Jia Wu Da Hai Zhan

Dr. Wu' a.k.a. Jim Ashworth and Bryan Freeze have up until now, been deeply rooted in Texas Blues with the help of such players as the great Buddy Whittington, Mouse Mayes, Red Young, and other top musicians. Band mates Jim Ashworth and Bryan Freeze formed Dr. Wu’ in 2002 after growing up and playing in various bands starting in the late 60’s. The name was taken from a favorite Steely Dan song that encourages us to live life to the fullest and strive to be the very best that we can be.

This Deutsche Grammophon release captures an exceptional group of live performances from New York's Alice Tully Hall in early 2015. It was recorded well, mastered, and, remarkably, on sale by the end of April of that year. That's what the old major labels need more of: the agility to spot something good that's happening and follow through on it. The listener's eye may be drawn first to the name of Mahler on an album of piano quartets.

Band mates JIM ASHWORTH and BRYAN FREEZE formed Dr. Wu’ in 2002 after growing up and playing in various bands starting in the late 60’s. The name was taken from a favorite Steely Dan song that encourages us to live life to the fullest and strive to be the very best that we can be. With this as their goal, they set out to record their “Texas Blues” Project Volume I “Fort Worth Artists”… a long overdue recorded history utilizing guest appearances by musicians who have made Fort Worth a global mecca of top players… especially great “guitar slingers”. With the success of their first CD, which was placed on the ballot for the 51st Grammy nominations …Jim and Bryan have eagerly gone back into their home studios to collaborate on their 2nd CD …. Vol II of the “Texas Blues” Project. Several years have passed and now we have Vol. 7! Listen, enjoy the new album of the group.

Schubert’s two Piano Trios are amongst his greatest works, contrasted both within themselves and between each other although written within weeks of each other. The B flat has a superficially contented character at the start, but even here clouds seem to come across the sky at increasingly frequent intervals. The E flat is a more obviously dramatic work throughout, and the curiously ambiguous march of the slow movement is surely some of the most inspired music Schubert ever wrote.

Hai-Kyung Suh, a world-renowned romantic pianist, has lived a difficult, thorny life. The imprint of her experience would be expected to drive her to profoundly express the sentiments of Schubert's music, which sublimates sadness and tragedy into music.