Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist. Born in Paris, he spent his schooling years in New York City and was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and has enjoyed a prolific career as both a soloist performing with orchestras around the world and a recording artist. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards. In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded a wide variety of folk music such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Bobby McFerrin, as well as five-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist James Taylor. Ma's primary performance instrument is a Montagnana cello crafted in 1733 valued at US$2.5 million.
The album from Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble will surprise and delight with imaginative sounds that transform the traditional musical landscape. Sing Me Home is the sixth album by the Grammy®-nominated Silk Road Ensemble and its founding member and guiding light, Yo-Yo Ma. The album features special guest performers Rhiannon Giddens, Sarah Jarosz, Abagail Washburn, Gregory Porter, Lisa Fischer, Grammy Award®-winning jazz guitarist, Bill Frisell and more.
Produced by Silk Road Ensemble member Johnny Gandelsman and Grammy Award® winner Kevin Killen (U2, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, David Bowie), Sing Me Home examines the ever-changing idea of home, with original and traditional tunes composed or arranged by members of the Ensemble s unique collective of global artists. Each piece invites listeners to explore the music of home through the individual experiences of Ensemble members, many of whom are immigrants. The result is a compelling collection of innovative and deeply moving tributes to the rich cultural heritage of the Balkans, China, Galicia, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mali people of Roma, Syria and the United States.
Sing Me Home is a companion album, developed and recorded alongside The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, a documentary feature film from Oscar® and Emmy®-winning director Morgan Neville that tells the story of the Ensemble and Silk Road, its parent organization. The Music of Strangers will be released theatrically nationwide in June and will air on HBO in the fall.
A surprisingly good collaboration from two virtuosos of their given instruments. Bobby McFerrin, the master of the voice, and Yo-yo Ma, the master of the cello, combined to perform various pieces, from classical, traditional, and contemporary classical sectors. Some of the McFerrin compositions are quite amazing simply as compositions to begin with, but when the cello and vocal performances are added, they become something even more exciting. More than likely, the main highlight on the album is Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," which is performed on a dual line by both musicians and allows an ample chance to note the amazing virtuosity of McFerrin, once you can distinguish the voice from the cello (yes, they follow the lines that close). For any fan of either musician, it's a wonderful find of an album.
