Song of the Day: Billy Bang Quartet, Live at the Knitting Factory, 2000

The second great musician to die recently is Billy Bang. The wonderful jazz violinist became something of a sensation in the early 2000s with the release of his phenomenal Vietnam: The Aftermath, his attempt to deal with his experiences in the Vietnam War through his music.

I also met Bang once at a wedding, although I never saw him play live. He was very nice to me in our brief conversation. It's one of only 2 conversations I've had with relatively big-time jazz musicians. The other was, oddly enough, another violinist, Eyvind Kang.

Erik's Random 10

I love it when a song comes up that I really want to talk about!

Billy Bang is a violinist in the experimental jazz scene in New York City. A Vietnam vet, Bang struggled for years with alcohol and drug problems that resulted in part from dealing with his war experiences. Several years ago, he was approached to write an album based on those experiences. Although I understand he was originally hesitant, he agreed and the result was the fantastic 2002 album Vietnam: The Aftermath. One of the best albums from this decade in any genre, Bang makes absolutely beautiful music commemorating the experiences of himself and others. All the musicians on the album are also vets--in fact, in the liner notes their dog tag numbers are listed.

"Moments for the KIAMIA" is a slower tune dedicated to those who were killed or missing in action. It's just a wonderful song off a great album.

1. Billy Bang, Moments for the KIAMIA
2. Sonny Rollins, Sonnymoon For Two
3. Eugene Chadbourne and Evan Johns, I Cut the Wrong Man
4. Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian, Introduction
5. Crazy Backwards Alphabet, We Are in Control?
6. Cyro Baptista, La-Bas C'est Naturel
7. Santiago Jimenez, De Donde Has Sacado?
8. Frank Zappa, Outside Now
9. Alejandro Escovedo, Broken Bottle
10. John Zorn, Poverty