Music for the Motherless Child

Music for the Motherless Child is a landmark collaborative album released in 1996 on the Water Lily Acoustics label. It features English folk guitarist Martin Simpson and Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man. Produced by Kavichandran Alexander, the project is part of a series of 'East meets West' recordings characterized by high-fidelity, minimalist production techniques. The album was recorded in a single seven-hour session at Christ the King Chapel in Santa Barbara, California, utilizing an all-tube signal path to capture the natural acoustics of the space. The repertoire consists primarily of traditional Western folk and blues pieces, reimagined through the lens of this unique instrumental pairing. The album is notable for its long-form improvisations, particularly on 'A-Minor Blues' and 'Dives and Lazarus,' which showcase the technical mastery and improvisational intuition of both performers. It has been praised by critics for its spiritual depth and audiophile-grade sound quality, eventually receiving a high-resolution SACD reissue.