Angels of Shanghai
This project pairs smooth jazz keyboardist/composer Bob James and his Fourplay bandmates bassist Nathan East (who sings on the ballad "Endless Time") and drummer Harvey Mason, with guitarist Jack Lee and the Angels of Shanghai, who are masters of theer-hu, a two-string violin, the lute-likepipa, a harp-zither called aguzheng, and thedizibamboo flute. James' sympathetic pianisms best blend with the Sinocentric sonorities and syncopations on the hip-notic "Gulangyu Island" the Asian and French-inflected "Melodia: A Quiet Place for Two" and "Angela with Purple Bamboo," a Silk Road update of James' beloved theme from the TV showTaxi. "By combining the spirit of American jazz with the beauty of traditional Chinese instruments by absorbing and learning from this rich Eastern cultural heritage,"" James writes in the liner notes, "I have sought to explore ways that we would communicate openly and freely; improvising and sharing our discoveries."--Eugene Holley, Jr.