White Lotus
“White Lotus” was released in 2021. Performed by Min Xiao-Fen (pipa, sanxian, ruan, guqin and voice) and Rez Abbasi (guitar and electric guitar):
“From Harlem to Shanghai and Back” led me to do more research about the arts in Shanghai during the 1930s. I rediscovered the classic 1934 silent film “The Goddess,” directed by Wu Yonggang. In one of the most powerful silent performances of all time, the legendary actress Ruan Lingyu plays the role of a young prostitute working to raise her child and send him through school. “The Goddess” was dismissed as decadent by Chinese scholars during the Cultural Revolution, and still remains hidden. My goal was to create an innovative, soulful score, and I want more people to go see this great film."
The theme of White Lotus invited Min to explore the similarities between certain Chinese folk styles and the blues. The bent notes of her guqin on “Anicca,” the first track, evoke Delta country blues, while her growling vocals sound like they were uttered on a stage in Beijing. The galloping rhythm and alternately elongated and snarled syllables that she utters on “Faith” convey outrage over the circumstances of the film’s heroine. And the intricately entwined acoustic phrases on “Karuna” are exciting on purely musical grounds. Not every moment rises to the level of these pieces, but the music is never less than engaging.
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Min Xiao-Fen
White Lotus, (2018), an original score to the 1934 silent film “The Goddess”
Min Xiao-Fen
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minbluepipa.com
Few artists have done more to both honor and reinvent the 2000-year history of the pipa than soloist, vocalist and composer Min Xiao-Fen. Classically trained in her native China, Min was an in-demand interpreter of traditional music before relocating to the United States and forging a new path for her instrument alongside many of the leading lights in modern jazz, free improvisation, experimental and contemporary classical music. NPR Weekend Edition lauded Ms. Min as “one of the world’s greatest virtuosos” and JazzTimes hailed her as “a pioneer in integrating her ancient instrument with modern jazz and improvised music.” The New York Times raved that her singular work “has traversed a sweeping musical odyssey.”
Min’s acclaimed new album White Lotus (2021) is her original score to the 1934 silent film The Goddess, long thought lost but recently rediscovered and restored. Min’s eclectic score pairs her with acclaimed guitarist Rez Abbasi, who brings together influences from modern jazz, progressive rock and South Asian music. From Harlem to Shanghai and Back, Min’s Blue Pipa Trio commingles legendary trumpeter Buck Clayton’s Kansas City swing with the music of Li Jinhui, the “Father of Chinese popular music.”