Versatile French-Vietnamese guitarist Nguyen Le will return to Vietnam and perform in Hanoi on July 12 and 13.

The jazz musician and composer will present songs from the album “World Music” by Ultramarine, the group that he founded in 1980s, apart from jazz compositions.

The Paris-based artist will be joined by local musicians including violinist Khac Quan and saxophonist Hong Kien.

Le, who has released numerous albums, both as a leader and as showman, can play different kinds of instruments including the electric bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, Vietnam’s monochord (dan bau) and 16-chord zither (dan tranh), and is adept at diverse genres including rock, funk, Indian and African music.

The New York Times as described Le has “one of the most creative of many jazz players exploring the marriage of ‘America’s classical music’ with traditional music from everywhere else. Le focuses on his roots in Vietnam.”

His 1996 album “Tales from Vietnam” blends jazz and traditional Vietnamese music, it was built around Vietnamese singer Huong Thanh’s voice and Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu.

Le has performed with Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Eric Vloeimans, Carla Bley, Michel Portal, Paolo Fresu and Dhafer Youssef.

The concerts will take place at The Rooftop, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.