Customer Rating: 
Summary: You can hear the fun the two are having
Comment: Some recordings sound polished and elegant. Some sound like the artists are having a blast while they're recording. "Hush" is a delightful mix of both.
Most of the songs are pretty quiet save for my three favorites. You've got a lot of traditional and classical music with Master Ma's beautiful playing and McFerrin's incredibly versatile voice.
My favorites:
"Hush" with lyrics by McFerrin
"Hoedown" with vocal riffing by McFerrin
"Flight of the Bumblebee" probably the most fun the pair had
Rebecca Kyle, December 2008
Customer Rating: Summary: A beautiful marriage of perspectives and styles
Comment: The idea of this album is certainly interesting, and artfully carried out. Jazz icon, McFerrin, and master cellist, Ma, parter together to bring a diverse selection of pieces on this recording. McFerrin's own virtuosity in the area of composing, is shown in this recording that includes several originals by him.
The nearly seamless marriage of voice and strings is beautifully presented and the recording is certainly presented in an easy sound. Not only does McFerrin show his outstanding versatility as a vocalist, but Ma shows his lovely artistry in playing a wide range of styles.
My favorite pieces in this recording would be as follows:
Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov. This piece is charming in it's quick-tempo and change of timbres throughout the performance, primarily within the voice of McFerrin. The composition is widely known, and is likely to infect the listener with joy and smiles.
Rachmaninoff's Vocalise is a great piece preformed in nearly a traditional manner, with McFerrin sticking closely to the originally composed melody line, and showing his skill as a lyric, if not full-voiced singer.
McFerrin's compositions, Grace, and Hoewdown are great pieces, bringing to light the virtuosity of the man's compositional skills. The ability to compose in a way that brings out the color of both instruments (voice and cello), and shows a diversity of sound and styles, is artfully displayed here.
On the less notable side, I was disappointed in Ave Maria, which has the staccato accompaniment performed by the vocals of McFerrin, and the melody by the cello. McFerrin is lacking in pitch accuracy, and while that is to be expected with such detached notes being sung in a widely varying succession of intervals and order, this piece should have been eliminated from the project. Ma is flawless in his execution, however.
I don't know that I would want to listen to a lot more recordings just like this, but being very much interested in crossover recordings and merging of styles, this album is charming and even has some very sophisticated musical moments.
