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Cuong Vu
He has toured extensively throughout the world and has given clinics and masterclasses throughout the US and Europe. As a leader, Cuong has released four recordings, “Bound” (OmniTone), “Pure” (Knitting Factory Records), “Come Play With Me” (Knitting Factory Records) and “It's Mostly Residual” (ArtistShare) to critical acclaim, with each one having been considered among the best recordings of their respective years. Each record displays how he has carved out a distinctive sonic territory on the trumpet while blurring all stylistic borders.
Cuong was born on September 19, 1969 in Saigon, Vietnam. He immigrated to Seattle at the age of 6 and began playing the trumpet at the age of 11. His intense dedication and love for music led him to a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies with a distinction in performance.
A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Cuong was awarded the Colbert Award for Excellence: The Downtown Arts Project Emerging Artist Award and was mentioned as one of the top 50 young Jazz Artists in an article called “The New Masters” from the British magazine, “Classic CD”. In 2002, Cuong was a recipient of the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album as a member of the Pat Metheny Group.
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Cuong Vu 4TET: Change in the Air
by Neri Pollastri
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 ...
read moreCuong Vu 4Tet: Change In The Air
by Mark Sullivan
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 ...
read moreCuong Vu 4Tet: Change In The Air
by Dan McClenaghan
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 ...
read moreCuong Vu: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs
by Nicola Negri
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, ...
read moreCuong Vu: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs
by C. Michael Bailey
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 ...
read moreCuong Vu/4-Tet: Ballet: The Music Of Michael Gibbs
by Dan McClenaghan
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 ...
read moreTom Collier: Impulsive Illuminations
by Dan McClenaghan
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 ...
read moreNonesuch Releases Two New Recordings from Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions and Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny
Source:
Nonesuch Publicity
The Unity Sessions features Grammy Award-winning Unity Group—Metheny with saxophonist Chris Potter, drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Ben Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny joins longtime Pat Metheny Group trumpeter’s trio with his mentor Nonesuch Records releases a pair of new albums from guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny. Metheny is well- known as a musical collaborator, and both records feature friends and colleagues with whom he has worked for years. The Unity Sessions is taken ...
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Cuong Vu And Richard Karpen Join Forces On Provocative Ellington/Strayhorn Tribute, Indigo Mist
Source:
Antje Hübner
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
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
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!
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
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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Agogic with Cuong Vu, Andrew D'Angelo: Something Good Going On in Seattle
Source:
Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards
Things have been happening for Cuong Vu since he moved out to Seattle. One of them is Agogic (T & C 001). Maestro Vu's trumpet locks in with Andrew D'Angelo's serpentine alto and bass clarinet, and they are held buoyant by the boldly blistering bass and drums of Luke Bergman and Evan Woodle, respectively. Add some smart avant-funk writing and some very cool interactions and soloing from the front line, mix that up with the boldly assertive, pin-incision precision of ...
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Q&A: Cuong Vu
Source:
Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
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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Dazzle Recordings to release "Static Line" by Tyler Gilmore's Ninth and Lincoln with Cuong Vu
Source:
Tyler Gilmore
DAZZLE RECORDINGS PRESENTS “STATIC LINE" BY TYLER GILMORE'S NINTH AND LINCOLN WITH CUONG VU When: June 14th (National Release) Sound Sample Dazzle Recordings is proud to present Static Line, a recording that fuses jazz and experimental influences; all the while exploring the theme of World War II era music and it's role in morale and propaganda of the time. Inspired by his family background and his love of American history, composer/band-leader Tyler Gilmore has constructed a new kind of ...
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Living Room Spin: Cuong Vu 4-Tet - Leaps of Faith
Source:
Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
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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Brownman
trumpet
Gijs Levelt
trumpetPhotos
Music
Odious Mode
From: Impulsive IlluminationsBy Cuong Vu
Let's Get Back
From: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat MethenyBy Cuong Vu
Touching Corners
From: ShizaruBy Cuong Vu
Leaps of Faith
From: Leaps of FaithBy Cuong Vu
Brittle, Like Twigs
From: It's Mostly ResidualBy Cuong Vu
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