Cộng Cà Phê in Hà Nội: The Greatest Coffee in the World

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Composers, Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Above the French Quarter.

Bird’s eye view of a section of Hà Nội’s French Quarter.

I am dreaming of one beverage the Vietnamese do better than anyone else on earth. Having spent a lot of time in Asia, jet lag has arrived for me in LA with a ferocity that is a reminder of having been on the other side of the world. Doing this without coffee is impossible.  The jet lag always lifts, but my memory takes me back quickly to Hà Nội.

If you like coffee please read on – Cộng Cà Phê (Cong Coffee) in Hà Nội is the greatest coffee on Planet Earth.  Thank God I brought a pound back with me!

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Street Food Strategy in Hà Nội, Việt Nam, Pt. 1

26 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Street food heaven in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Street food heaven in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

Forgive me, but I’m in Hong Kong for a few days before flying back to Los Angeles. So food, great food, is on my mind. Everyone knows that musicians know the best spots for a meal. You might bookmark this post for future reference if you plan a trip to Hanoi, Vietnam.

So here are the some of the spots where thoughts and plots for the next LA International New Music Festival took shape. Hope you’re hungry!

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Paradise Found: The Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang, Laos

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, LA International New Music Festival, Laos, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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At the head of the Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang. Wish you were here...

At the head of the Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang. Wish you were here…

Though the photo above somewhat reveals the impact of the last of the numerous Kuang Si Falls outside of Luang Prabang in Laos, I am going to create a photo journey for you to share what is, for me, one of the most lovely places on Planet Earth I’ve seen.

If you’ve been searching, the Kuang Si Falls might be Shangri La.  Make that Shangri Laos…

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4,000 Buddhas: A Journey on the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves

21 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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The meeting of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in Luang Prabang.

The meeting of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in Luang Prabang.

The view north up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang beckons with mystery. Soft clouds, ranges of mountains both close and far, a strong current flowing south to Cambodia and Vietnam, a breeze coming from distant China in the north. Autumn in the air.

And the 4,000 Buddhas of the Pak Ou Caves at the end of a two hour Mekong journey.

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Saffron Dreams from Luang Prabang in Laos

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by in Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Laos, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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6 AM in Luang Prabang.

6 AM in Luang Prabang.

Though only a short one hour flight from Hà Nội in Việt Nam, the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang in Laos is in another world. Of another world. And still in this world.

Luang Prabang has not been ruined by development. The daily alms ceremony shown above is centuries old and respected with calm observation from bystanders. An awareness campaign throughout the city reminds visitors to keep the ceremony respectful. The city awakes every morning at 4 AM to the sound of a deep temple gong, rousing the monks to meditation. A peaceful life rhythm each day.

This is not a Buddhist Disneyland…

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The Sounds of Green Papaya: Meet Việt Nam’s Composers

11 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Vu Nhat Tan spans the old and the new (Photo by B. Perkinson).

Vũ Nhật Tân spanning the old and the new (Photo by B. Perkinson).

Extended family connects Việt Nam. The serious new music scene in Hà Nội is bursting with energy and everyone here knows it. Two compositional generations separated by war are beginning to join forces. Two elder statesmen, Nguyễn Thiên Đạo and Tốn Thất Tiết, expatriated in the 1950s to Paris, in the process establishing the most sophisticated foundation for new music of any country in Asia.

As the young postwar Hà Nội-born generation moves into its maturity, the two forces will speak together internationally. The rest of the world will be paying notice.

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The First New Moon of October: Đom Đóm Lights up the Night

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Dom Dom's opening night at Zone 9, October 5.

Đom Đóm’s opening night at Zone 9, October 5 with Jakob Riis & Friends in Hà Nội.

Now it’s official. To a packed house of creative music fans, Trần Kim Ngọc’s Đom Đóm Music, the hub for experimental music and art in Hà Nội, opened on Saturday night October 5 to great acclaim. Set for the auspicious date of the first new moon in the lunar cycle for this month, a sense of event was in the air between the numerous Vietnamese and a few eager Europeans and Americans in attendance.

Đom Đóm at Zone 9 is a breaking point for a serious Vietnamese musical avant garde movement to take hold and move onto the international scene in the next decade.

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The Dragon Awakes: New Music in Hà Nội

05 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Education, LA International New Music Festival, Uncategorized

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The Temple of Literature in Hanoi

The Temple of Literature in Hà Nội.

Việt Nam exists in a world of continuity brought together by a reverence for teachers. The second major holiday here, the Thanksgiving to our Christmas, is Teacher’s Day each November.  The country shifts its gears.  Everyone is obligated to bring a gift to their teacher as a thank you to be guided in life by their example.

That’s right. By national obligation going back for centuries, the person who teaches you in school to talk, add and subtract, write and study, remains important to you for your entire life. No wonder Việt Nam has prevailed over foreign invasion from China (for a 1,000 years), France then Japan then France again, and then us during the Việt Nam War.

The whole country is a Temple of Literature…

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The Autumn Winds of Tam Cốc

03 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Latin Grammy Awards, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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A Vietnamese boat ride into another world..

A Vietnamese boat ride into another world.

As you’ve been following my blog from Hà Nội you’ve met a lot of new people and places.  But there is another side of Vietnam. Its landscape is one of the most sensual and magical places on earth. Once encountered its inspiration never leaves you.

If you are like me, you keep coming back for more.

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A French Hangover, Pt. 2: Crossing the Long Biên Bridge

02 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Southwest Chamber Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Jan and me on the Long Bien Bridge.

Can you guess the architect of the  Long Biên Bridge in Hà Nội?

Sometimes I don’t think there really are coincidences, just facts. Vũ Nhật Tân eagerly wanted to take us across the Long Biên Bridge via The White Horse Temple in the Old Quarter to the banks of the Red River. We’ve been talking about France and the Việt Nam War a lot while we’ve been seeing each other.  So why not deliver the coup-de-grace and present the history of his country in one place?

This historic bridge shares something in common with the next photo, which you will probably recognize as the city of Paris.

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