Passion for music carries VFV, a versatile band from Philadelphia, across North America, Europe and Asia. “We love what we do, and we play all over,” said singer Valerie Lipford, the band’s leader and founder.

More and more people love to listen too. Named using the first initials of its three members, VFV also stars Foster Child on saxophone and Vincent Stith (the “everything man”), a multi-instrumentalist often on keyboards.

VFV plays at the Captain’s Bar in Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel most nights until January. “In the United States, we do mostly old-school, funk, R and B/smooth jazz,” Valerie said. “For the Captain’s Bar, we do big band, jazz and smooth jazz, which is a mixture of R and B with jazz overtones.

“This is our fourth time in Hong Kong,” she said. “We’ve also played in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Shanghai. We do a lot of traveling, which is gratifying. Music gives us chances to mix with different cultures. Definitely, it’s a universal language. Many of the people who listen may not speak English, but they appreciate our music and love it.

“We have a long history,” Valerie said. “Vince and I have performed together for 19 years…. We’ve all worked with major musical artists too.”

Ideally, VFV will release a CD in 2009. “We look forward to sharing what we feel through the songs, music and passion of music,” Valerie said.

“I hope the three of us can be successful together, become a world name and make a business in music. What we have, the feeling that we give off together, is unique. I think we have something awesome.”


Valerie, Foster and Vincent: 'something awesome'.

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