“HUU BAC BLEW US AWAY WITH HIS DYNAMISM, TALENT, HUMOUR AND CREATIVITY” - Marie-Josée Boucher, Info-Culture

East meets West in an intriguing musical dialogue weaving contemporary jazz performance with the sounds and musical traditions of Peru, China and Vietnam. Those in search of the unexpected need look no further than this Asian-influenced jazz ensemble featuring compositions inspired by leader Huu Bac Quach’s travels in Asia, Europe and South America. The combination is a masterful and incandescent blend of cultures.

The group is the brainchild of Canadian artist Huu Bac, whose musical journey began with jazz guitar at Montreal’s McGill University, followed by intensive studies of the Vietnamese monochord (dan bau), and the Chinese fiddle (erhu). Later encounters with Afro-Peruvian music and melodies from the Andes led Huu to add the Andean bamboo flute (quena) to his skillset. His award-winning quintet has toured Canada, the USA, China and Korea, and Huu has twice recorded with Cirque du Soleil in collaboration with renowned artistic director Robert LePage.

This is jazz with an eclectic twist, as contrasting musical traditions intertwine in a seamless listening experience. Each instrument catches the inflections of the others, echoing them back in a punchy and frequently light-hearted interplay of sound. If only all cross-cultural conversations were as smooth as this one!