Daniel Ho and The Suzhou Masters – Embroidering Melodies (Wind Music, 2020)
American ukulele maestro, composer and arranger Daniel Ho continues his tours of China with a wonderful album dedicated to a beautiful water town near Shanghai called Suzhou, famous for its canals, bridges and traditional gardens. Suzhou is also well-known for its Pingtan (musical and storytelling performance) melodies and Kunqu, an ancient form of Chinese opera.
On Embroidering Melodies, Daniel Ho presents some of his original compositions interlaced with Pingtan and Kunqu music delivered with new arrangements.
Daniel Ho and the Chinese masters present mesmerizing Chinese melodies using a wide range of traditional musical instruments, adding modern elements like piano, guitar, and percussion.
The prestigious Pingtan musicians include Yuan Xiaoliang, oral art performance; Chen Yong on pipa; Wang Jin on pipa; Mei Mengdi on pipa; Zhou Sanbo on vocals; Huang Feiyan on vocals; Shen Bin on vocals; and Yu Qun on vocals; Kunqu opera artists Zou Jianliang on qu flute, Liu Yu on vocals, and Tang Xiaocheng on vocals; and instrumentalists Wang Hong on huqin, Hua Lei on yangqin (dulcimer), Su Hanlu on guzheng, and Helen Rees on xiao and recorder.
The physical edition of the album comes in an elegantly packaged large hard cover book and CD. The extensive book includes liner notes in Chinese and English and exquisite design.
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.