Originally from Beijing, currently in Tennessee, Wu Fei grabbed my attention when I saw video of her singing along with her instrument during an interview. The more I learned about her career the more amazed I became. She has collaborated with a wide variety of musicians across a range of genres, blending her skill with voice and instrument with groups large and small. I highly recommend checking out her work.

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In this special, bonus episode of Sonosphere, we present An Evening with Wu Fei in collaboration with Crosstown Arts. This is Fei's live performance at the Crosstown Arts gallery on Cleveland Street in Memphis, TN on June 30, 2017. The intimate space lent itself to an interactive performance between the audience and Wu Fei, as she showcases what the guzheng can do through its thousand-year history. Wu Fei is a composer and guzheng player. She is a native of Beijing and a current Nashville resident. She is a master of the guzheng, the ancient 21-string Chinese zither. At this performance Fei told stories of her upbringing in Beijing, her relentless practice with the guzheng and how she found improv at Mills College and through her time in New York's improv scene. She mixes her Western and Chinese traditional sensibilities with a contemporary, experimental dialect that only Fei can convey in her "down-to-earth," personable way. We thank her and Crosstown Arts for an amazing show!

Special performance with wonderful demonstrations and information from Crosstown Arts gallery on Cleveland Street in Memphis, TN, held on June 30, 2017. Sound courtesy of Sonosphere podcast.

Other Interviews:

Music:

I'm partial to "Saratoga" on the album Pluck and her "Water is Wide" collaboration with banjo player Abigail Washburn.