Dé ULTRAMARINE 2nd album
Is this 1989's best "World Music" album ? we can definitely say so, because never a band has mixed with so much skill the musical heritage of his members. Mario CANONGE, piano is from West Indies, as well as BAGO, the percussionist. Etienne MBAPPE, on bass is from Cameroon, and the drum- mer Mokhtar SAMBA from Marocco & Senegal. Nguyên LE, the guitarist ( a virtuoso to be closely watched over ) is vietnamese and Pierre Olivier GOVIN, the saxophonist is a white french guy, that's all we know about him ... Dé , their refreshing album, has to be located between Miles DAVIS and Ray LEMA, in every good record collection.
Philippe CONRATH, Libération, jan. 4, 1990
" Magnificent " Nguyên LE : rather cautious in the O. N. J. , he' s just astounding here. Terrific, amazing ! . Impressive by the mastery of sound, colors and harmonies, this guitarist has nothing to learn from anyone, he could even become a model for others. Listen to his solo on "POGO" and send me the transcription! Full of energy and great compositions, you've got to buy this record, right?
Olivier CAUVIN, Guitarist Magazine, nov 89
MIRACLES Nguyen LE 1rst album, 1989
Miracle ! Here is Nguyên LE's first record ! A lot of us thought that his personality needed a first role in an achieved recording project. Two decisive encounters : one with excellent pianist Art LANDE , strengthening his jazz identity ; & the other, during a few concerts of the National Jazz Orchestra, with drummer Peter ERSKINE who will bring his bass partner Marc JOHNSON . The bet is successful : The compositions of Nguyen LE & Dominique BORKER (his alter ego) serves the band's expression. The great care taken with the record's construction is essential - alternance of quartet settings & duo interludes, solo conclusion - Nguyên LE shows, as usual, his very sure taste for sound matter, even giving us one part of his secrets, with the Dan Tranh, a vietnamese instrument which has influenced his guitar playing &, more globally, his musical concepts. Something new has happened.
Arnaud MERLIN Le Monde de la Musique june 1990
Miraculous ? Indeed this music is, for the understanding & the perfect balance between the four protagonists as well as the diversity of peaceful & haunting atmospheres . Nguyên LE offered to his famous partners --- Lande & his subtle Art, Erskine & Johnson brothers in mind -- the most beautiful canvas, made of synthethic, entrancing streams & of energetic, luminous guitar. Let yourself be caught, don't fear the rapture that will come with this intriguing music...
Magician ? Surely Nguyen is one...
Fréderic GOATY Jazz Magazine may 90
Within himself , Nguyên LE has a subtle universe of cleverness and grace far away from commonplace. He fits equally well in " classical " Jazz, Fusion, Funk or World Music . If he uses computer programming, or guitar-synth, it's never meaningless : it enters his work on sound colors and atmospheres, in order to widen his musical horizon . Everything sounds right, always & absolutely.
A trip in an imaginary , timeless space. To be listened to only with a free spirit.
Christine MULARD Compact july 1990
A guitar player is born. Since the National Jazz Orchestra directed by Antoine HERVE, Nguyên L E has attracted much attention. Warm, lyrical, creative. Plus an elegant style which everybody enjoys.With the dazzling bass player Jean François JENNY CLARK, he has formed a duo which should be heard with no delay. First, guitar players will be interested ( for the technique ) ; so will music lovers ( for the invention ) ; and each one who can't stand to be out of date.
Francis MARMANDE Le Monde nov 1990
Nguyên Lê is really a guitar funambulist, with a very lithe style, nearly feline. He is more and more mature, for his technique is never a goal in itself, but always serves his beautiful music. And he expresses himself whith an extreme subtlety. Seeing and hearing his band, you would think Jazz is an easy music to play, because the musicians seem to be having such a good time. But beyond the excitement, that is also a beautiful and deep musical experience. Nguyên L ê is a wonderful magician of sounds and colors.
Camille THOMAS Dunkerque Expansion nov 1991
French guitar player born from vietnamese parents, Nguyên Lê is a profound, mysterious musician, who never plays without meaning. His brightness and his simplicity are overwhelming.
Jean WAGNER Télérama nov 1992
An imperative voice of the guitar : it flows, it swirls, it' s highly contrasted, between Hendrix & Jim Hall.
Michel Contat Télérama sept 1994
" The Berlin JazzFest ", review by Ulrich Olshausen
The discovery in the Festival was vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê , guest soloist of the WDR Big Band conducted by Vince Mendoza . No one plays guitar like him, with this rock edge strained by the intensity of the silences, with this catching force coming to us like an ancient call of some buddhist ritual; an incredible ability to make the musical ideas flow.
On soprano saxophone, Dave Liebman, another guest soloist, expressed his wide musical fantasy with a rare freedom & easiness. Maybe also because of the unique spirit given by the guitarist.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung nov. 4th, 1993
TALES FROM VIËT-NAM 1996/97 articles USA
Tales from Viet-Nam mixes East-West sound with guest percussionist Trilok Gurtu working his magic - truly world-jazz fusion at its best.
Nancy Ann Lee Cleveland Free Times Feb 1997
When he hits the right mix, Le's music creates a seamless genre unto itself.
Bob Gulla Replay Feb 1997
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. When it meets America's indigenous music jazz, indian, and music played by European based musicians, 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)
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
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
Nguyên Lê's mingling of East & West sounds effortlessly effective. His obvious understanding of both sides yields a music devoid of contrivance & full of honesty. As an arranger he brings a distinctive personality & unique perspective, with great taste. A lovely & remarkably fresh album that illustrates the limitless potential of cross-cultural exchange.
Chris Kelsley Rhythm Music march 1997
The hybridization of western & eastern cultures has most often borne offspring of surpassing strength & beauty; no surprise then, that the fusion of jazz & Asian music cultures has provided some of the most adventurous & exhilarating recordings of the last decade. To the list of the pioneers you can now add the first of these albums by the Vietnamese-French guitarist Nguyên Lê, the marvelous Tales from Viêt-Nam. He has constructed an elegant & moving program, with most of the pieces derived from traditional Vietnamese melodies.
In Three Trios, his latest date, traces of Asia still inhabits in Nguyên Lê's guitar work. His pan-culturalism gives his music a reach & purpose beyond his obvious skills as a guitarist. And on Tales from Viêt-Nam, his overt exploration of that pan-culturalism results in a minor masterpiece.
Neil Tesser Jazztimes may 1997
3 TRIOS CD reviews
While the 2 firsts trios (Silk & Silver) extend supremely the splendid guitarist, the third one (Sand) opens new horizons to the composer with unprecedented sonic landscapes : it emphasizes the nearly acoustic quality of his approach full of nuances to electric guitar.
"3 Trios" is like a hold image of Nguyên Lê on the move. Between 3 shots at goal.
Alex Dutilh Jazzman, France april 1997
Many - any kind of music - doesn’t get more multinational than on this wonderful disc from this exceptional guitarist & leader. The result is frequently amazing music by three trios that are genuine trios, not a soloist with two accompanists. Le hereby stakes the claim as the most extraordinary guitarist to hit jazz since John Scofield. His music combines enormous power & Oriental delicacy, while at the same time giving immense freedom to other musicians. One of the great Jazz records, so far, of 1997.
Jeff Simon Buffalo News, USA, april 11, 1997
The fusion genre proved to be pretty much a dead end. It’s surprising to still come across fusion-oriented records. It’s doubly surprising when the record is as good as guitarist Nguyên Lê’s « 3 Trios ». Le has his own brand of fiery soloing.
Robert Iannapollo Cadence, USA, July 1997
Nguyên Lê’s Three Trios is fusion in the purest sense of the word, for the guitarist brings worlds together in a restless act of discovery. Lê seems everywhere, borrowing distant Southeast-Asian timbres or meandering through an urban-rock landscape in the same breath. With such a diverse appetite, his notes sound odd, almost wrong, but that’s what makes the music so right, so fresh, so interesting.
At times, jazz guitar can sound staid - but not in the case of Nguyên Lê. He’s forever breaking boundaries for our benefit.
Samuel Fromartz JAZZIZ Magazine, USA, Sept 1997
Nguyên Lê is amazing. His guitar work is unique, inspiring, technically challenging, fired with soul, jazzy, rocking, and drips of fusion yet goes even further. You will hear world music (far-Eastern/Southeast Asian) scales and note treatments in attack, vibrato, and bends. Lê is of Vietnamese heritage but knows full well the world of jazz and rock.
He can play light-hearted, crystalline-clear tones, dreamy chordal sustains, wielding an endless barrage of effects and suddenly flat-out scream and wail like a banshee as if Ninja warriors had invaded the studio. I have never heard anything quite like him. I was deeply impressed first listen to this release. Every jazz musician and fusion musician needs to hear this magic. Lê is standing all alone in his total sound and delivery. My adored track was « La Parfum » for its simple elegance, beauty, and its power to transport me into bliss . . .Really this is CD to be experienced in totality. You will discover sounds and feelings you will thrill to if you love great guitar-driven jazz. Highest of recommendations!!!
All That Jazz, John W. Patterson
MAGHREB AND FRIENDS Nguyên Lê, 1998
The music is alive, visceral and organic. This stuff makes your marrow undulate & your synapses sizzle. « Maghreb & Friends » is world jazz fusion at its best – in the boldest sense of the recently shunned F-word.
Robert Kaye PRAX Music magazine january 1999
MOON and WIND Huong Thanh, 1999
Joy of joys, world music listeners' ears have alighted upon the Vietnamese guitarist & general music mover Nguyên Lê. He is the driving force behind this enchanting disc from Paris-based singer. Soaring above the spacious lanscape is the marvelous voice of Huong Thanh, as exquisite & subtle as bridsong. This is deeply spiritual, highly sensual & very intelligent music that communicates perfectly across the cultures. *****
World CD of the week, Birmingham Post (UK), oct 1999
This woman has a voice that might melt glaciers & make deserts bloom with roses. You get some of the best music being made in today's shrinking world: absoltutely rooted, modern as it gets. Killer Album!
Ian Anderson, Folk Roots (UK), nov. 1999
DRAGONFLY Huong Thanh, 2001
This is evocative world music, produced and performed on by the Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Le. At times, though, it strays into his territory of western jazzy electronics and funk, infused with the sound effects and melodic associations of Vietnamese music. Huong Thanh is a vocalist rooted in the glottal manipulations, high, trilling sounds and soft mid-range intonations of the region's traditional techniques, and this is a project that imports her remarkable sound into a mix of contemporary global and indigenous contexts. Dix Raisons D'Aimer finds Huong gliding delicately through an undergrowth of Vietnamese flutes and zithers, before Nguyen's echoing samples and stealthily advancing tabla grooves modernise its atmosphere. The title track mingles the Vietnamese with the African, as
Richard Bona's vocal chant intertwines with the leader's feline phrasing, and Ce Que Dit l'Oiseau, full of rustling percussion, finds Huong more mellow, sonorous and playful. Only marginally jazz-affiliated, but the textures are wonderful.
Guardian, UK nov 2001
NGUYÊN LÊ
By Mitchell Feldman, DOWN BEAT
An increasing number of musicians consider Paris – which has enjoyed a reputation as a haven for artists for centuries and has become progressively cosmopolitan as waves of Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Caribbean and Eastern European immigrants continue to settle there – the most stimulating city in which to live, work and play today.
Guitarist Nguyên Lê, born Paris in 1959 to Vietnamese parents who came there from Hanoi to attend college, embodies the exotic multi-cultural mosaic fueling the vibrant jazz and world music scenes flourishing in the French capital. A self-taught musician who started playing drums at 15 before switching to guitar and electric bass, Lê has developed a distinctive sound that draws upon rock, funk and jazz as well as traditional Algerian, Indian and Vietnamese styles. The five albums he has released as a leader on the German label ACT since 1995 include Tales From Vietnam on which he explores and celebrates his roots, the North African flavored Maghreb & Friends and Bakida on which he augments his preferred format, the trio of guitar, bass and drums, with guest soloists Chris Potter, Paolo Fresu, Kudsi Erguner and Jan Balke.
“I was always more interested in making my own music than copying songs I heard on the radio or records and began improvising from the start,” Lê explained while drinking tea in the living room of his apartment in the Barbes district of Paris, the preferred quarter of the city’s Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan residents. “The first group that really moved me was Deep Purple,” he continued, “and after hard rock I got into progressive bands like King Crimson and Genesis and eventually the fusion of Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Then I found jazz and entered my ‘Real Book’ period during which I learned a lot of standards, discovered Wes Montgomery and began playing a big hollow-bodied Gibson 175.” He cites Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and early Steve Vai as other important inspirations.
A sonic sorcerer in the same league as Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Bill Frisell and John Abercrombie, Lê plays a custom guitar made by James Trussard and is a wizard with state-of-the-art synthesizer and computer technologies. He began composing on a Macintosh five years ago and has set up an impressive home studio/office containing the drives, monitors and peripherals he uses to record and mix select projects like his 1999 CD Moon And Wind with the Vietnamese vocalist Huong Thanh.
Lê’s world music adventures began after he met Mario Canonge, a pianist from Martinique, and they formed a band that initially played tunes by Wayne Shorter among others. “Mario introduced me to the beguine and salsa and I was fascinated by the rhythms of these and other Latin styles,” Lê recalled. “I thought we should be playing our own music and in 1983 we started Ultramarine, one of two bands in Paris playing ethno-jazz at the time.”
Drummer Peter Erskine and pianist Art Lande, who appear on Miracles, Lê’s 1990 recording debut as a leader, met the guitarist in the late 1980s and are two of his most avid fans and enthusiastic collaborators. The trio Erskine formed with Lê and bassist Michel Benita released the CD E-L-B in May 2001 and the drummer praises “Nguyen’s sound and his unique sensibilities and experiences as a player that enable him to create the type of effortless form of world music we talked about during the Weather Report days.”
Lê returned to the U.S. for the first time since 1997 to perform in a quintet featuring Lande and Paul McCandless in February 2002. Lande calls Lê “an important if not central figure in modern world music. He has a wider range of expression than most people and can play with heat or be poignant and plaintive. The synthesizer universes Nguyen creates are unique and he can access them immediately. He hears something and makes it happen right on the spot and always chooses the perfect situation in a piece in which to engage them.”
NGUYÊN LÊ
The accomplished French-Vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê is one of the most creative of the many jazz players exploring the marriage of « America’s classical music » with traditional music from everywhere else. He focuses on his roots in Vietnam, but does not stop there.
Mike Zwerin International Herald Tribune 27/01/2001
Purple: Celebrating Jimi Hendrix (2002)
Hallelujah, somebody got it right! Lé has created a nearly perfect tribute to Hendrix's spirit while retaining a good measure of originality.Lé's guitar playing is downright impeccable, again holding Jimi close to to his heart without simply aping what has passed. His is a voice that should be heard more widely.This release captures the true essence of fusion, a bringing together of disparate elements. Lé masterfully fuses pop music with foreign intrigue and the unexpected to deliver an album that, in many ways, reflects what both Hendrix and the fusion movement were really all about. Magnificent.
All About Jazz, Todd S. Jenkins, 2002
Nguyên Lê is a masterful, inventive player who has cultivated a wholly unique voice on the intsrument, he ranks right up there with Frisell, John Scofield, Mike Stern an Allan Holdsworth in the post-Hendrix world of jazz guitar.
Bill Milkowski, Jazztimes (USA) may 2004
WALKING ON THE TIGER'S TAIL Nguyên Lê Quartet, 2005
The titles of the tunes often draw on Taoist philosophy for their inspiration, and while the music is often very beautiful, don’t let names such as « Yielding Water » or « Butterfly Dream » seduce you into thinking that it is going to fall into a dreamy, new-age style bag. This is a tough-minded and imaginative contemporary jazz with a strong rock undertone and a leavening of ethnic influences, not only from the guitarist’s Vietnamese heritage, but also from Africa. The fluid, energised, richly layered soundscapes they create are wholly absorbing,
Kenny Mathieson, Jazzwise UK, march 2005 * * * *
Thursday, October 26 On the Boards, 8pm
NguyÊn LÊ — Tiger’s Tail Quartet
The spectacular, much-traveled guitarist, on his first-ever US tour, presents a stellar group with Art Lande (piano), Paul McCandless (reeds), and Patrice Héral (percussion). Nguyên Lê exemplifies how much great jazz lurks outside most American fans' awareness. For over 20 years, he has been prized in his native France, where he has melded the numerous streams of multi-ethnic culture that course through Paris. He blends African, Asian, and American musical languages in stunning, dynamic style, with a virtuosity that is of the highest order.
Program for Earshot Jazz Festival, Seattle, oct 2006
Lê makes ample use of Vietnamese tonality on guitar, creating a singular voice that rivals other contemporary jazz guitarists like Pat Matheny, John Scofield and Bill Frisell. That unique voice is what cuts through and stays consistent on his recordings, which can range from electro-acoustic walls of sound to funky smooth jazz and haunting traditional ballads. This show at On the Boards is not to be missed.
International Examiner, The journal of the Northwest Asian Pacific American communities
HOMESCAPE Nguyên Lê duos with Dhafer Youssef & Paolo Fresu, 2006
Guitarist Nguyên Lê has been as relentless as Pat Metheny when it comes to sound. He’s no stranger to the concept of sonic manipulation and editing in post-production, but Homescape is the most sculpted record of his career, relying on his shaping the sound after the fact... Lê understands narrative, and while the performances in and of themselves are wonderful, the cohesive aural travelogue experience of Homescape is what makes it an hour worth spending again and again.
John Kelman, All About Jazz, dec 2006
101 Forgotten Greats & Unsung Heroes
Nguyên Lê
Unfortunately, Fusion has become a bad word for jazz connoisseurs, but not on Nguyên Lê’s watch. Magically weaving middle-eastern & southeast Asian textures with contemporary jazz-rock grooves, the world fusion of this French-Vietnamese guitarist delivers all the sonic glories a music lover could hope to hear in a genre that aims to melt cultures & styles. A master of timbre & inflection, Lê is perhaps the Joe Zawinul of guitar.
JG, Guitar Player USA, feb 2007
FRAGILE BEAUTY 4th Huong Thanh's album
Fragile Beauty simply is an album that captures the heart from the first note and leaves it hungering for more as the last one fades.
John Kelman, All About Jazz (US) jan. 2008
The musical settings are varied & splendidly detailed. Fragile Beauty suggest that music can indeed make the world a smaller place.
Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz (US) april 2008
Lê's arrangements are varied in tone & texture, but almost all are both strange & wonderful, & his guitar solos are exquisite. "Tales of the Mountain" is one of the most softly impressive songs on an album which is full of both sweet melodic beauty & subtly dense complexity. Very highly recommended.
Rick Anderson, All Music Guide (US) Feb 2008
There's little doubt that some of the finest Vietnamese music of recent years has been made in Paris by singer Huong Thanh & Parisian-born guitarist Nguyên Lê. In these days of self-produced self-released artist albums, this album is a masterclass in the dying art of a producer extracting & honing the talents of a singer.
Sebastian Spiller, FRoots Magazine (UK) March 2008
Fragile Beauty FRoots Playlist (10 best albums of january 2008) - "The return of the vietnamese maestros"
There is a simplicity, yet profundity, in this music that is timeless, its very fragility strangely moving.
Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise (UK) feb 2008
The lasting impression is of purity. Sweet Buddhist melancholia has never been more seductive.
Alan Brownlee, Manchester Evening News (UK), feb 2008
Over the last decade the Paris-based singer & the guitarist & producer Nguyên Lê have developed a unique musical style blending Vietnamese traditional song with jazz harmonies & global sounds. With Fragile Beauty they have produced their most mature & successful album since the widely acclaimed 2001 release Dragonfly. Beauty maybe ephemeral, but this music at least gives us some beautiful moments to savour.
"Top of the World Album"
Barly Norton, Songlines, Collector's Edition (UK), march 2008
"Five to Hear" Fragile Beauty The Guardian (UK), Feb 8th, 2008
Fragile Beauty : Soundcheck's CD Picks of the week, Gisele Regatao, WNYC Radio (US), feb 2008
DREAM FLIGHT 2nd ELB album, 2008
This highly talented transcontinental trio comes over in spades with absolutely terrific playing from all three. Nguyen Le is wringing extraordinairy sounds & superb playing. This is a great ensemble captured here at their very best.
DD, Hi-Fi + (UK) June 2008
This is a jazz-fusion tinted album that is designed with eloquence and firepower. It's a "dream flight" presented by a "dream band."
(Zealously recommended.)
Glenn Astarita, EJazznews.com (US) July 2008
Nguyên Lê is widely acknowleged as one of the most creative electric guitarists & improvisers in the post-Frisell era.
Bill Milkowski, Jazztimes USA, aug 2008
This set represents Lê's appeal at its broadest, with an engaging east-west originality & microtonal shimmer & the formidable partnership of Peter Erskine & Michel Benita.
JF, The Guardian (UK), June 13, 2008
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
The Independent (UK), 26 april > 2nd may 2008
