Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn
The ten-year artistic partnership between Wu Fei, a master of the guzheng—an ancient Chinese string instrument with a history spanning 2,500 years—and Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, and banjo virtuoso Abigail Washburn embodies the spirit of our Collaborations series.
Their eponymous debut album, produced by banjo legend Béla Fleck and released on Smithsonian Folkways, weaves together the traditions of two distinct musical heritages, stretching from the Appalachian hills to the Xinjiang prairies. The result is a surprisingly harmonious soundtrack, featuring Wu’s guzheng melodies gracefully complementing Washburn’s expressive banjo playing, with their voices blending English and Chinese dialects.
