Asia Beauty
Ron Korb Productions
World-class flutist Ron Korb's Asia Beauty is more than just a magnificent album. Packaged as it
is, i.e. as a literal hard-cover booklet containing gorgeous photography and
copious liner notes (including an artist-authored story that serves as an
inspiration for some of the songs) as well as the CD itself, it is a rare
achievement (in fact, in my 18 years of reviewing, I can think of only one
other album like this, that being Patrick Leonard's Rivers, released in 1997). However, what is even more
praiseworthy is how Korb has meshed the multitude of Asian instruments
(including the variety of Asian flutes he plays) with a western musical motif
so that the resultant music doesn't alienate the less adventurous listener while
also initiating the world music novice into the beauty and wonder of Asian
music. In short, what he's done is to bring a western accessibility to Asian
music (which can sometimes leave the unaccustomed ear feeling disoriented)
without undercutting the music's authenticity. That he accomplishes this feat
without resorting to "fusion" techniques, i.e. just taking Asian
motifs and wrapping them in electronica beats and synthesizer textures, makes
his achievement all the more remarkable (and I mean no disrespect to those who
compose/perform global fusion electronica, a subgenre which I greatly enjoy and
appreciate).
Korb plays a variety of Asian and other flutes, and in each
case exhibits his complete mastery no matter which one he chooses. I have been
a fan of his playing since I first heard him on Stephen Bacchus's album Pangaea (1990) and, in fact, on at least
one track here ("Magic Sleep"), I was reminded of that recording.
Korb composed all the music on Asia
Beauty and his talent for meshing both eastern and western instruments may
be unmatched. For example, take the opening track, "Hanoi Café," on which the erhu is combined
with accordion, piano, bass and drums, as well as the western violin. Korb's
flute (a non-Asian variety) flits above the other instruments while the erhu
adds an exotic Far East element to the romantic piece. This is the strength of Asia Beauty—the seamless integration of
authentic Asian instruments with more traditional western ones, e.g. piano,
bass, drums, and guitar. However, it's not just the instruments but also the
melodies composed by Korb which draw the listener in, whether she/he is acclimated
to Asian music or not.
I
mentioned earlier that Korb wrote a folk tale that serves as the backstory for
some of the music on the album and those songs start with track two,
"Journey Begins." One might suppose that these songs are the most
"Asian" sounding and yes, there is an overt element present, however
track six, "Children's Jig," inexplicably (and successfully)
translates Asian instruments to an Irish sound and the piece is a winner, full
of joy and cheer. "House of the Five Beauties," which serves as the
focus of the story that Korb wrote, reinforces the more Asian influence, with
erhu, yangqin, pipa, and guqin all playing an important role, and Korb himself
playing the dizi (a transverse bamboo flute), although even here, cello, piano,
and drums also contribute. Not meaning to repeat myself, but this song
underlines what makes Asia Beauty the
triumph it is, i.e. the melding of the Asian with the western to create
something that honors both musical cultures.
The
latter section of the album focuses on music which was influenced by locales
that Korb visited in Asia, e.g. "Palace Garden," "Country
Life," and "Two Mountains." "The Reed Cave" is
something really special, as it presents Korb playing the Asian
"dadi" flute solo in a limestone cave found in the Guangxi Province
with a wonderful natural reverberation effect (a la some of Paul Winter's great
recordings). "Blue Bamboo" intermixes a subtle blues motif with
Korb's Asian flute (dizi) along with pipa (a four string lute), piano, and
bass. As if the nineteen songs listed on the album weren't enough, there are
two more bonus tracks, unlisted, but mentioned in the liner notes: "The
Sword of Heaven" and the truly lovely album closer, "Jasmine
Lullaby" which once again melds the Celtic (penny whistle and Celtic harp)
with the Asian (via the melodic motifs).
There
are many musicians on the album representing both the East and the West, and
all the performers put everything they have into the parts they play; each one
of them brings something special to the party. The guest players are: Lin
Xiaoqiu (erhu), Liana Berube (violin), Bill Evans (accordion and piano), Donald
Quan (piano and tabla), George Koller (acoustic bass), Larry Crowe (drums and
percussion), Wendy Zhao (pipa), Sharlene Wallace (Celtic harp), Aidan Mason
(guitar), Steve Lucas (acoustic bass), Chris Donnelly(spoons), Zhang Di (yangqin),
Lucas Tensen (cello), Nan Feihong (guqin and guzheng), Laila Biali (piano),
Paul Intson (kalimba, guitar, acoustic bass), Lin Xiaoqiu (erhu), Jade Hong (guzheng),
Ma Xiang Hua (erhu), Yi Qin (pipa), Wang Long (yangqin), Ren Jie (guzheng), Lou
Pomanti (piano), Ray Hickey Jr. (guitar, guzheng, koto, shamisen), Cynthia Qin
(guzheng), Susan Greenway (piano), Bill Bridges (guitar), Ben Riley (drums), and
Rick Shadrach Lazar (percussion).
Asia Beauty is available directly from the artist or from Amazon, CDBaby, or iTunes.
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