Press
CD Review
October 2007 South Bound Beat Magazine
This recording is not merely a CD, it is an event; an event of gigantic proportions, given the amount of talent crammed onto the shiny side of the disc (which, by the way, resembles a miniature LP). As Trinh explains in the liner notes, the tracks are compositions of his that, for one reason or another, were never recorded. With this CD, Very Strange Night, Samson Trinh has made up for lost time in a magnificent way.
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Cadence Magazine Review on "Very Strange Night"
July 2007 Cadence Magazine
The CD by Samson Trinh is so diverse it almost feels like a demo reel with him showing all the different styles of music he can write. According to his liner notes, when he would compose music he never heard it being played to his satisfaction so he got together seemingly half the musicians in Richmond, Virginia, and recorded his work the way he wanted to hear it. This is mostly big band music but a lot of other ground is covered. "To You, Near You, With You" is an upbeat Jazz song that could have come out of some sophisticated film comedy. "Thank Goodness" is Western swing complete with a steel guitar. "I Tried to Talk To Her, But She Thought I Was Too Weird" is a slippery electric funk with electric pianos fuzzing out like Herbie Hancock in his Headhunters days. "Signs Are Full Of Jive," "I Can't Believe I'm Addicted To The O.C.", and "Very Strange Night" are quirky big band tunes with the first sung by Adrian Duke in a voice that's a cross between Lyle Lovett and Jack Sheldon, and "That's Why" is a gorgeous torch song sung with forlorn beauty by Terri Murphy. There's a strong element of fun in Trinh's large group arranging. With lots of piping woodwinds, surprise chords, and whimsical musical quotes he brings Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini, and Billy May to mind, names you rarely hear cited as influences today. This is solid music with a goofy charm exemplified by touches like a "Bei Meir Bist Du Schoen" quote showing up in "Very Strange Night' as it romps to its brass-shouting climax. All together this is a surprising and fun CD.
- Jerome Wilson
Music-Reviewer.com on "Very Strange Night" (9.0 Out of 10 Rating)
May 12, 2007 music-reviewer.com
Samson Trinh is going to make it. I can feel it. At only 23-years-old, one would think this musical ingénue wouldn’t attract listeners outside his native Richmond, Va. But he proves on his debut album, Very Strange Night that his style of jazz and orchestral standards is original, hip and represents his youthful mind. The album is one to buy, one to cherish and, frankly, one to completely be dumbfounded about. How on earth does someone put together such a great group of songs at 23-years-old? He sounds like he’s been doing this for ages... read more >>
Very Strange Night, Samson Trinh, composer/conductor
April 2007 Jazz Society of Oregon
Rarely do you come across a young artist who stakes a claim as a composer first and foremost. Trinh is that rare breed. The 23-year old from Virginia follows in the line of the Gunther Schuller’s of the world, willing to hold a baton and sheet music rather than an instrument. Trinh apparently was born in the wrong decade, since his music harkens back to some of Ellington and Kenton’s more ambitious work, even in the recording style, which comes across as retro-mono with a modern twist... read more >>
All Music Guide Review (4 1/2 Stars!!!)
April 30, 2007 All Music Guide
Samson Trinh's debut recording as a composer/arranger is an impressive affair, mixing many different styles and several vocal features, dominated by thoughtful originals and a few familiar pieces. Singer Terri Murphy shines in a pair of ballads (the multi-layered orchestral "To You, Near You, With You" and the trio setting of "That's Why")... read more >>
Eclectic Debut Album From Virginia Jazz Major
April 16, 2007 Audiophile Audtion
It's seldom you hear a jazz CD with a song title like I Can't Believe I'm Addicted to the O.C. or a thank you list that thanks, among others, Woody Allen, Bruce Lee, and the creators of South Park. It's clear that Trinh, a jazz major at Virginia Commonwealth University, isn't the sort of jazz composer who sits in a dark room smoking clove cigarettes and listening to Count Basie records, angry that he wasn't born fifty or so years ago... read more >>
All About Jazz Review on "Very Strange Night" (Part Deux)
April 12, 2007 All About Jazz
File under: “What I did in my senior year”. As a senior at VCU (Virginia Commonweath University), twenty-one year-old Samson Trinh completed this album for which he wrote all but one of the tunes and hired some of the best musicians from the Richmond, Virginian area, including members of his own Upper East Side Big Band. In addition to writing nine sings, he further arranged, conducted and produced this album... read more >>
Samson Trinh - Very Strange Night (4 out of 5)
April 2, 2007 O's Place Jazz Newsletter
Samson Trinh is a writer, arranger, producer and conductor. But he felt that his project would not be complete without engaging the best musicians to perform his works. So he invited 48 of the best available artists in the Richmond, Virginia area to do their magic on Very Strange Night. The band ranges from a duo to a full orchestra with strings accented by featured artists on each song. Examples are Terri Murphy singing "That's Why"; "Signs Are Full Of Jive", a jovial blues number with Adrian Duke singing and manning the B3; Jackie Frost taking us to the country with "Thank Goodness"; and the warm brassy arrangement of "Time After Time" with the Upper East Side Big Band who also played the title track. This is a very good session that was strange only in the mix of selections.
Samson Trinh's "Very Strange Night"
March 28, 2007 Jazz Police
23 years old, composer, arranger, orchestrator, bandleader, musical director, producer, and saxophonist, Samson Trinh paints a portrait of mastery with his collegues, friends, cohorts and posse. The definition of painting is; the perception and representation of intensity... read more >>
All About Jazz Review on "Very Strange Night"
January 28, 2007 All About Jazz
This collection of music school composition projects says a lot about the student and his university. When finishing his BM in Jazz Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, Samson Trinh held a CD release party at his senior recital. He hired several musicians... read more >>
CD Reviews: Samson Trinh, "Very Strange Night"
January 22, 2007 ejazznews
The music of Samson Trinh, one of the newest names in jazz, is probably music you will not be familiar with. Quite understandable for at the young tender age of twenty three, the majority of his musical background comes from his studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Berklee College of Music and New York’s Manhattan School of Music... read more >>
Samson Trinh / Very Strange Night
January 16, 2007 Midwest Record Recap
The 23 year old of the Richmond, VA jazz scene is showing us why you better not expect him to stay down on the farm for too long. Winner of a handful of jazz scholarships... read more >>
Jazz Goes Digital
December 20, 2006 Style Weekly
“[MySpace] can be addictive,” says saxophonist/bandleader Samson Trinh, “but it is a lot more effective than my own Web site.” His page features MP3 samples and YouTube videos to hook viewer interes... read more >>
Freak Show: Gallery 5's "Carnival of 5 Fires"
October 11, 2006 Style Weekly
Samson Trinh and his Upper East Side Band blared trumpets, trombones and saxophones for the crowd on the first floor... read more >>
See The Ladies Dance!
July 12, 2006 Style Weekly
Across the room, a tall redhead in a satin top hat is talking to Samson Trinh, musical director, and Slash Coleman, emcee, about how it all fits together. The redhead is Anna Tulou, and the radio belongs to her... read more >>
'Idol' Critique
May 17, 2006 richmond.com
Since we've heard the opinions of Simon, Paula and Randy for months now, we decided it was time to hear from a different group... read more >>
Now Hear This
March 15, 2006 Style Weekly
Starting with its opening, a retro needle-drop sound effect, there is nothing remotely tentative about Samson Trinh’s idiosyncratic and ambitious debut. The material ranges confidently across genres... read more >>
Review: One Door Closes
March 15, 2006 Style Weekly
If every night were like closing night, Upper East Side Jazz Bar and Sports Lounge never would have closed. The parking lot overflowed, the bar was crowded and patrons danced... read more >>
Hot Fun: The summertime jazz lineup at Bogart’s Back Room
July 7, 2004 Style Weekly
Later music in the same tradition, notably the highly evolved arrangements of “New Testament” Basie, are the model for the Upper East Side Big Band. Drawn from the current generation of VCU players, in part inspired by their still-youthful Devil’s Workshop elders, the young musicians render the half-century old charts with undiluted energy... read more >>
21: jazz scene’s new joint
March 3, 2004 Style Weekly
The Upper East Side Jazz Lounge and Sports Bar is a joint in the very best sense of the word. The divided nature of this U.S. 1 roadhouse is reflected in the eclectic mix tiling the walls and the 14 ceiling-mounted TVs... read more >>
New Club, New Opportunity
Jan 31,2004 Richmond Times Dispatch
The jiggling, thong-clad dancers are gone, but the entertainment is still plenty raw at 4910 Brook Road.... read more >>
Players' Corner: Samson Trinh
January 4, 2004 Richmond Times Dispatch
We opened Dec. 11 as the Upper East Side Jazz Lounge and Sports Bar. We present live jazz by local artists at 9:30 Thursday and Friday nights, and we show sports on 14 screens on other nights... read more >>