The Art of the Daegeum Sanjo

The latest of Inédit's series of Korean sanjo releases is for daegeum, a horizontal bamboo flute with a resonator and a large blowing hole. The instrument's appealing sound incorporates buzzing and plenty of broad vibrato. Most of the album is sanjo music, a popular folk-art genre from Korea's south-west, with roots going back a couple of centuries. The brilliant flute is accompanied by percussion, courtesy of a slightly distant janggo (hourglass drum). There is also one masterful solo improvisation on the flute; upbeat and at times jazzy, it captures all the instrument's timbres superbly.

Unfortunately, the album also has two disappointing tracks, on which the flute joins in duet with the ajaeng (bowed zither). The first is a simple concert filler that gives us a sampler of folk song melodies from Korea's central and eastern areas, while the second takes material from shaman rituals from around Seoul that would normally be given by larger instrumental forces. Neither displays the musical potential of the ajaeng and they detract from what would otherwise be a wonderful album.