Vietnamese-German jazz muse Jazzy Da Lam is a leading composer on the local music scene

Exposed to different genres of music at an early age, Jazzy Da Lam hits the keys with inspired abandon.

Smitten by the haunting foreign melodies on the radio, the little girl found music without lyrics more appealing.

Three decades later, Vietnamese-German singer/composer/pianist Jazzy Da Lam’s definition-defying jazz compositions have effortlessly stormed a male bastion.

Her esoteric yet sparkling tunes are an amalgam of new sounds rooted in the different musical traditions that she is more than conversant with, and they have been a breath of fresh air in the local music market.

She may not possess a strong voice, but the emotions that she injects into each of her songs are strong, and come straight from the heart.

“Performing my own songs gives me such an advantage. I just express the emotions I feel. I’m not trying to become a professional singer, so I don’t feel much pressure. My main job is to compose songs, but it’s no easy task.”

Jazz is Lam’s fait accompli.

“Jazz is haunting and allows you to be musically free and creative.

“Jazz came to me naturally when I began living abroad, absorbing the foreign culture and experiencing changes in my thinking. The genre best reflects my personality, reconciles all musical elements and has no limit to expression and feeling,” Lam says.

Her great fervor for the highly improvisational genre is evidenced by her stage name, which comes from her nickname Jazzy De Nuit (Jazzy of the Night) as “night arouses deep emotions in us.”

Lam chose to release her debut album Trang va Em (Moon and You) in Vietnam before releasing it in Germany in 2005. The CD won rave reviews both at home and abroad.

“I’m Vietnamese at heart, so wherever I live, my works reflect my country’s traits. I released the album in my home country first, of which I’m always a part of. Besides I have a small but dedicated following here.”

The CD features 10 night and moon-themed songs composed and mixed by Lam herself in different genres including jazz, Latin jazz, classical, funk, blues and traditional Vietnamese music.

Haunting songs like Khuc dem (The night melody), Vat trang (The flap of moon), Dao khuc (Prelude), Hay ve day (Please return here) and Mau dem (The color of the night) struck a strong chord within local and foreign listeners.

Vong dem (The hammock at night) is inspired by and is a remix of a traditional southern classic titled Da co hoai lang (Missing husband on hearing the drumbeat at midnight), composed in 1918 by Cao Van Lau.

Her latest song Co nhung dieu ky (There are miracles), tells the moving story of three-year-old Thien Nhan who was deserted at birth and was adopted by a Vietnamese family. It was chosen as the Best Concert Song at VTV’s 2008 Bai hat Viet (Vietnamese songs) awards.

Lam was born to a musical family and given the name Nguyen Thao Huong. Her father is musician Nguyen Hai who played with the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra and her mother is respected composer Truong Tuyet Mai, known for her lyrical folk songs.

Lam’s distinctive style that blends traditional elements with contemporary and classical music have been long in the making.

She passed the entrance exam into the piano department at the Ho Chi Minh City Music Conservatory when she was just seven.

At 17, she earned a scholarship to study classical piano at the Gnesin Music Conservatory in the former Soviet Union.

In 1992, she moved to Germany and worked menial jobs to survive over the next seven years.

She had to shelve her musical dreams during those years, but music never ceased to be her obsession.

In 1998, she became part of the jazz piano faculty at the Richard Strauss Music Conservatory in Munich.

She has performed in several countries, and now writes and sings her own works besides teaching.

In the near future, the 37-year-old plans to make an album of her favorite classic jazz tunes and another that features her new compositions.

Reported by Le Thi Thai Hoa