Riley Lee – Sanctuary: Music From A Zen Garden CD

Sanctuary: Music from a Zen Garden by Riley LeePersonnel: Riley Lee (shakuhachi); Bert Moon (koto). Recorded at Rendezvous Studios, Honolulu, Hawaii. Riley Lee’s traditional Zen pieces for solo shakuhachi (bamboo flute) have garnered him respect from the musical and Zen communities alike. Here, Lee takes another route with long, modern pieces improvised with koto player Ben Moon. The soothing strums and harp-like arpeggios of the koto (a Japanese stringed instrument resembling a zither) provide the perfect counterpoint to Lee’s winding melodies. Like the honkyoku (“original pieces”) of Lee’s more traditional albums, these songs evoke the sounds of nature: birdsong, wind, rustling grass, water. Sparse passages give way to ardent trills, but the overall mood remains placid, calm and quietly joyful. Like all of Lee’s albums, SANCTUARY is a centering background for meditation, relaxation, yoga, or massage.Live Recording