Search - Beijing Trio, Max Roach, Jiebing Chen :: Beijing Trio

Beijing Trio
Beijing Trio, Max Roach, Jiebing Chen
Beijing Trio
Genres: International Music, Jazz
 
  •  Track Listings (7) - Disc #1

From North Carolina to North China to Northern California, three world-renowned musical innovators challenge all boundaries between genres set by the mainstream musical press. In the Beijing Trio Chinese-American pianist J...  more »

     

CD Details

All Artists: Beijing Trio, Max Roach, Jiebing Chen, Jon Jang
Title: Beijing Trio
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Original Release Date: 10/20/1999
Release Date: 10/20/1999
Genres: International Music, Jazz
Styles: Far East & Asia, Avant Garde & Free Jazz, Modern Postbebop, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 708096004420

Synopsis

Album Description
From North Carolina to North China to Northern California, three world-renowned musical innovators challenge all boundaries between genres set by the mainstream musical press. In the Beijing Trio Chinese-American pianist Jon Jang unifies the Chinese folk songs of erhu virtuoso Jiebing Chen and the legendary percussion of Max Roach to create a riveting aural portrait in creative musical exploration. The Beijing Trio features a landmark collaboration focused on the exploration of new creative vistas in African-American, Chinese-American, and Chinese musical traditions. As described in the album liner notes by Dr. Herb Wong: "All three are master storytellers taking advantage of an intimate conversational approach...tightly attuned to the nuances of each other's feelings, personalities, and inner souls, the trio illustrates how simpatico players can relieve tension and allow passage for individuality and spontaneous imagination. In the end the result is music which blends culture with the spectrum of human emotion and it's expression through sound. In the words of Dr. Wong, "Clearly this was a triumph and an enticing preview of things to come." The Beijing Trio features Max Roach (drums), Jon Jang (piano), and Jiebing Chen (erhu, two stringed Chinese violin). Asian Improv Records, based in San Francisco since 1987, is a fundamental resource in Asian American contemporary recordings, with a catalog of over 50 titles. It remains the only international label which focuses on documenting the work of Asian American musicians/composers.

Similar CDs

 

CD Reviews

A pleasant combination of individual styles, sounds.
01/15/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having slammed Max in my 'Survivors' review (well, half-slammed, anyway) let me redeem myself by telling you that this is one of the most original jazz -- and I suppose world music -- CD's of the past year. The sound of the ehru is enchanting, and Jang's piano playing is complementarily exotic. For the most part Max eschews conventional, cymbal-based swing drumming and plays melodically on his drums. In that sense it is similar to -- and a natural extension of -- his solo compositions for drumset. This is a nifty example of the intersection of three very individual performers, and it's amazing how natural it feels. Why not 5 stars? One gets the sense that this line-up is somewhat limited musically, and, though I hate to say it, this is most likely due to the limited nature of the ehru. It's a beautiful sound but it doesn't seem to be too versatile, at least in the context of small-group jazz. Repeated exposure will most likely reveal a growing sameness in some of the tracks. I imagine this is why there is a shuffling of players throughout the program as some tracks feature only two out of the three in various combinations. Hopefully, if the Trio plans on another CD they will find another dimension to explore in their group sound. But don't let this reservation dissuade you, I heartily recommend it."