Jazz duo to hold concerts in Viet Nam

November 14, 2014 | 09:19

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Ivorian balafonist Aly Keita and Belgian saxophonist Pierre Vaiana will present a jazz concert in Ha Noi on November 22.

Ivorian balafonist Aly Keita will perform in a jazz concert in Ha Noi on November 22.
- VNS Photo

Ever since they met in Niger in 1987, the two renowned soloists have offered a musical dialogue that goes beyond styles and cultures.

Keita has earned worldwide renown for his ability to bring the millennium-old balafon instrument into a modern musical context. His instrumental brilliance brought him several opportunities to collaborate with jazz and world music legends such as Trilok Gurtu and Joe Zawinul. His 2008 record, entitled Akwaba Inisene, was in the Top 20 of World Music Charts Europe.

Vaiana started playing the saxophone at the age of 15, before studying music at the Liège Conservatory, followed by graduation at the Long Island University of New York.

In 1992, he teamed up with Salvatore Bonafede at the piano, Michael Formanek on contrabass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums to record an album, which then was selected as the record of the month by Jazz in Time.

In the same year, he founded the trio L'ame Des Poetes, who produced three albums, featuring French chanson classics in jazz style. The album, entitled l'Ame des Poetes Joue Brel, was awarded four stars in the magazine Jazzman in January 1997.

Vietnamese t'rung virtuoso Hoa Dang will perform with the duo at the concert that will start at 8pm at the Youth Theatre, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street.

The duo will also perform in HCM City on November 24, at the city's Music Conservatory, 112 Nguyen Du Street, District 1.

The performances are part of the annual European Music Festival. Free tickets for the concerts can be collected from the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, and L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, from November 19.

VNS

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