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Nations absorbed in the oneness of sound
Chris Searle reviews Ha Noi Duo by Nguyen Le and Ngo Hong Quang (Act 9828-2)

“AT any moment, this music will raise numerous questions. Is it Vietnamese? Or jazz? Or traditional music, blues, African, Indian … is it written — or is it improvised?”

These questions are asked by the guitarist Nguyen Le within the sleeve notes of his extraordinary album with the “traditional” musician also from Vietnam, Ngo Hong Quang.

Le was born in Paris in 1959 of Vietnamese parents and has spent a jazz life within two often powerfully contesting traditions.

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