Label: Old Heaven Books

中国の本土と香港を結ぶ近代的な都市"深セン"を拠点とする書店/カフェ/レコードレーベルOld Heaven Booksの出版物!!中国北東部の丹東出身、8歳でサックスを吹き始め、その後中国のフルート笛子の演奏始める事となる奇才プレイヤーLao Dan。既にデュオユニットbBb bBbとしての音源を紹介していますが、本作はオープンリールテープに記録する事を主旨としたサックスのソロ記録。ジャズや伝統的な中国音楽に捉われず、型にはまらない音作りの可能性を探求し続けた故の名演。素晴らしい一枚。





This series of reel-to-reel tape recordings, to be jointly released by Old Heaven Books and Liu Ying Studio, aims to offer to our listeners the best quality of sound we can achieve so far.
Whilst a small part of these releases come from historical archives, the majority are freshly made by musicians we invite to our studio. We record these studio sessions − some of which free-improvised, others more composition-based − on reel-to-reel tapes. With high-quality studio equipment, we make a small number of copies of the master through real-time duplication.
The more “left-field” the music is, the better quality of sound we need to present it with: the recording process is not just a mere reproduction of the music content, instead, once thoughtfully designed and executed, it can supply our ears with richer details. A good record is an extension of our auditory system. This is the notion we hold on to, and we hope to see it tested and proved through constant practice.
Thanks to the musicians! Good music always deserves our devotion.

Hailing from Dandong, a border city in Northeastern China across the Yalu River from North Korea, Lao Dan started playing the saxophone at the age of 8, before taking up the Chinese flute. In 2007, he was admitted, with the highest score, to the bamboo flute major at Shenyang Conservatory of Music (SYCM). At SYCM, he served as the principal flutist of the Youth Chinese Orchestra.
Instead of pursuing the conventional career path as a conservatory flutist inside the “system”, after leaving SYCM, Lao Dan became an independent musician. With a unique understanding of the woodwind instruments built through two decades of playing, Lao Dan sticks to his own vision to the Chinese flute and its sounds. Whilst he has explored various world music instruments including xiao, bawu, suona, and duduk, bamboo flute and saxophone remain his principal commitments. On both instruments, Lao Dan continues to push the limits of artistic expression, exploring the possibilities of free, dynamic, and nonconformist ways of sound-making confined by neither Jazz nor traditional Chinese musical conventions. His improvisation often brings to the audience an overwhelming sonic experience in which the East and the West, and the ancient and the modern, clash dramatically upon each other.