooned in a Mozart wig, the article, “Has Jazz Gone Classical?" hits the usual marks. Author Clive Davis laments the passing of giants (Miles, Dizzy, Ella) and the resurgence of well-worn styles. Citing the absence of an ...
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