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NYC Recording Artist Valerie Ghent Releases Ethereal New Single with Dan Tranh Master Tri Nguyen NYC recording artist Valerie Ghent and renowned dan tranh master Tri Nguyen release their first single, I'm Calling. A hauntingly beautiful piece of music, I'm Calling was written by Valerie’s father Emmanuel Ghent in 1967. The duo's evocative arrangement for voice and Vietnamese dan tranh create an almost otherworldly experience. The deep expressiveness of the dan tranh complements the ethereal melody, transporting the listener to another time. “I’m Calling is an unusual, but deeply expressive song. It is for a single unaccompanied voice ("a capella", which, taken literally, means "in the chapel"). Rhythmically is it rather freely woven, giving much scope to the singer to bring out the painfully evocative longing that the lyrics express.” - Emmanuel Ghent “I first recorded I’m Calling over twenty years ago for my father’s Songs for Children album, ” Valerie says. “When Tri and I recorded in Antibes (France) last year, we felt drawn to create a new arrangement. Our inspiration came from the lyric, which expresses the universal human need to connect with someone far away. The ache to connect is palpable. This spring brought new meaning to I’m Calling as Tri and I have been isolated in our apartments, me in New York and Tri in Paris. Given the pandemic, and that we had just performed together in Paris in February, it’s particularly poignant that now we can only meet online, and are ‘calling’ to one another across the Atlantic.” The poignancy of the melody is echoed by the dan tranh itself, as it rapidly becomes a lost instrument in today’s world. Very few artists play the dan tranh in the authentic traditional Vietnamese style, Tri Nguyen is one of the last dan tranh masters of this tradition. New Single: I’m Calling Artists: Valerie Ghent (voice) & Tri Nguyen (dan tranh) Arranged by: Valerie Ghent & Tri Nguyen Written by: Emmanuel Ghent Release Date: August 21, 2020 Label: West Street Records UPC: 616548192529 Recorded by: Frederic Betin (France) Mix: Valerie Ghent (NYC) Mastering: Greg Calbi (NYC) Cover Photo: Dennis DeNice Artist Biographies: Powerhouse recording artist Valerie Ghent is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, musician and producer from New York City. An outstanding live performer, Valerie weaves together blues, soul and jazz into a breathtaking tapestry of “soul-stirring, uplifting songs full of vitality and joy.” Longtime keyboardist/ vocalist/engineer with music royalty Ashford & Simpson, Valerie toured with Debbie Harry (Blondie) and performed/recorded with legendary artists including Dr. Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Billy Preston. As solo artist Valerie has released five albums, including Day to Day Dream, which launched her #1 hit song, Love Enough for a Lifetime. Her album Velours was named Soul Tracks Top 50 Albums of 2016 with hit song New York City Streets, hailed by critics as a “New Anthem for NYC”. Valerie tours and records in France several times each year, her popularity there resulting in The French Sessions, her first album on a French label. Valerie's newest single Feelin’ Alright hit #1 on Jazz Radio France. valerieghent.com “Ghent sings from the guts. Her contralto rises with the smooth momentum of something out of NASA.” – Woman About Town Virtuoso Vietnamese musician and dan-tranh (Vietnamese zither) player Tri Nguyen was born in Vietnam and currently lives in Paris, France. As one of the last musicians of the authentic Vietnamese Ancestral School, Tri feverishly defends the old playing techniques on the dan-tranh, techniques that are now endangered. His training as a classical pianist from an early age alongside his solid background in traditional Vietnamese music enable Nguyen to fusion the dan-tranh multi-centennial repertoire with music and artists from around the globe: a perfect description of Vietnamese culture into the language of the World. Tri has released 4 albums and 4 singles/EP; "Consonnances", his first album, and "Beyond Borders", his second album, both received Gold Medals at the Global Music Awards USA in World Category in 2015 and 2017. "Beyond Borders" was nominated for the finals at the Independent Music Awards (IMA) in NYC in 2018 and his most recent single "Walking" in collaboration with Canadian producer Graeme Drum won the World Beat Award at the IMA in 2020. Since 2017, Tri is a Celebrated Judge at the Global Music Awards. tringuyen.fr "In Zither Master Tri Nguyen, Vietnam has a fine ambassador..." - Songlines Magazine Emmanuel Ghent (1925-2003) was a pioneering composer of electronic music, and a psychoanalyst, teacher and innovator. Born in Montreal, Canada, Ghent emigrated to the United States. During the 1960s Ghent was well-known for his multi-tempo instrumental music, and with a Guggenheim fellowship began a ten year residence at Bell Labs, composing many pieces including Phosphones (1971), the first performance of synchronized music, lighting and dance. Ghent received numerous commissions, as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Arts Council, and collaborated with Ornette Coleman. His music is published by Oxford University Press, and recorded on various labels. In 1999 Ghent and his daughter Valerie Ghent recorded and released Songs for Children. Ghent's music is archived at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. |
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