Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue - Sounds And Cries Of The World (2015)

Sounds and Cries of the World is the latest from experimental jazz vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu, who is best known for carving out new improvisational terrain for the voice through integrating traditional music discovered through rigorous research and fieldwork. The Guardian has called her 'a remarkable phenomenon' and The Wall Street Journal 'invigorating' and 'enigmatic.' A 2014 recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Impact Award, Shyu is well-respected for her uncanny vocal precision and formidable musicianship. She is perhaps best known as a member of influential saxophonist Steve Coleman s band Five Elements most recently on the critically lauded Synovial Joints (Pi 2015). Her new release is a culmination of her travels through East Timor, Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan, where she has spent months to years in each place immersing herself in the language and under-recognized music of various indigenous cultures. Utilizing specific musical forms, dream-like narrative, and language of these various cultures, her work is utterly unique. The musicians Shyu has gathered together in her band Jade Tongue - trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, violist Mat Maneri, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Dan Weiss - are currently some of the most acclaimed players in and around the jazz and improvised music scene.

Tracklist:

1. Song of Kwan Wen
2. Bloom's Mouth Rushed In
3. Mother of Time
4. Moxa
5. Aku Yang Lahir Dari Air Mata | Båwå Sidå Asih
6. Para Pembakar Ombak
7. She Held Fire
8. Rai Nakukún Ba Dadaúk Ona
9. Song for Naldo
10. Thoughts of Light and Freedom

Personnel:

Jen Shyu: composition, lyrics, vocals, Taiwanese moon lute
Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet
Mat Maneri: viola
Thomas Morgan: bass
Dan Weiss: drums