Customer Reviews

Planet Flute

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I collect alot of flute albums but this one is very special and unique. As I listened to each track, I went to another place in time and another country or culture. There are many different types of flutes and drums played on this album, and the didgeridoo resonated throughout in deep tones.

The flute playing was seemed to come from the heart of the flutist in whichever flute she played and the drums were invigorating and musical.

I liked all the tracks but my favorites were the Seventh Veil (Moroccan influence), Quetalcoatl (Aztec influence), and the Painted Cave (American Indian influence).

This is a great album to add to your music collection, especially if you like world music. The music on this album reflects the blending of cultures on our planet happening today.

Juilliard-trained Viviana Guzman, who plays over fifty varieties of flute, including glass, bass, gold, nose, Lapp, and Native American flutes on this album, is joined by her talented ensemble to present haunting, otherworldly music, based on folk melodies. Showing the "diversity, ritual, and connectedness" among peoples, the tracks include pieces of Andean, Celtic, Mexican, Afro-Cuban, Spanish, Native American, and Australian origin.

From "Seventh Veil," a Middle Eastern melody with insistent drumbeat, conjuring visions of Salome and belly dancers, to "Forest Voices," which calls to mind the sounds of birds and animals in the Australian outback and features an instrument called the bull roar, Guzmann and her ensemble reinvigorate aboriginal music, giving it a fresh sound and interpretation. "Painted Cave," inspired by a mysterious place in the Santa Barbara mountains still containing the spirit of the Native Americans who left their marks there, features Guzman on the Native American flute, accompanied by bass drum, clay drum, didgeridoo, and shakers. Her powerfully rendered "Amazing Grace" on the bass flute, closes this remarkable collection of Guzman's arrangements.

Most of these tracks are quietly played in minor keys and include a stirring beat, with the single-toned didgeridoo playing subtly in the background. Though the inspiration for these songs is simple, the musicianship Guzman and her group brings to their arrangements is amazing. John Villa, the expert on didgeridoo, has worked with aboriginal elders in Australia and has made his own instrument. Richard Patterson, who plays guitar on two tracks has studied in Spain with Andres Segovia. Jason Fann, who studied drumming in Ghana, and Peter Maund, an expert on ethnomusicology play aboriginal instruments here ranging from dumbek to riq, djembe, berimbau, and jun-jun. Guzman herself has advanced degrees and has studied with Jean-Pierre Rampal and James Galway.

The stunning cover art, which is also sold as a poster, suggests the back-to-basics approach of this group in getting at the essence of their music, paying homage to traditions of the past while thrilling the souls of performers and listeners alike. Mary Whipple

This is a good listening experience for anyone who likes unusual music played on the various types of flutes. It certainly isn't your usual flute fare. Viviana Guzman is an educator in that she exposes her audiences to the variety of flutes that exist, and the music that can be played on those instruments. I had the opportunity to attend one of her concerts and she does the same things from the stage.

When Viviana performs you can feel a breath of fresh air reaching her audience.Listening to her rendition of "Lagrimas de Mariposa"(Tears of the Butterfly) ,played with the glass flute,or to "Ojos Azules"(Blue Eyes) played with the gold flute,has transported my spirit from the mountains of the Andes to the cliffs of Big Sur and beyond.
Planet Flute is a CD which will be treasured by flute lovers no matter what language they speak.Viviana Guzman's artistry knows no limit.

Viviana Guzman is a remarkable flutist! This recording provides a lovely range of her flute music on a variety of instruments - highly recommended.

Planet Flute is a marvelous world-earth creation offered to us
by the gifted composing and performing talents of Viviana Guzman.
Viviana has teamed up with two other outstanding performers of
world music to paint and sculpt a scenery that will enfold into
multi-dimensional panorama in your mind. When closing your eyes
to this music you will be transported into vivid landscapes
that will connect you spiritually to our mother earth. I found
that it took me into the very core of our planet so the you
realize our sphere does function with an oversoul and that
all things living and breathing are truly at one with another
on the spiritual level. Viviana uses a abundant collection of
her flutes to create melodies and stiring earth song syncopations
that soar over the ever pulsating sounds of the didgeridoo blending with her enchantments, forming the all essential ground
bass and pulse input for the vast array of world percussion
instruments to weave enticing rhythmic embellishments into a
fabric for mother earth to wear.
This music works so well with Viviana's gift for photography and
poetry you will want to check out her visual offerings on her
website. This is a must CD collection of material that all serious enthusiasts of world music need to hear and have in their collection. The "Afro-Cuban Lullaby" brought back memories
of my early musical listening experiences as a young child when
I used to play a 78rpm recording of it that was issued in a album
of Rumbas by Xavier Cugat that my parents had. (*Columbia Records). I'm proud to say I could play those 78s at age 2-3 years
without breaking them so that melody could be enjoyed now in Viviana's soulful rendition.
This is a great earth trip that will always be a fresh experience every time it is listened to. So find a nice quiet
place to hear it, dream it, and keep it on your itinerary
for many fond future journeys.