Nguyen Le

Nguyên Lê
Background information
Born	14 January 1959 (1959-01-14) (age 52) Paris, France
Genres	Jazz, jazz fusion
Occupations	Musician Composer Bandleader Arranger
Instruments	Guitar, Bass, guitar synthesizer
Website	Nguyên Lê official site

Nguyên Lê (b. 14 January 1959 in Paris, France) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays electric bass guitar and guitar synthesizer.

He has released numerous albums, both as a leader and as a sideman. His 1996 album Tales from Viêt-Nam blends jazz and traditional Vietnamese music. Nguyên Lê has performed with Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Eric Vloeimans, Carla Bley, Michel Portal, Paolo Fresu and Dhafer Youssef.

In spring 2011 he released Songs of Freedom, an album with cover versions of pop hits from the 1970s.

Present Projects/Bands

• Nguyên Lê Trio
  • Nguyên Lê: guitars, arrangements;
  • Michel Alibo: electric bass;
  • Karim Ziad: drums, percussion;

• Nguyên Lê "The Jimi Hendrix Project"
  • Nguyên Lê: guitars, arrangements;
  • Cathy Renoir: vocals;
  • Michel Alibo or Linley Marthe: electric bass;
  • Karim Ziad or Francis Lassus: drums, percussion;

• Nguyên Lê "Purple"
  • Nguyên Lê: guitars;
  • Michel Alibo: electric bass;
  • Terri Lyne Carrington: drums, vocals;
  • Aïda Khann: vocals;
  • Corin Curschellas: vocals;
  • Me'shell Ndegeocello: electric bass;
  • Karim Ziad: percussion;
  • Bojan Zulfikarpasic: piano;

• Huong Thanh & Nguyên Lê - "Dragonfly"
  • Huong Thanh: vocals;
  • Nguyên Lê: guitars, arrangements;
  • Hao Nhien: traditional instrument zither;
  • Dan Bau: flute, percussion;
  • François Verly: percussion, synthesizer;
  • Michel Alibo: electric bass;
  • Joël Allouche: drums/percussion;

• Nguyên Lê Quartett:
  • Nguyen Le: guitars
  • Paul McCandless: saxophone, clarinet;
  • Art Lande: piano;
  • Jamey Haddad: percussion;

• ELB (Erskine - Lê - Benita)
  • Peter Erskine: drums;
  • Nguyên Lê: guitars, guitar synthesizer;
  • Michel Benita: acoustic bass;

Discography

• 2011 CD Songs of Freedom
• 2009 CD Saiyuki
• 2008 CD Dream Flight ELB (Erskine - Lê - Benita) with Stéphane Guillaume – tenor & soprano saxophones
• 2007 CD Fragile Beauty Huong Thanh & Nguyên Le
• 2006 CD Homescape Duos with Paolo Fresu & Dhafer Youssef
• 2005 CD Walking on the Tiger's Tail (Nguyên Lê Quartett)
• 2002 CD Purple – Celebrating Jimi Hendrix
• 2001 CD E_L_B ELB (Erskine - Lê - Benita)
• 2000 CD Bakida (with bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and drummer Tino di Geraldo et al.)
• 1999 CD Moon and Wind im Duo mit Huong Thanh
• 1998 CD Maghreb & Friends
• 1997 CD 3 Trios
• 1996 CD Tales from Vietnam (with Huong Thanh, Hao Nhien, Paolo Fresu, Trilok Gurtu, Simon Spang-Hanssen, Michel Benita etc.)
• 1995 CD Million Waves (Nguyên Lê -Trio) (with Bassist Dieter Ilg and drummer Danny Gottlieb)
• 1992 CD Zanzibar (with Paul McCandless, Joël Allouche et al.).
• 1992 CD Safy Boutella: Mejnoun
• 1990 first solo CD Miracles (with Marc Johnson and Peter Erskine)

External links

• Nguyen Le (official site)
• "French-Vietnamese Guitarist Breaks Barriers : For Nguyen Le, More the Merrier", New York Times, January 17, 2001.
• Nguyen Lé Interview, allaboutjazz.com.
• Nguyen Le, MySpace

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