Kon Tum Songs      Kon Tum Songs 


Photo © Elizabeth Riley

Since 2002, Mezcal Jazz Unit has developed a special relationship with Vietnam that has resulted in many tours and artistic creations with Vietnamese artists.
At the initiative of " Poussières de Vie," a non-profit that supports vocational training, humanitarian aid and cultural projects in Vietnam, Mezcal Jazz Unit has been working since 2014 with a group of 13 traditional Bahnar gong players from the Vietnamese Highlands.
UNESCO has designated the gongs as “World Heritage” and like all traditional customs, this ancestral practice is threatened due to globalization and cultural standardization.
The encounter with the jazz universe offers a possibility of evolution and adaptation of this tradition, as well as a renewed interest on the part of the public authorities.

The project, started with an meeting and concert in 2014 in Saigon, continued in 2018 in the Central Highlands in Kon Tum for a series of concerts.
In December 2019, there was a recording of the CD, "Kon Tum Songs" followed by a tour setting off from Kon Tum towards Hue, via Hội An and Da Nang.

contact: elyzabeth.riley@gmail.com


      

Supported by SPEDIDAM, Bureau Export, SACEM and NGO "Poussières de Vie".