ZAC ZINGER - Fulfillment
self released
Zac Zinger: Shakuhachi, alto sax, EWI, dizi; Sharik Hasan: piano; Adam Neely: bass; Luke Markham: drums; Kana Dehara: piano, fender Rhodes; Min-Chin Kuo: guzheng; Yu-Wei Hsieh: vocals; Chia-kun Chen: erhu
Recorded by Alessio Romano, Brandon Unpico, David Stoller, Chi-wei Ho at Studio 42, Brooklyn, NY,Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, Queens, NY, and Fidelity Sound, Taipei, Taiwan
How should Western artists pay homage to musical styles and instruments from other parts of the globe? In the old days, the very idea of ‘borrowing’ from different cultures was seen as adventurous and pioneering; today it is seen in less kindly light. But if you have mastered an instrument from a different culture, how can you celebrate its sounds in ways that reflect your own culture? The range of instruments played on this set, and the different recording locations, might lead you to conclude that this is a collection of ‘world music’ in which musicians from the West travel overseas and appropriate traditional musical instruments and cultures. But actually, that is far from what Zinger and his colleagues have done. Ingeniously, Zinger’s compositions are firmly rooted in Western musical traditions – the opening track could, for example, be a theme tune for a long-running tv comedy series from back in the day (I’m thinking something like Taxi or Kate and Allie for those of a similar vintage to me). The wooden flute plays a circular opening before the bubbling bass introduces the main theme of the tune. It is very catchy and demonstrates Zinger’s complete control of the Shakuhachi as he takes swirling solo followed by swirling solo over the steady beat. In the second track, Zinger switches to sax through which he drawls the melody in ‘Hiphopcrisy’, working from a break-beat introduction into something that has a gentler groove. And, I think, it is this tightrope between rhythms and melodies that have such commercial immediacy (and which should find their way to all manner of audiences) and the blend of instruments that makes this such an intriguing set.
On the copy of the CD he sent in for review, Zinger has scribbled ‘hope you dig it!’. I very much did and thank him for the sentiments and for the music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
self released
Zac Zinger: Shakuhachi, alto sax, EWI, dizi; Sharik Hasan: piano; Adam Neely: bass; Luke Markham: drums; Kana Dehara: piano, fender Rhodes; Min-Chin Kuo: guzheng; Yu-Wei Hsieh: vocals; Chia-kun Chen: erhu
Recorded by Alessio Romano, Brandon Unpico, David Stoller, Chi-wei Ho at Studio 42, Brooklyn, NY,Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, Queens, NY, and Fidelity Sound, Taipei, Taiwan
How should Western artists pay homage to musical styles and instruments from other parts of the globe? In the old days, the very idea of ‘borrowing’ from different cultures was seen as adventurous and pioneering; today it is seen in less kindly light. But if you have mastered an instrument from a different culture, how can you celebrate its sounds in ways that reflect your own culture? The range of instruments played on this set, and the different recording locations, might lead you to conclude that this is a collection of ‘world music’ in which musicians from the West travel overseas and appropriate traditional musical instruments and cultures. But actually, that is far from what Zinger and his colleagues have done. Ingeniously, Zinger’s compositions are firmly rooted in Western musical traditions – the opening track could, for example, be a theme tune for a long-running tv comedy series from back in the day (I’m thinking something like Taxi or Kate and Allie for those of a similar vintage to me). The wooden flute plays a circular opening before the bubbling bass introduces the main theme of the tune. It is very catchy and demonstrates Zinger’s complete control of the Shakuhachi as he takes swirling solo followed by swirling solo over the steady beat. In the second track, Zinger switches to sax through which he drawls the melody in ‘Hiphopcrisy’, working from a break-beat introduction into something that has a gentler groove. And, I think, it is this tightrope between rhythms and melodies that have such commercial immediacy (and which should find their way to all manner of audiences) and the blend of instruments that makes this such an intriguing set.
On the copy of the CD he sent in for review, Zinger has scribbled ‘hope you dig it!’. I very much did and thank him for the sentiments and for the music.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
