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The prolific works of Riley Lee have been noted in this column previously. This son of a Chinese immigrant to Texas and a Caucasian mother studied under Katsuya Yokoyama  in Japan and became the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of Grand Master of the shakuhachi flute. In his new CD, Picture Dreams, he joins Satsuki Odamura, a Japanese koto musician who brought her music to an appreciative audience in Australia, where she now lives. Odamura has been one of the pioneers in introducing the koto to audiences worldwide and has inspired many Aussie composers to write for her. The combination of shakuhachi flute and koto is as natural as that of mountain and sky, or evergreen and moss. This is an exquisitely beautiful album. I highly recommend it.

And if you cannot get enough of Riley Lee's shakuhachi flute, you're really in luck this month. He has also released a two-disc set called Music for Zen Meditation. While Picture Dreams sounds more in the vein of dramatic, classical Japanese music, Music for Zen Meditation is much more inwardly-directed and peaceful. His music is said to move one to the center, where, according to Rainer Maria Rilke, nothing is lacking and couldn't have been better made.  It is amazing to consider that the shakuhachi flute has only five finger holes, and yet has such incredible range of expression. This music finds the stillpoint, and it is a living meditation.

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MUSIC NEWS

Georgia's own Emerald Rose has hit the big time, playing the post-Oscar party for The Lord of the Rings! The party, sponsored by Theonering.net (largest Tolkien movie fan site), was lavishly decorated, with rooms to represent different Middle Earth locales. Emerald Rose had the audience literally howling with delight when they played their rendition of Pippin's Hobbit Drinking Song. Congratulations to Emerald Rose on this long overdue spotlight!