Nguyen Le

Born: January 14, 1959

Born in Paris from vietnamese parents, Nguyên Lê began to play drums at the age of 15, then took up guitar & electric bass. After  graduating in Visual Arts, he majored in Philosophy, writing a thesis on Exoticism. Then he devoted to music, creating "ULTRAMARINE"(1983), a multi-ethnic band whose CD "DÉ"  has been considered "1989's best World Music album" Philippe Conrath,  Libération.  

A self-taught musician, Nguyên Lê started to play out of any stylistic borders: Rock & Funk (Jim Cuomo, Madagascar 84), Jazz standards & avant-garde Jazz (Marc Ducret, Yves Robert), Pop Singers (Ray Charles), Contemporary Music (André Almuro, Tona Scherchen, Marius Constant, Mauricio Kagel), Ethnic Music: African & Caribbean with ULTRAMARINE (85), Algerian with Safy Boutella & Cheb Mami, Indian with Kakoli, Turkish with Kudsi Erguner, Vietnamese  with the learning of  "Dan Bau" (monocorde) in 1979.