'Monkey: Journey to the West' highlights the 2013 Lincoln Center Festival

#3475: Music Based on East Asian Stories

New Sounds | Sep 9, 2014

For this New Sounds listen to ambitious works inspired by East Asian storytelling. There’s music based on one of the classic Chinese epic tales – “Monkey,” as retold and done up by Damon Albarn (of the Brit- pop band Blur, and of the animated rock band, Gorillaz), and Jamie Hewlett with many other participants. “Monkey: Journey to the West” is a mammoth music theatre work/hybrid opera performed in Mandarin and features over 50 Chinese acrobats, martial arts experts and a team of tiny contortionists.

Plus, there’s music from Chinese alternative rocker Song Yuzhe, operating under the name DaWangGang, who has made an unexpected and bewildering combination of Chinese opera & folk, with throat-singing, Buddhist chant, & the horsehair fiddle, to boot. Also, listen to music by the late saxophone player Fred Ho that draws on martial arts films, Japanese manga and anime.

PROGRAM # 3475, Based on East Asian stories (First aired on 6/4/2013)

ARTIST(S)	RECORDING	CUT(S)	SOURCE
DaWangGang	Wild Tune Stray Rhythm	Meeting Two Wizards On the Mountain Road [6:06] Talking About Birds [4:57]	Jaro 4312 www.jaro.de or dawanggang.com
Damon Albarn/Jamie Hewlett	Monkey: Journey to the West	Disappearing Volcano [6:09] Monkey Bee [5:01]	XL Records, #388. www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com or www.xlrecordings.com
Fred Ho	Deadly She-Wolf Assassin at Armageddon	In A Silent Way I Seek My Prey [5:26] Colonel Ulysses Sam Armageddon [4:27] Qaseem the Killing Machine [6:13]	Big Red Media / Innova - #788 www.innova.mu
Tan Dun, featuring Yo-Yo Ma.	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Eternal Vow; Silk Road [9:12]	Sony Classical #89347 Available at Amazon.com, iTunes or Emusic.com

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