Sounds & Cries Of The Wor

'Sounds and Cries of the World' is an album from experimental jazz vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu, who is best known for carving out new improvisational terrain for the voice through integrating traditional music discovered through rigorous research and fieldwork.

The Guardian has called her "a remarkable phenomenon" and The Wall Street Journal "invigorating" and "enigmatic." A 2014 recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Impact Award, Shyu is well-respected for her uncanny vocal precision and formidable musicianship. She is perhaps best known as a member of influential saxophonist Steve Coleman's band Five Elements, most recently on the critically lauded Synovial Joints (Pi 2015).

This release is a culmination of her travels through East Timor, Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan, where she has spent months to years in each place immersing herself in the language and under-recognized music of various indigenous cultures. Utilizing specific musical forms, dream-like narrative, and language of these various cultures, her work is utterly unique. The New York Times said that the effect "could remind you of ancient court music or Joni Mitchell. Everything Shyu did - every turn, every breath - came with mindful emphasis."