Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal and Jesse Paris Smith – Songs from the Bardo (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2019)
Songs from the Bardo is a spellbinding recording featuring extraordinary musicians from various cultures and musical genres: American experimentalist Laurie Anderson, Tibetan multi-instrumentalist and singer Tenzin Choegyal; and composer, pianist and climate activist Jesse Paris Smith (Patti Smith’s daughter).
The album is a guided voyage through the farseeing text of the Tibetan Book of the Dead with Laurie Anderson on spoken word and violin. Songs from the Bardo intertwines captivating spoken word sections (accompanied by gongs and drones) and instrumental passages.
Tenzin Choegyal plays lingbu (Tibetan flute), dranyen (Tibetan lute), singing bowls and gong; Jesse Paris Smith plays piano, crystal bowls and gong. Guests include Rubin Kodheli on cello and Shadhad Ismaily on percussion.
The physical edition of the album includes a 32-page booklet with artist biographies, photos and details about the project.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.