Despite the group name and cover artwork which might lead you to believe this was hard core Chinese film score type music, this is actually a very impressive attempt to fuse the ga the soulful grooves and melodies of smooth jazz with ethnic instruments like the erhu, guzheng, yangqin and pipa. Don't worry if you never heard of these things--they create dreamy melodies, wailing sounds and percussive textures that simply sound like a mystical equivalent of today's mainstream pop instrumental music. Think a Chinese equivalent ...
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Despite the group name and cover artwork which might lead you to believe this was hard core Chinese film score type music, this is actually a very impressive attempt to fuse the ga the soulful grooves and melodies of smooth jazz with ethnic instruments like the erhu, guzheng, yangqin and pipa. Don't worry if you never heard of these things--they create dreamy melodies, wailing sounds and percussive textures that simply sound like a mystical equivalent of today's mainstream pop instrumental music. Think a Chinese equivalent of veteran Japanese American group Hiroshima--a band that mixes funk with authentic Japanese sounds--and you've got the picture. Most tunes blend East and West quite effectively. The opening track "Beautiful Island" floats lazily along on the keyboards and harmonica of David Packer, sounding very much like a gentle Toots Thielemans tune until the reverberating, crying sounds of a Chinese flute comes in. "Green is the Mountain" sounds just like a Hiroshima tune, with a stringed instrument and harmonica trading off melodic leads over a throbbing funk groove. "Three Gorges of Yang Guan" offers a straight ahead trio setting and some stellar cat and mouse piano and harmonica interaction before the flute chimes in. "Watering Flowers" is a gently percussive meditation featuring Guy Barker's flurrying trumpet lines. All quite nice on the ears, but whose bright idea was it to call the project Take Out? The Chinese restaurant jokes are bound to fly, but don't let them stop you from enjoying this unique music. ~ Jonathan Widran, Rovi
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Add this copy of Take Out to cart. $38.31, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Xien.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
