Musicianship transcends fear and suffering
Like the titles of works by Charles Mingus, this tune, "Ben Hua Blues," by violinist Billy Bang, gives you something to think about while you listen to the music. Ten years ago, Bang recorded Vietnam: The Aftermath with a group of musicians who were mostly or entirely veterans of that war. Quite a lineup in any case:
Billy Bang, violin
Ted Daniel, trumpet
Frank Lowe, tenor
Sonny Fortune, flute
John Hicks, piano
Michael Carvin, drums
The music has an authoritative presence that defies the fear and suffering that Bang and his comrades must have faced. Other tunes on this album assert much more visceral states of being that perhaps channel the horror of war, but the musicianship transcends that experience. Billy Bang had a long and rich career playing "out" music. He died on April 11 of lung cancer. It’s old news by now, but Peter Hum’s piece in the Ottawa Citizen tells Bang's enduring story of perseverance, which turns on his decision to buy a violin instead of a gun.
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