Prelude

Abstract

Jazz in socialist Vietnam is no dissident sound played in the shadows, not since Minh publicly performed the genre in two officially endorsed solo recitals in 1988 and 1989. With the end of the First Indochina War, all forms of cultural arts and performances considered as unfaithful to the ideology of the revolution were restricted and even banned in the communist ruled North. Any trace of jazz introduced during the French colonial era disappeared entirely. The Đổi Mới reforms led to steady decollectivization of Vietnamese society, introduction of a market economy in the socialist state, and subtle loosening of political control over every aspect of life. The party and the state retained ultimate authority of what could be played, heard, and learned. It was in this context that Quyền Văn Minh endeavored to play jazz in Vietnam.