CV3

OK, Malaysians, I'm not doing a wrong spelling here, this is not about TV3 (it's outdated anyways... who still watch it? Please raise your hands...)

This is about CV --- Cuong Vu, 3 ---- Trio.

Yes, Cuong Vu Trio.

I found out about Cuong Vu Trio's performance 2 days before. I was planning to go to Michelle's show with the Big O Orchestra in Symphony Space, but Michelle told me to go to see CV instead because I should say hi to him and thank him for the kind and beautiful messages on MySpace that he gave us.

I was almost late to the show, and I saw Nick Ong standing near the door when I got in. Cuong was talking about his compositional process before his premiere of his two new pieces for FONT Music (Festival of New Trumpet Music). So before he really started to play, we rushed to the first table and sat down.

The music was fantastic, typical Cuong sound. A trumpet (CV), a six-string electric bass (Stomu Takeishi), and a drumset (Ted Poor).

He played two new compositions, and two old ones. They sounded fantastic, each has their own characteristics, but in the same time, the style is very unified, like I said, typical Cuong sound.

Cuong is a very still player, he doesn't move around, he stood there, lowered his head, staring at the music or his partners, but notes that came out of his horn, man, were somethin' else! Stomu was like a crazy caveman dancing around without shoes, a bright contrast from Cuong. Ted Poor was following tightly to Stomu, I thought they formed a super-tight rhythm section, they did EVERYTHING together, as if they reside in each other's heads.

Cuong likes to mix harmony and beautiful melodies (in its own rights) with noise. Now I don't mean white noise but noise that makes so much sense. The delay effects from Cuong and Stomu were almost over-whelming in the last piece but I LOVED IT! And I also really enjoyed it when the rhythm section was doing some quick pointilistic passages while Cuong's mellow and echoed trumpet sound was flowing over them like moving clouds or dancing Northern lights.

Almost at the end of the show, before the last piece, Cuong specially thanked some organizations and people, while I heard him saying, "Thanks to Dave Douglas for choosing me to play here..." And I saw people's eyesight focused on MY table, apparently not at me, so I looked back behind me (I was backing the table so that I could see the stage) and I found myself sitting right opposite to Dave Douglas on the same table. HOLY SHIT!

And when the lights were on, I looked around the crowd, and guess whom I saw?

HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!

PAT METHENY!!!!!!!

Cuong went up to talk to him (Cuong is his trumpeter in Pat Metheny Group). I went up to say hi to Cuong. The conversation went like this:

Me: Hi Cuong, I'm Chern Hwei from the Evil Twin.
CV: Hey! I LOVE your stuff!! I really like it!!
Me: Oh, thank you very much!
CV: I wish to see one of your gigs!
Me: Well, IF I get gigs. :)
CV: :D
Pat Metheny: :)

Cuong Vu, saying this in front of Pat Metheny!! It made my day!!