Chinese Folk Music Meets Appalachian Tradition On 'Wu Fei And Abigail Washburn'
Each a virtuoso in their own right, longtime friends and Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn team up for a tradition-blending debut album of folk music.
Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn, who released a self-titled debut album as a duo on Friday, have lived almost parallel lives. Both women were born in 1977, and both grew up to be accomplished and virtuosic folk musicians, albeit in completely different folk traditions. Wu is a composer and a world-renowned virtuoso on the guzheng, a 2500-year-old string instrument which is a staple of Chinese folk music. Meanwhile, Washburn is a banjo player who has won a Grammy Award for her reinterpretations of traditional Appalachian music.
Wu and Washburn are also longtime friends. Their
