decks, drums & rock n' roll Aaron Wilson’s fast fingers can play the sax, clarinet and piano. He slows down for a moment to speak to Lyra Dacio about Cuba and jazz WHAT IS YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND? I began playing clarinet as a kid which led me to an appreciation for classical music. I owe school programmes and church ensembles for my early education. I studied classical clarinet and conducting at university but I quit this and began playing sax in local R&B bands in Florida. During this time I was introduced to jazz and fell in love with the music so I went back to school and studied saxophone with the well-known American saxophonist Bunky Green and received a degree in jazz studies from the University of North Florida. HOW DID YOU FIND YOURSELF IN VIETNAM AND AS DIRECTOR OF THE PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY? Before coming to Vietnam I was travelling for many years while directing bands for the cruise ship industry. Ho Chi Minh City was one of the many places I visited and really liked, plus I noticed enough of a music scene going on to make it interesting. I also have a brother who lives here, so that combined with a desire to settle down somewhere led me here. I looked into teaching to supplement gigging and found there were not many jjobs teaching g music so I collaborated ed with a partner to open a location cation that I could teach and d also bring other professional musicians together to offer their expertise as well. We opened PAA three years ars ago as a private lessons studio dio and have been expanding ever since. HOW DID WARAPO FIGURE GURE IN YOUR PLANS? Warapo was created in Cuba in 1998. I’m not a founding ng member and I’m not Cuban. The he band had to downsize its numbers bers when it
made its move to Vietnam. They have been putting the full band back together and started by adding sax to the group. When they needed a sax they decided to hold auditions locally and that’s how I came to perform with the group. I play alto sax, clarinet flute and also some piano. WHERE CAN WE SEE YOU AND WARAPO PERFORM? The most exciting places to see Warapo perform is at the Hard Rock on the first Saturday of every month. A different Latino country is featured each month with traditional music, dance choreography and costumes from the featured country. Also the last Saturday of each month Warapo combines with the current Cuban band of Saigon Saigon Bar for a double Cuban band carnival party. This is definitely a rare spectacle and worth seeing. I also perform individually and have performed with almost all of Saigon’s artists but I try to stay with my passion for jazz performing with Vietnam’s top jazz players like Tim Tiger, Matt Willis and Greg Wilson whenever I can. Currently, I am still performing with my longest running group in town, Bad Neighbour, which can be enjoyed every Friday at Vasco’s.
outdoor bar with salsa band Warapo providing a musical melting pot of South American rhythms every Tuesday as part of the hotel’s Havana Ladies Night, while the six-piece Luna Negra like to mix it up with salsa, bachata and merengue on Wednesdays through to Mondays. Both bands start at 9pm.
SAX N’ ART JAZZ CLUB
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28 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: 3822 8472 www.saxnart.com 5pm to 12am Unique renditions of classic jazz compositions by the likes of Miles Davies, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker can be heard from 9pm until midnight daily at this non-smoking establishment. Saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan and the Sax N’ Art house band regularly performs a unique blend of contemporary jazz and blues mixed with central highlands Vietnamese influences in this cosy, brick-walled bohemian boîte.
SEVENTEEN SALOON
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103A Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, Tel: 3914 0007 www.seventeensaloon.co.vn 7pm until late A favourite among both Vietnamese and foreigners alike, this Wild West-themed bar doubles up as a great live music venue with no less than three highly talented Filipino cover bands rocking out nightly. B & U, Wild West and Most Wanted impressively belt out like-for-like hits by rock staples such as Bon Jovi, U2 and Guns n’ Roses’ while pumping Vietnamese techno blasts out of the speakers in between sets.
SHERIDAN’S IRISH HOUSE 17/13 Le Thanh Ton, Q1 Tel: 3823 0793 www.sheridansbarvn.com 9am to 12am Those in search for a sound of the
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CINEMAS Showcasing the latest Hollywood blockbusters and 3D cinematic sensations, chains such as Megastar Media, Lotte and Galaxy Cinema offer the most up-to-date and modern cinema-going experiences in Saigon. For those partial to more esoteric and independent flicks, smaller outlets such as Cinebox 1 and Idecaf carry little known Vietnamese and European efforts.
CINEBOX 1
212 Ly Chinh Thang, Q3, Tel: 3935 0610 240 Duong 3/2, Q10, Tel: 3862 2425 www.cinebox.vn
LOTTE CINEMA IN DIAMOND PLAZA
13th floor, Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, Q1 Tel: 3822 7897 www.lottecinemavn.com
LOTTE MART CINEMA
Level 3, Lotte Mart, 469 Nguyen Huu Tho, Q7 Tel: 3775 2521 www.lottecinemavn.com
familiar will find solace at one of Saigon’s longest running bars. A different cover band gets up every night of the week (except Mondays) at this pub-like Celtic establishment. Celtic Band knock out jovial Irish ditties on Tuesdays; the classic rock power of Risky Red and Mr. Bo can be heard on Wednesdays and Fridays; Wonderluster play pop hits on Thursdays, and rollicking Japanese blues group, 12 Bar Blues take over on the weekends.
THE FACTORY 102 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1 Tel: 3823 8102 8pm until late Designed as a European industrial processing plant (huge fans, bright yellow pipes, road signs and metal drums), The Factory is the second offering from the team behind Acoustic. In the footsteps of its predecessor, The Factory churns out live music, albeit in a much clubbier environment with some of the city’s top hip-hop DJs also performing every night from 9pm to 2am.
VASCO’S
YOKO 22A Nguyen Thi Dieu, Q3 Tel: 3933 0577 8am until late As the name suggests, John Lennon’s infamous wife inspired the title of this excellent watering hole. Refurbished and expanded at the start of 2011, the ever-popular Yoko plays host to some of Saigon’s best local bands, including funk-rockers 6789 every Wednesday, metallers Microwave every Saturday and the irrepressible chanteuse Ngoc Thy twice weekly. Proceedings tend to kick off around 9pm with a revolving door of local musicians performing nightly amongst the comfy surrounds and walls adorned with Vietnamese art and photos of John Lennon and Kurt Cobain.
ICONS 101 AIRCONDITIONING
GALAXY CINEMA
116 Nguyen Du, Q1 Tel: 3822 8533; 230 Nguyen Trai, Q1 Tel: 3920 6688; 246 Hong Dao, Tan Binh Tel: 3849 4567 www.galaxycine.vn
WI-FI NON-SMOKING AREA
IDECAF
31 Thai Van Lung, Q1 Tel: 3829 5451 www.idecaf.gov.vn
MEGASTAR CINEMA
7th Floor, Hung Vuong Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, Q5 Tel: 6222 0388 www.megastarmedia.net
PARAGON CINEMA
Level 5, Saigon Paragon Building, 3 Nguyen Luong Bang, Q7 Tel: 5416 0088 www.megastarmedia.net
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74/7D Hai Ba Trung, Q1 Tel: 3824 2888 4pm to 12am (weekdays). Open late on weekends. With two rooms set up to cater to bands and DJs (Yellow Room & Blue Room), Vasco’s is one of Saigon’s most prominent live music venues. Catering mainly to the musical tastes of muso expats, the likes of DJ Premier, Free The Robots, Handsome Furs and Daedelus have headlined this former opium den. Local DJs such as Jordan Howard and DJ Jase regularly put on nights with hip-hop, dubstep, drum n’ bass, reggae and dance firmly on rotation. Local expat latin-punk band Bad Neighbour also plays on most Friday nights.
DELIVERY
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HAPPY HOUR LIVE MUSIC DJ
PERFORMING ARTS HO CHI MINH CITY BALLET SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND OPERA The City Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, Q1 Tel: 3823 7419, www.hbso.org.vn Ho Chi Minh City’s opera and ballet perform programmes of classical dance and music throughout the year. Shows feature both national and international stars, and take place in one of the most elegant buildings in the city. There are two annual seasons: Spring through summer (January to June) and autumn through winter (July to December), featuring performances every 9th and 19th monthly. Tickets start at just VND60,000 for the sky seats, with circle seats priced at VND150,000.
HO CHI MINH CITY CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC 112 Nguyen Du, Q1, Tel: 3824 3774 This colonial–era theatre is the perfect place for classic piano recitals and orchestral performances, and is closely connected to other performance groups in the city. Also provides music education in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for the southern region of Vietnam. There are two concert rooms (500 seats and 100 seats) with two performances weekly. To obtain a programme of events, visit the Opera House.
INTERNATIONAL CHOIR & ORCHESTRA OF HO CHI MINH CITY Tel: 0903 930907, amauryleblan@hcm.vnn.vn www.hcmcchoir.com This well–established 40–strong choir and 21-piece orchestra holds both private and public performances, with rehearsals held every Monday from 7.30pm to 9pm at the British International School at 43 Tu Xuong St, Q3. The Choir’s repertoire includes
classic works by Bach, Beethoven, Handel, and Verdi as well as songs from musicals, traditional songs from Britain, Christmas carols in many languages, gospel songs, and national and European Anthems.
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SAIGON PLAYERS www.saigonplayers.com saigonplayers@gmail.com A non-profit community theatre group whose mission is to uphold the arts while giving to charity. Composed of local and foreign thespians, Saigon Players hosts monthly drama activities that include club nights at 7.30pm every first Wednesday of the month at La Habana and script nights at 7.30pm every third Wednesday of the month at venues alternating between Boomarang Bistro Saigon in Q7 and Geisha's Tea House in Q1.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES CREA TV 339 Binh Quoi, Binh Thanh, Tel: 3823 7434 www.crea-tv.com Established in 1995, Crea TV produces television programmes and commercials, corporate films, documentaries, and feature films. Facilities are located at Thanh Da Island and include two studios (400m2 and 150m2) as well as in-house post-production. Services include location scouting, casting, authorisations and permits, art department, production and direction.
FACT & FICTION FILMS 91/12 Hoa Hung, Q10, Tel: 0908 477079 www.factandfiction.tv Fact & Fiction Films is a diverse, creative, bespoke production company built on broad film and media experience. Their team has developed and delivered content worldwide and specialises in TVCs, documentary, web and TV content with vast experience in all stages of production from development through to post production and delivery.
FROM COSMETICS TO AESTHETICS HELENE KLING’S PAINTING CAREER didn’t start off in the traditional sense. She had earned her Bachelor’s Degree in chemicals at the University of Paris School of Arts and Cosmetics. From there she landed a job in a cosmetic company in 1996 that was based in Ho Chi Minh City. Three years later, she willfully exchanged her cosmetic brushes for paintbrushes and hasn’t left the city since (except for holidays, of course). Although she took many painting and drawing lessons, she considers herself self-taught. And artistic masters continue to feed her passion therefore she makes sure to visit exhibitions at the Louvre every time she goes back to Paris. She draws much of her inspiration from Vietnam’s landscape and people, especially women. Her approach usually begins with taking photographs of her subject and from there she paints her impressions of what she has captured. She may use different mediums like acrylic and collages but finds that oil on canvas suits her best. Aside from brushes, she also uses sponges, knives or whatever is needed to perfectly convey her mood and the images in her mind. For Helene, colours are important and that’s why you will never find her paintings monochromatic. She believes colours highlight life and happiness. Pursuing the Passion
She has had 10 exhibitions in Vietnam and one in France. Through these exhibitions, not only does she display her own work, she also showcases the works of her students — adults and children alike — studying at her art school. Aside from teaching, she also shares her talent with Operation Smile where she has been donating two of her works every year since 2003 for auctions — one in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi. Operation Smile is a not-for profit-organisation that repairs cleft lips and palates in children. Although she finds the art scene in Vietnam small and there are still restrictions in place, this hasn’t hampered her in continuing to pursue her passion. In fact in 2007 she published her book Dragon Tears, and last year followed it up with Art Beat for Vietnam. Dragon Tears is a compilation of 10 years’ of art work in Vietnam while the latter focuses on her life here and her passion for teaching. In 2006 her works were recognised by AKOUN, a database established in 1980 that lists highly-acclaimed works of art. AKOUN evaluates and appraises paintings, sculptures and photographs, among others. — Lyra Dacio Check out Helene Kling’s works at www.helenekling.com or visit Studio and Gallery HK at 189/C1 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2
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