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.