The man who brings Kenny G, Modern Talking to Vietnam

When major concerts head to the country, Nam is among the Vietnamese crew in charge of artists and is responsible for negotiating with foreign artists about the concert, including selecting suitable songs for Vietnamese fans to enjoy.

Most notably, legendary saxophonist Kenny G became the first artist to be brought to the nation by Nam’s crew. Indeed, prior to his concert in Hanoi, Kenny G’s team had been unsure of the organising capability of the Vietnamese side as no similar concert on such a large scale had been held previously.

“Ahead of the event, Kenny G’s crew gave detailed requests, including highly precise demands,” Nam recalls. “ For example, they asked for a wooden plate on the piano in a way that the piece had to be an exact size and just one cm off would mean it would make it impossible to play.”

Nam shares that the Vietnamese side tried their best to meet the requirements set out by Kenny G’s crew. Following the success of the concert, the world renowned artist was highly satisfied and gave plenty of compliments to Tuan Nam and his colleagues.

The foreign artist’s team also gave positive feedback to Vietnamese organisers upon returning to their home country. Following this, Tuan Nam and his crew have received plenty of positive responses when sending invitations to global artists. 

Nam says while working alongside Kenny G and his staff, he didn’t feel the pressure, but instead felt excited because he learnt a wealth of experience from preparing for the concert.

Nam and his crew had been scheduled to bring the band Modern Talking back to the country for the third time, although due to the complicated situation relating to the novel coronavirus epidemic the occasion has been delayed, much to Nam’s disappointment.

“Working with foreign crews makes me learn about professionalism and gives me many emotions,” he confides.

In addition to organising concerts involving world-famous artists, Nam is putting every effort into bringing jazz to a wider Vietnamese audience. This includes the Tuan Nam Jazz Fusion concerts taking place in Hanoi on August 16 and in Ho Chi Minh City on August 23.

The first part of these events is themed “Feel like home” and Nam will play famous artworks along with his own composition.

The second part will be themed around folk performances and will be a mixture of Nam and two saxophonists, Quyen Van Minh and Quyen Thien Dac.

The third part will see the participation of many renowned local artists such as Tung Duong, Le Hieu, Ha Le, and Thuy Bui