Jazz musician Quyen Van Minh has struggled his whole life to earn a living playing his favorite music in Vietnam.

Though hes considered godfather of the local jazz movement, Minh knows that the genre has but a weak foothold in Vietnam.

Minhs 40 years of playing esoteric tunes began when he first heard jazz on American and BBC radio programs in 1968.

Smitten by the haunting melodies of the American masters, Minh taught himself to play the saxophone by listening to the radio every night.

But Minhs dream of becoming a famous jazz musician was shelved by his father, who did not want his son to waste time on music.

Yet, the desire still burned and Minh, unable to afford music school, continued to teach himself.

For years he played the clarinet and saxophone in government and military arts ensembles.

Through the rough years of playing mainstream music while wishing he could play jazz, Minh always remembered his mothers encouraging words: The sounds that come from your breaths, close to your heart, will bring good things to life and your own being.

After building up a good musical reputation over the years, in 1988 Minh finally put on his own jazz concert at the Association of Vietnam Composers in Hanoi, winning immediate acclaim from the countrys musical elite.

Thus, a year later, after having never been able to attend the National Music Conservatory in Hanoi due to financial difficulties, Minh was invited there to become its first jazz saxophone instructor and launch the nations first jazz program.

Minh can now play seven different instruments and was bestowed the title of Artist of Excellence by the Vietnamese government in 1997.

The beat of his own drum

Vietnam is not a jazz stronghold yet, says Minh.

Not many people here appreciate such a particular and difficult kind of music.

Many jazz students quit or switch to other genres with larger audiences, he says.

Nevertheless, Minh opened Vietnams first jazz-only venue the Jazz Club in 1997.

After two years of money problems and government relocations, the site was finally settled in 1999.

To date, Minh has released five albums, including Nhung tinh khuc voi Quyen Van Minh (Love Songs with Quyen Van Minh), Birth and Hanoi mua thu va em (Hanoi, Autumn and You).

He has also mixed jazz with Vietnamese folk melodies sung by the Meo and Cham ethnic minorities.

He has recorded Ngau Hung Tay Nguyen (Improvisation of Melodies from the Central Highlands melodies) and Giai Dieu Sapa (Sapa Melodies), both of which play upon traditional music created in remote mountainous parts of Vietnam.

According to Minh, folk tunes have a variety of highly expressive pitch ranges suitable for jazz and improvisation.

Like father like son

Considering himself a mere amateur musician, the 54-year-old has brought up his son Quyen Thien Dac as a jazzman as well.

Following in his fathers footsteps, Dac has also fallen in love with jazz and was granted a scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the US, where he graduated with honors.

My dad has very high expectations of me, the 29- year-old said, adding his father had to sell his prized saxophones among other things to support his studies abroad.

He wanted me to receive professional training and help develop Vietnams jazz scene, he says.

And together with some friends, that is exactly what Dac is doing.

Dac has played on two albums, Viet Nam bong dang que huong (Vietnam, My Homeland) and Su toa sang cua nhung vung yen lang (Illumination of Serene Places).

He is composing several new pieces, including some that mix contemporary jazz with Vietnamese traditional elements.

Like my Dad, I will strive to make jazz more approachable and seductive to Vietnamese people while also introducing Vietnamese jazz to the outside world.

Dac and his father held a concert titled Cha, Con va Jazz (Father, Son and Jazz) at the Hanoi Opera House last Sunday to mark Minhs 40 years flirting with jazz.

The second performance is set to take place at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House on April 14.

Six of the shows pieces are combinations of contemporary world jazz with Vietnamese traditional music, four of which were co-composed by Minh and Dac.

The Jazz Club is located at 31 Luong Van Can Street, Hanoi.

Reported by Diem Thu