Suzanne Teng & Mystic Journey

"...Brilliant flutist" - Los Angeles Times

Suzanne Teng is a student of the flute, playing variations on this instrument from around the world on her impressive solo debut. Sensual and serene, Teng orchestrates a global percussion landscape with Gilbert Levy, sending improvisations across a slow dance on “Topanga Dreams,” creating a Middle Eastern tango on “Katyia’s Dance,” and bringing out a ritual dance on “China Lily.” On “Aduman,” Teng is joined by African kora player Prince Diabate in a vibrant narrative of cross-picked melodies. Because she is often inspired by dance, one can hear her rhythms and melodies flowing with the form of bodies in motion. And when exhaustion sets in, Teng envelopes the listener in a meditative space of “Clouds Across the Darkness,” with a multi-tracked bass flute blowing across wind chimes and a Tibetan singing bowl. ‘Mystic Journey’ is an impressive debut from a former member of the Angels of Venice.” - Billboard Magazine

"Here's a sweet, ethereal musical journey by an L.A. based instrumentalist who is joined by 17 master musicians featuring flutes, strings and percussion instruments from around the world. Nicely produced, the music is influenced by various spiritual disciplines and includes melodies from China, Africa and India. This CD is an East meets West production orchestrated by Teng's delightful flute performances and the joy that emanates from her soul when she plays." - Music Connection Magazine

Mystic Journey is an apt title for this CD, which lifts the listener to a place where beauty, ecstasy and tranquility reside. A literal world fusion orgy, this CD features 18 master musicians on a plethora of flutes, strings, and percussion instruments from around the world - C flute, alto flute, Chinese bamboo flute, pan pipes, Celtic harp, African harp, Tibetan cymbal, tabla, doumbek, Chinese drum, shakers, string bass, oud, violin, Indian zither - the instruments are too numerous to name here. The resulting sound is full and rich without giving way to modern electric instruments; keyboards are the sole non-acoustic instrument played here.

Above the tapestry that the various instruments create is Suzanne Teng’s flute, sometimes soaring like a bird taking flight, other times evoking subtler shades and moods. The 10 original songs, written by Teng and other collaborators, are inspired by the East (China, India, the Middle East and Africa) and fused with the West, and by nature (a sunrise in India, clouds, lakes). The opening song, “Topanga Dreams,” is an ode to the town where Teng resides, and starts the album off on an uplifting tone. “China Lily” invokes the Far East with Teng on the dize (Chinese bamboo flute). The album reaches a peak with the song “Fertile Crescent,” which starts off slowly, then jumps into a fast-paced Turkish song replete with oud (Arabic lute), dumbek and ney (Turkish flute) that’s implssible to sit still to!

After that, things quiet down a bit. “Clouds Across the Darkness” evokes just that; it’s a slow, moody piece with sparse instrumentation (bass flute, wind chimes and Tibetan bowl) as opposed to the more than a dozen instruments played on other songs. Finally, the album flickers out quietly with “Lotus.”

I’ve heard a lot of CDs (most of them in the so-called New Age genre) that claim to elevate and inspire, but turn out to be over-produced, heavily synthesized and disappointing. Mystic Journey, however, delivers the goods.
- Whole Life Times