The
Harlem Stage Gatehouse is the intimate setting for this emotionally
charged work that combines the exceptional talents of Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa with the cutting edge sounds of
jazz violinist Billy Bang. Coming from seemingly disparate backgrounds
— Komunyakaa raised in Louisiana; Billy Bang reared in the Bronx — the
two share a common past as Vietnam veterans. In this compelling
production, the artists use music, voice, media, and conversation to
capture their remembered experience of a cruel and painful war. In
Nine Bridges Back, twelve collaborating artists create a collage of
voices and instruments based on poetry by Yusef Komunyakaa that
addresses complex histories and personal experiences in the context of
the Vietnam-American war. Featuring:
Yusef Komunyakaa
(poet); Vince di Mura (composer/keyboards) with Annie Lee
Moffett(vocals) and Tony Jackson (narrator); Susie Ibarra
(composer/percussionist) with Jennifer Choi (violin), Carol To Moy
(singer) and Cathy Linh Che (translator); Tomas Doncker
(composer/guitar/vocals) and Marvin Sewell (guitar); Alan Benditt
(actor); and Noriko Kamo (piano). Dawn Akemi Saito (director).
Billy Bang and his Aftermath Band perform compositions based on Bang's
experience as a combat soldier in Vietnam. Bang's music evokes and
confronts memories through a combination of Western and Asian elements,
including the use of Vietnamese traditional instruments. The ensemble
features musicians who experienced both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Featuring:

Billy Bang, violin; Newman Taylor Baker, drums; Andrew Bemkey, piano;
Ted Daniel, trumpet; Hilliard Greene, bass; Muziki Roberson, piano;
James Spaulding, alto saxophone, flute; Henry P. Warner, clarinet, alto
clarinet. A pre-concert discussion at 6 pm with artists Bang
and Komunyakaa will be moderated by Brent Hayes Edwards, Professor of
English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=32865

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=32012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMoayE1oFsk

Billy Bang: Vietnam vet plays his own song
by Samuel W. Black
For New Pittsburgh Courier

For those who are old enough to remember the Vietnam War and for those young enough to have learned about the war from veterans or from the cultural phenomenon of the 1960s—what many people do remember about that era is the music. The music of the time reflected the voice of African-Americans; the protest songs of Edwin Starr, Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix helped form a Black consciousness about the war and its impact on African-Americans.


BILLY BANG
From these recordings we learned to laugh, cry, show outrage, think and protest— they were the soundtrack of an era. But there is another kind of music of the war that many people don't know about—the music made by Vietnam veterans. One aspect of the war that came out through the draft was that a wide swath was waved across Black America and brothers from many different backgrounds (but mostly poor) were sent to Vietnam. Among them were musicians like Kimo Williams and the jazz violinist, Billy Bang.

Bang, born in Mobile, Ala., but raised in New York City, served two years in Vietnam and completed one tour of combat in the 1st Army Division known as the "Big Red One." Bang was one of hundreds of thousands of Americans drafted during the campaign called Project 100,000 to increase the troop levels in the war by 100,000 a year.

As a combat soldier Bang was also a "tunnel rat;" smaller soldiers used to invade enemy tunnels by taking a flash light and a .45 automatic pistol into a Viet Cong tunnel underground to capture enemy forces—one of the dangerous jobs of the war. Many tunnels were booby-trapped with explosives, wooden and metal spikes, etc. On one mission, Bang discovered leaflets in a tunnel left by the Viet Cong decrying "Black GI Go Home." This propaganda was part of the mantra of radio announcer "Hanoi Hanna" (similar to "Tokyo Rose" in WWII) who exploited the Civil Rights Movement and the oppression of Blacks in America. For many African-American troops this propaganda had a great deal of truth.

For Bang, it brought home the contradiction of fighting a war in Vietnam and Civil Rights at home.

Like many combat veterans Bang's experiences in the war had left a hole in his memory—one that he tried to forget. It took years for the Veterans Administration to recognize and even define the disease of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD that many veterans suffered. Bang was one of those veterans.

His post-war years were a journey back into his activist life, but this time an activist for peace and humanity—he got involved in the anti-war movement, and musically he embraced and was inspired by the liberating energy of the free jazz movement." He resumed playing the violin taking music lessons with renowned violinist Leroy Jenkins, becoming a member of the avant-garde jazz scene of the 1970s. Bang credits his music for helping him face the pain of his Vietnam past.

By 1977 Bang was performing with the String Trio and remained with the group for nine years. He has performed with his own funk band as well as in a trio with Kahil El'Zabar and Malachi Favors. His work with Sun Ra lasted 10 years and included a tribute recording "A Tribute to Stuff Smith," the father of the jazz violin.

Bang's Vietnam experiences resurfaced and this time appeared in his music. Justin Time Records producer Jean-Pierre Leduc proposed the idea of addressing his Vietnam experiences through music. The result was the 2001 record "Vietnam: The Aftermath." The record allowed Bang to confront his wartime experiences.

Thinking about this recording, he said, "The pain came back, I saw the faces and places of the war—faces I haven't seen in years." Bang added that "the music helped me face my past war experiences—it was therapeutic."

His 2005 recording "Vietnam: Reflections" features four fellow Vietnam vets and two Vietnamese musicians, Co Boi Nguyen and Nhan Thanh Ngo. Bang mentions that the addition of Nguyen and Ngo "helps me atone for the war." After his visit last year to Vietnam to record and film the documentary, "Redemption Song—The Journey of Billy Bang" his assessment of the Vietnamese is quit different this time around. "I found the Vietnamese to be wonderful people and they don't speak of the war."

The Kente Arts Alliance presents Billy Bang on Nov. 8 at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in a special concert at 8 p.m. to commemorate the Veterans Day holiday.

Billy Bang and Paul Rucker. A Vietnam vet turned spastic, free-form violinist, Bronx native Billy Bang played in the Sun Ra Arkestra after...

By Andrew Matson



Billy Bang and Paul Rucker. A Vietnam vet turned spastic, free-form violinist, Bronx native Billy Bang played in the Sun Ra Arkestra after the war and now in his own quartet. Paul Rucker is currently one of Seattle's most famous bassists and will perform with his new ensemble. Oct. 19, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.

Aaron Parks Trio. Seattle native Aaron Parks is known around here as a piano prodigy. But the 24-year-old lives in Brooklyn now, and should immediately be known as the creator of "Invisible Cinema," his excellent debut album on Blue Note Records, a dramatic and hypnotic work of art that's tunefully accessible. He'll play from it with his trio. Oct. 23, Triple Door.

Ravi Coltrane Quartet. The son of John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane is jazz royalty. He plays his parents' material often, and has also dabbled in Indian music (yes, he's named after Mr. Shankar), but the Long Island, N.Y., saxophonist is a post-bop jazz star in his own right, a revivalist after his dad's heart. Looks just like him, too. Oct. 30, Triple Door.

Lee Oskar. You go to a Lee Oskar concert for one reason: harmonica wizardry. The Dane was part of the American funk band War, opening eyes and ears to the possibilities of the instrument. Widely considered a true virtuosic master, he's a touring circus freak of improvisational talent. Oct. 31, Highway 99 Blues Club.

Pigpen & Zony Mash. Kicking off a three-night, 20-year retrospective of Seattle-dwelling keyboard master Wayne Horvitz, the prolific musician takes a break from what he's been doing and revisits his old bands Pigpen and Zony Mash, both of which ought to have been sampled for hip-hop songs by now, with an all-star horn section. Nov. 1, The Tractor Tavern.

Andrew Matson: 206-464-2153 or amatson@seattletimes.com

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