ABSTRACT
To prove that there is indeed jazz in Hà Nội and sufficient to warrant a book-length treatment, we begin with a discographical review in this chapter of Vietnamese jazz recordings that have been officially released for circulation in socialist Vietnam. The existence of recordings is a sign that this musical art form is being seriously practiced by a group of dedicated musicians. These officially circulated Vietnamese jazz recordings have been released in a context where jazz was previously nonexistent, music production and dissemination tightly controlled by the state, and the recorded media market for jazz negligible. Containing mainly original compositions, this nascent discography reflects an ongoing conversation in the middle ground between jazz and traditional Vietnamese folk and ethnic music. These recordings represent an ambitious desire among Vietnamese jazz musicians to develop their individual language to play jazz as a musical art form within socialist Vietnam and in the wider world of jazz. Although the discography is still very modest, our analysis shows that jazz in Hà Nội has evolved from nothing to a repertoire of original, distinct sounds that is constantly being reshaped.
