2003 Programs and Events

Jazz Ambassadors "Jazzisimo" A Big Hit in Laos (Sept. 4, 2003)

The four-member jazz group Jazzisimo

The four-member jazz group Jazzisimo, travelling to a dozen Asias countries on a U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassador's program, wowed audiences in Vientiane with the excitement of their playing at two concerts and participated in two music interchanges with Lao musicians. Jazzisimo was able to include elements of traditional Lao music into some of their songs and to have a Lao musician join them for part of both performances, sparking clapping (and dancing!) by the audience in what were truly magical moments.

Jazzisimo’s schedule in Vientiane included two performances--one in public on September 4 attended by almost 300 people, and one at the Ambassador's residence on September 6 for an invited audience of over 100 people. Jazzisimo also participated in two musical interchanges with Lao musicians. The first, with about 150 faculty and students of traditional Lao music and dance at the Lao National School of Music and Dance, and the second with Lao rock musicians (the closest Lao musicians come to playing jazz).

Jazzisimo’s visit was a rare opportunity for Laotians to hear jazz, a distinctly American form of music, performed live. Jazz is still a new and foreign type of music for most Laotians, and audiences at the concerts appreciated saxophonist Virginia Mayhew's explanations about the origins of jazz and the influence of Latin rhythms on contemporary American jazz. Lao musicians were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to work with Jazzisimo at the two musical interchanges, and all four members of Jazzisimo provided in-depth knowledge of jazz rhythms, harmonies and styles to the Lao musicians with whom they worked at those events.

At the National School of Music and Dance, traditional Lao musicians and dancers performed for Jazzisimo, who then performed for the Lao. The two sets of musicians then joined together for jam sessions in both jazz and traditional Lao music. Jazzisimo was so impressed with one traditional Lao musician, who played the kaen (wind instrument) and the kongvong (somewhat like a xylophone) that they invited him to join them in both of their concerts. He did, and his performances with the group were the highlight of both concerts, with the Lao in the audience cheering as the Lao musician walked on stage and clapping (and dancing!) during the performances in what were truly magical moments.

The Embassy received numerous requests to bring Jazzisimo back to Laos: from Lao National radio, which wants to broadcast a live concert; from a Lao filmmaker who wants to make a documentary about the group and its performances with the Lao musician; from a Lao-American recording studio owner, who wants to make a professional recording of the group with Lao musicians; and from the Lao audiences, who rarely have the opportunity to hear American jazz performed live. It would be hard to imagine a group that could have sparked better interaction with Lao musicians and non-musicians than Jazzisimo did.