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Press Clippings

ARTICLES

  • Reinventing Tradition - A foremost zheng virtuoso broadens the scope of her ancient Chinese instrument to embrace Asian, Western, composed, and freely improvised musics. Musicworks (PDF) 
CONCERT REVIEWS
  • The Zheng Master - Montreal Gazete 
  • Han delivered by far the most compelling performance more ---> Georgia Straight  
  • Recognized internationally, a virtuoso on the zheng, Han presents music deeply rooted in over 2,000 years of Chinese culture mixed with ground breaking contemporary styles. Han and Raine-Reusch have redefined the zheng, and challenged the world of traditional Chinese music in general. Together they have invented new tunings, developed new fingering techniques, expanded old structures and created radical new forms of expression on this ancient instrument. more ---> China Daily, Beijing 
  • Han is an ethnomusicologist as well as a virtuoso, so it's perhaps natural that she should excel in bringing China's ancient repertoire to life, but she is also very much a woman of the 21st century.  more ---> Georgia Straight  
  • Fear No Music - Mei Han produces everything from whispers to growls from a Chinese zither! more ---> The Oregonian

CD REVIEWS

GATHERING - Mei Han & Red Chamber

  • Supreb Chinese String Alchemy more ---> World Music Central
  • Seriously eclectic, transcultural tastes ... more ---> Whole Note
  • Well, anyone who doesn’t respond to Gathering, the group’s second release, needs their ears syringed. more ---> Alexander Varty, The Georgia Straight 
  • Their treatment of a set of Cape Breton and Metis fiddle tunes would make them Celtic Connection favourites... more ---> Froots


Gathering

UME - with Paul Plimley

  • Substance and real delicacy, often at the same time, a quality of weightlessness delivered with an absolute specificity. more ---> Musicworks
  • This CD is a Pacific Rim plum...The give-and-take is as masterful as the execution of ideas. more ---> Signal to Noise
  • Their fluid rapport keeps all options open, leaving the listener with the idea that the music can go anywhere at any moment. more ---> Point of Departure
  • Ears wide open...Ume is an album which possesses both depth and (relatively speaking) user-friendliness" more ---> Clouds and Clocks
  • Unique and inventive...UME is a beautiful collection of improvisations made by two excellent musicians - well worth having in your collection. more --->   Jonathan Chen, Far Eastern Audio Review 

Mei Han - Ume Cd with Paul Plimley
UME

Outside the Wall 

  • Astonishing Zheng Virtuosity. She plays with a spellbinding sensitivity, with a feeling for sound and stillness, for timing and subtle drama. more ---> Musicworks
  • Mei Han is a magnificent musician: her focus, passion and intensity keep the listener riveted, eagerly anticipating every note as the music unfolds with elegance and poise. An eclectic musical experience of the highest quality.  more ---> Wholenote Magazine Sept. 
  • Tour de Force CD. Mei Han is equally at home inside and outside the wall of tradition, giving disparate material a unity of sound and purpose. The rules are clearly hers to break..  more --->   Mack Hagood, Far Eastern Audio Review 
  • Mei Han has a fine touch and dynamic range whether tackling ancent repertoire... more ---> The Wire 
  • A variety of haunting moods and incisive statements…hyper-aware, keenly disciplined and finely etched… Han floats seemingly without strain from one musical tradition to another. more --->  Signal to Noise 
  • This is serious art music, well rendered.more ---> KSZU Zookeeper online. 
Mei Han - Outside the Wall CD
Outside The Wall
Distant Wind - with Randy Raine-Resuch
  • Mei Han and Randy Raine-Reusch are adventurous as composers, but it is their command an confidence as players that bring their ideas into fruition. Each note, planned or improvised, subtle or stentorian, is played with power and commitment.  more --->   Mack Hagood, Far Eastern Audio Review 
  • Their playing is nothing short of extraordinary...Mei Han and Randy Raine-Reusch remind us that the best conditions for improvisation begin first with the soul and then with intuition.  more --->   Alan Jones, One Final Note.com 
  • This is strong stuff   more ---> Alexander Varty, The Georgia Straight  
  • The album simply has deep soul.  more --->    Chris Wong, The Vancouver Courier 
  • Distant Wind contains sounds intriguingly different from what the Western ear may be accustomed to.   more --->  Craig W. Hurst - Jazzreview.com 
  • A highly accessible and attractive album of zheng duets.  more --->  Clive Bell, The Wire, Dec. 2001 
  • An original and quite remarkable set of compositions  more --->  Paul-Emile Comeau, Global Rhythm, Aug 2002
Mei Han - Distant Wind CD with Randy Raine-Reusch
Distant Wind