Product Details
- An MVD Exclusive
- SKU: ZM201805
- Format: CD
- UPC: 880956180526
- Street Date: 06/08/18
- PreBook Date: 05/04/18
- Label: Zoho »
- Genre: Jazz
- Run Time: 58 mins
- Number of Discs: 1
- Year of Production: 2018
- Box Lot: 30
- Territory: WORLD
- Language: English
Product Assets
Dongfeng Liu - China Caribe
Pianist Liu draws on musical influences from his native China, fusing them with American jazz and Caribbean rhythms..
- List Price: $16.99
- Your Price: $16.99
- In Stock: 12
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Rare is the occasion when an artist arrives on the scene who fundamentally reawakens your understanding not just of music but world history, common cultures, and shared values. Dongfeng Liu is this very type of artist. He is a maestro composer, arranger, jazz pianist and educator who draws upon musical influences from his native China, and fuses them with American jazz harmonies with Caribbean rhythms. China Caribe uncovers those buried pages of history in which Chinese immigrants journeyed to the Americas as early as the 1860s. In fact, Havana boasted the largest Chinese population in the Western hemisphere during this period. Liu's CD celebrates and dramatizes these cultural cross currents. On this album, we hear what happens when cultures collide - a new sound, a unique aesthetic is born. You haven't heard anything like China Caribe. I hadn't. In a word, Liu's music is peerless. These eight original compositions and arrangements are special and sparkling, meditative and magnificent. The opening notes of In the Clouds are performed on the morin khuur, a Mongolian instrument that is also called a horsehead fiddle, in soundclips by the Hanggai Band, one of the leading folkloric Rock groups from Mongolia, and friends of Liu's. This sound alone foreshadows what's to come: We begin in the East, but by the time John Benitez's round electric bass enters, we're not quite back in the West but somewhere in between - a place that China Caribe will inhabit throughout each musical chapter. Min Xiaofen plays the melody elegantly on the ruan, a traditional Chinese string instrument similar to a lute, with a round body and four strings. This piece is inspired by the Mongolian throat singing tradition called khoomei in which a vocalist sings two notes at once. In this tune, there is the sustained bass and melody. At the same time, the floating chords, taken together, form the second note. Indeed, the piece is masterfully conceived and arranged. - Kabir Sehgal
Track Listing
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