The Whole Music Experience

Riley Lee Shakuhachi Water Meditations Tranquil Sounds of the Zen Bamboo Flute Sounds True It’s not often that a title of an album succinctly describe its musical content. Zen bamboo flute player Riley Lee’s album Shakuhachi Water Meditations actually conjures images of a flute player sitting next to a body of water with perhaps a bamboo forest responding in the background. Lee hails from the West and I’ve heard at least one of his other recordings released on Narada many years ago. I don’t fully recall his journey into Zen Buddhism or his original attraction to the Japanese bamboo flute (with origins in China), except that anyone wishing to learn this instrument must take on the role of a disciple with a Zen master and it is a years-long process. And at the beginning you perform chores for your master teacher, the flute playing comes later in the journey. According to the liner notes, “Every shakuhachi begins as a stalk of yellow-green bamboo swaying in the wind…Although...

Michèle Choinière La Violette Independent release (Franco-American folkloric) I read the book The Town that Food Saved that focused on the food system of a village of 3,000 people, Hardwick, Vermont. The author of the book mentioned a community of French-Canadians that immigrated to Vermont to set up dairy farms during the early decades of the 20th century. While there are few French-Canadian dairy farms left in Vermont and many of the former Canadians assimilated into American (US) culture, a few diehards such as Michèle Choinière still exist. And what’s interesting about Choinière is that she collects music from Acadians, Quebecois, 20th century France and her own lineage in Vermont. She considers La Violette a dance album and sure enough, you’ll find waltzes and soiree (kitchen party) send-ups on the album. While there isn't enough space in a CD review to delve into contrasts and comparisons between the Franco-Vermont music and Cajun music of Louisiana or tradition...