Music Of Cambodia 1-3

This disc introduces Western ears to folk traditions that are almost unknown, even within Cambodia. The first music listeners hear is a pinpeat orchestra, a combination of reeds, fiddles and percussion--from bamboo marimbas, drums, metal clappers and bass drums. The music sounds like a gamelan, but with more drive, and a jazzy, improvisational feel. Next is a Taam Ming group--taam is the sound of a drum, ming the sound of a gong--playing music for funerals. These tunes are slow and mournful, with extended somber improvisations on the srlay (Cambodian oboe). Last is a trot orchestra, a group that plays a drum-and-vocal based folk music common to Northern Cambodia, that sounds at times similar to reggae funde drumming rituals. --j. poet