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CD Review:

Tea Drops/Zhang Wei-liang/Wind

This release by Wind Records follows on the heels of a growing fad in Taiwan of combining traditional Chinese instrumental music with the Chinese tea ceremony. (See this month's "Culture Corner" for details.) Chinese flute master Zhang Wei-liang has put tea to music. He chose Long-jing tea as his focus as much of this green tea is grown in the beautiful surroundings of West Lake in Suchou, China. The eight selections on this CD are calming and yet uplifting. Although the focus is on the flute, other traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu, pipa and zither also flow beautifully into the compositions.--by Cheryl Robbins