Fingertip Carnival

Wu Man is a remarkable lady. The best-known exponent of the pipa, the pear-shaped Chinese lute, she has used the instrument to play anything from Chinese folk songs to compositions by Terry Riley, and has worked with Kronos Quartet and the Silkroad Ensemble. Now she teams up with the US band Son de San Diego to show that she can treat Mexican songs with the same ease and expertise.

It may seem an unlikely new fusion but it makes perfect sense. After all, Wu Man lives in San Diego, and Son de San Diego play a variety of fretted, guitar-like instruments that include the guitarra de son, leoncita and different types of jarana, that work well alongside the pipa. The band specialise in the son jarocho folk style from Veracruz, and this gently charming acoustic set is dominated by Mexican traditional songs and instruments, with the pipa joining in.

But the two most memorable tracks don't feature Mexican songs but are instead new arrangements of Chinese folk songs with a Mexican-edged backing. ‘China Blues’, which includes vocals from Wu Man, is a slow, bluesy piece dominated by the pipa, while ‘Dance in the Sunshine’ is a delightful twanging work-out.