artist: Riley Lee country of origin: USA/Australia style(s): Japanese folk, sacred, devotional, ethno-ambient essential releases: Satori [with Gabriel Lee] (1981, Enso) Oriental Sunrise [with Gabriel Lee] (1991, Narada) Wild Honey Dreaming [with Matthew Doyle] (1993, New World) Fountain Of Light [with Jim Franklin] (1993, New World)

The American-born Lee has evolved a brand of delicate flute music that draws deep inspiration from Zen Buddhism. He is widely respected as a master of the Japanese shakuhachi flute and was the first non-Japanese to ever attain the rank of "grand master" of the instrument. There's plenty of worthy albums in Lee's discography; the ones listed above are all from fairly early in his recording career and a good place to start.

The beautiful Satori and Oriental Sunrise are among his earliest albums. Brother Gabriel Lee accompanies him on koto to create uniformly slow music that is gentle, reflective and at times extremely quiet. They're the pick of his "pure" and most Zen-sounding recordings.

Soon after moving to Australia, Lee recorded some fine collaborations with local musicians during the 1990's for UK label New World (a label otherwise known for its dreadful new age muzak). Wild Honey Dreaming is a striking and at times quite lively combination of shakuhachi flute with Matthew Doyle’s didgeridoo, and Fountain Of Light with Jim Franklin is a rich, subtle melange of flute, synthesisers and electronic effects. Lee also appears with Australian multi-instrumentalist Michael Atherton on the excellent Shoalhaven Rise (1995).

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