Tabula Rasa

Jie-Bing Chen, Bela Fleck, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 2, 1996)
• Original Release Date: July 2, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Water Lily Acoustics
• ASIN: B000002VYK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,473 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #41 in Music > World Music > Far East & Asia > China
  • #64 in Music > Rock > Jam Bands > Bluegrass Jam Bands

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heaven on Earth!, January 24, 1999

By 

Bryan Lowe (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tabula Rasa (Audio CD)

I began my journey with V.M. Bhatt with the Ry Cooder disc Meeting by the River. A VERY nice disc. However, to most musicians it will be immediatly clear that Bhatt and Cooder really did record this disc on one evening. They are NOT tight. Beautiful yes... tight no. This disc, on the other hand, is finely crafted. These musicians worked together, finely honed, and perfected together. I am most impressed by the cuts with the Erhu, an instrument I found somewhat irritating in the past. Here it sings. As I type this I am listening to a tune written by Fleck, the banjo player, called Jade Princess. It alone is worth the price of the disc twice over. I can't get anymore enthusiastic about a disc. Wonderful.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous 2-Track Analog Recording of Colourful Music, February 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tabula Rasa (Audio CD)

Waterlily Acoustic's custom recording gear (made by Esoteric Audio Research) shines on this elegant, rich recording of Fleck and his fellow musicians made in an old Santa Barbara church. The in-depth liner notes are a comprehensive companion to the music and the history surrounding it. They stuck to the basics for this one - single stereo pair of mics, pure 2-track analog w/no adulteration. It sparkles! The music is a joy to listen to, the various flavours of each musician's style mixed together to make for a colourful, melodic album. Definately a rare colaboration that shouldn't be missed!!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Banjo travels east..., January 26, 2008

By 

B. Womack (Philadelphia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tabula Rasa (Audio CD)

Bela Fleck has successfully (even prior to this recording) taken the banjo out of its bluegrass/hillbilly context and inserted it where it seemingly should not be welcome: jazz, classical. For this performance he has taken the "twang" out of the sound of the banjo and replaced it with a rich tonal quality that can only be described as the pure, untainted sound of the instrument itself. The Master of the Banjo plays with music masters of the far east and together they have created one of my favorite cd's. Tabula Rasa is stunningly beautiful.