Orchid

Shao Rong's pipa, a Chinese lute, sounds like a cross between a banjo and a mandolin, with the plucked resonance of the former and the ringing, multiple-string tremolo sound of the latter. Though the musician is classically trained, Orchid is an album of original compositions written and arranged by Seiichi Kyoda, who combines traditional Chinese and Japanese instruments with Western ones in a distinctly Western musical sensibility. This pleasant music will sound only slightly exotic to American listeners, and that's all to the good, since without the unusual sounds of the traditional instruments, it would be fairly bland. Shao Rong, meanwhile, sounds more like a featured player on an ensemble effort than the real star of the show.