We are more and more pleasantly surprised by the level of Asian artists who have passed through the American school. And I'm not talking about the hard-working youngsters who train seriously at home then come to complete their studies for a better status, but about the brilliant ideas, real emotions and amazing productions coming from musicians born in an Eastern culture and assimilated by the totally different West. What can happen in this complex transition we learn today from Helen Sung and Hiromi Uehara. Some say that many artists produce albums during the pandemic for lack of diverse opportunities. How good it would be to have such exceptional creations from those who support this idea. Until then, we have a wonderful album from Helen Sung, who celebrates the music of influential female composers on Quartet Plus with new arrangements of works by Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland and Toshiko Akioshi, carrying on the tradition with some brilliant compositions of her own. Produced with Regina Carter, the album pairs the quartet led by Helen Sung with the Harlem String Quartet in an inventive combination of jazz and classical influences. The double quartet format isn't entirely new, but it represents the next level Sung has reached in a career dedicated to searching beyond conventional jazz lines, already expanded exponentially by each generation over the past 60 years. It takes nothing for granted, analyses everything with courage, accepts and offers surprises with open arms and gives us a very attractive, fresh and impeccably realised version of contemporary musical language.