WORLD FUSION: Two albums by well-known saxophonist Trần Mạnh Tuấn of HCM City have been released on online platforms. — Photo courtesy of the producer.

HCM CITY — Two albums by well-known saxophonist Trần Mạnh Tuấn of HCM City have been released on online platforms.

The albums, Thằng Cuội (Legendary Shepherd on the Moon) and Ru Rừng (Jungle Lullaby), feature Vietnamese folk songs and music pieces remixed and composed by Tuấn.

His highlighted works are Mưa Rơi (Falling Rain), Bướm Mơ (Butterfly Dream), Trăng Non (New Moon), Sen (Lotus) and Ngày Mùa (Harvest), which tell stories of life, love and women.

His two works, Thằng Cuội and Ru Rừng, are the albums' theme songs.

“My music is the combination of modern and traditional instruments – what I called ‘World Fusion’. The art combines jazz and ethnic sounds together,” Tuấn wrote on his facebook.

Born in Hà Nội, Tuấn, now 52, began playing the saxophone in 1979.

He received a scholarship to study jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the US and became the first Vietnamese to study there.

He formed the 20-member jazz band called Saigon Big Band which made its debut in 2013.

He also owns a jazz club, Jazz Sax n’ Art, in HCM City.

He has released 11 solo albums and worked with well-known Vietnamese and international singers and musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Derek Nash.

He has performed and toured in 60 countries and territories, such as Europe, Russia, China, Thailand, Singapore and the US.

AROUND THE WORLD: Saxophonist Trần Mạnh Tuấn performed and toured in 60 countries and territories. In 2021, Tuấn gave a special performance playing his saxophone for thousands of COVID-19 patients and frontline workers in HCM City's field hospitals. — Photo courtesy of the producer

In 2021, Tuấn gave a special performance in HCM City playing his saxophone for thousands of COVID-19 patients and frontline workers at field hospitals No 3 and No 6.

He played Quê Hương (Homeland), Về Quê (Back to Native Village), Diễm Xưa (Diễm of Long Ago) and Còn Tuổi Nào Cho Em (What Time and Age for You) by famous Vietnamese composers, songs that he has been playing for more than 20 years.

“I hoped that with my music I could somehow relieve the sadness and anxiety of the doctors, medical staff, frontline workers, and especially the patients under treatment there,” Tuấn said in an interview with local media after his performance.

His albums, Thằng Cuội and Ru Rừng, are available in Sportify and Apple Music. — VNS