Mar 12 2008
Sax ‘n Art Jazz Club in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)
Visited Tran Manh Tuan’s ‘Sax ‘n Art’ Jazz club again tonight. It’s a very solid Jazz club that seems to do everything right.
There was a continual cavalcade of guests coming and going from the stage, including, at one point, the former German Consul General who played guitar for a piece. The music was all good, although I preferred when they jammed or played originals, rather than playing ‘the standards’. (Sick to death of ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘Take Five’). As far as I am capable of telling, Tuan seems like a virtuoso saxophonist, and the backbone of his band (bass, drums, piano) sounds very solid. [Note to piano guy: play more during your solos!]
Tuan looks very much like a one-eyed Chinese triad gangster I am friend-of-a-friend with. I couldn’t shake that vision when he was playing on stage. But it’s actually ok, as both the saxophonist and the gangster are quite gracious and humble. Tuan runs a very efficient bar. It’s not overcrowded, the temperature is cool enough, and the sound system is well managed — loud enough to be nice, but not punishing. Probably my only complaint would be that the beer needs to be chilled a further 10C before it’s served. I found it regularly too warm.