Reviews of CDs, DVDs, Books - an Archive
Bela Fleck / Zakir Hussain / Edgar Meyer
Melody of Rhythm
(Koch)
Tabla genius Zakir Hussain recently added another adventurous recording to his long and storied career. The Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio features Hussain, banjo master Béla Fleck, and cellist/bassist Edgar Meyer. The trio collaborates with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra directed by Leonard Slatkin. Fleck and Meyer have worked together sporadically for over a quarter century and when commissioned to create a triple concerto, they filled the third part of the equation with Hussain, a natural choice for exploratory music. The acoustic recording is a blend of jazz, Indian, and Appalachian folk, classical, and adventurous instrumentation coaxing a new improvisational sound. Elements of gypsy swing add to the classical concerto with varied playing where the trio converses with the orchestra and performs as three parts playing into the whole. This collaboration involves patience and knowing the other players and their techniques. The trio composes and performs this task with exacting and meticulous effort. The recording requires patience from the listener as well, as each layer unfolds and the
subtleties of the three instruments tell their own tales. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine February 2010).
Melody of Rhythm
(Koch)
Tabla genius Zakir Hussain recently added another adventurous recording to his long and storied career. The Melody of Rhythm: Triple Concerto & Music for Trio features Hussain, banjo master Béla Fleck, and cellist/bassist Edgar Meyer. The trio collaborates with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra directed by Leonard Slatkin. Fleck and Meyer have worked together sporadically for over a quarter century and when commissioned to create a triple concerto, they filled the third part of the equation with Hussain, a natural choice for exploratory music. The acoustic recording is a blend of jazz, Indian, and Appalachian folk, classical, and adventurous instrumentation coaxing a new improvisational sound. Elements of gypsy swing add to the classical concerto with varied playing where the trio converses with the orchestra and performs as three parts playing into the whole. This collaboration involves patience and knowing the other players and their techniques. The trio composes and performs this task with exacting and meticulous effort. The recording requires patience from the listener as well, as each layer unfolds and the
subtleties of the three instruments tell their own tales. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine February 2010).
Khaled
Liberté
(Wrasse Records)
Celebrated Algerian Rai singer Khaled is flexing his musical muscle while going organic on his newest disc Liberté. He has set aside synth pop that drizzled into some of his past recordings while returning to Rai roots where the addition of Egyptian orchestral strings added into diwan (traditional Algerian Gnawa) creates a warm mood. The results are organic compositions where the foundational Rai remains intact. The word Rai means “opinion” and since appearing on the scene in the mid 1970s, Khaled has written subtle to not so subtle lyrics, sung in Arabic and French, to become the uncrowned king of Rai. On Liberté the songs are mature and global yet sound distinctly Algerian. The percussion is infectious with a featured range of instruments including accordion, gumbri, ney flute, the guellal and strings. Several tracks have intros, vocal-based preludes showcasing the song that’s to follow. Rai is party music, with its roots in Bedouin music, but it also celebrates love and life through social commentary. Khaled’s voice is deftly commanding and the beats, the rhythms and the words that color Rai are as vibrant as ever. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine November 2009).
Liberté
(Wrasse Records)
Celebrated Algerian Rai singer Khaled is flexing his musical muscle while going organic on his newest disc Liberté. He has set aside synth pop that drizzled into some of his past recordings while returning to Rai roots where the addition of Egyptian orchestral strings added into diwan (traditional Algerian Gnawa) creates a warm mood. The results are organic compositions where the foundational Rai remains intact. The word Rai means “opinion” and since appearing on the scene in the mid 1970s, Khaled has written subtle to not so subtle lyrics, sung in Arabic and French, to become the uncrowned king of Rai. On Liberté the songs are mature and global yet sound distinctly Algerian. The percussion is infectious with a featured range of instruments including accordion, gumbri, ney flute, the guellal and strings. Several tracks have intros, vocal-based preludes showcasing the song that’s to follow. Rai is party music, with its roots in Bedouin music, but it also celebrates love and life through social commentary. Khaled’s voice is deftly commanding and the beats, the rhythms and the words that color Rai are as vibrant as ever. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine November 2009).
Doug Cox and Salil Bhatt
Slide to Freedom II
(Northern Blues Music)
Slide to Freedom II is a meeting of two worlds and two musical minds converging into a single musical form. Bbottleneck slide guitar and dobro master Doug Cox and Indian classical slide veteran Salil Bhatt come together to compose intriguing compositions including “Freedom Raga,” “Amazing Grace,” and the fantastic improvisational track “Moods of Madhuvanti.” Cox and Bhatt are veteran musicians and understand their instruments and their potential for musical exploration. Salil Bhatt hails from a long line of sitar and veena masters and innovators, most notably his father and fellow collaborator on Slide to Freedom II, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Canadian bluesman Cox brings the blues and channels Appalachian music while Bhatt melds timeless Indian music. Other tracks include takes on the New Orleans classic “Make a Better World.” The ragas of Indian classical music are full of subtleties so Cox learned how to play with them, through them and around them. This is musical cultural blending at its best where New Orleans gospel singer John Boutté adds vocals to several tracks. For this session Cox also uses a gadgie, a rare metal-bodied resophonic guitar that can be tuned to the right resonant spots to match the veenas and blend naturally with Bhatt’s sound. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine November 2009).
Slide to Freedom II
(Northern Blues Music)
Slide to Freedom II is a meeting of two worlds and two musical minds converging into a single musical form. Bbottleneck slide guitar and dobro master Doug Cox and Indian classical slide veteran Salil Bhatt come together to compose intriguing compositions including “Freedom Raga,” “Amazing Grace,” and the fantastic improvisational track “Moods of Madhuvanti.” Cox and Bhatt are veteran musicians and understand their instruments and their potential for musical exploration. Salil Bhatt hails from a long line of sitar and veena masters and innovators, most notably his father and fellow collaborator on Slide to Freedom II, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Canadian bluesman Cox brings the blues and channels Appalachian music while Bhatt melds timeless Indian music. Other tracks include takes on the New Orleans classic “Make a Better World.” The ragas of Indian classical music are full of subtleties so Cox learned how to play with them, through them and around them. This is musical cultural blending at its best where New Orleans gospel singer John Boutté adds vocals to several tracks. For this session Cox also uses a gadgie, a rare metal-bodied resophonic guitar that can be tuned to the right resonant spots to match the veenas and blend naturally with Bhatt’s sound. (Review originally published in Saathee Magazine November 2009).
Vandana Vishwas
Monologues (A Bouquet of Indian Melodies…)
Canada-based singer Vandana Vishwas has a voice that’s somber and reflective, the kind that’s custom-made for singing ghazals. She breathes life into poetry, and when the music is added an aura of elegance, a visage of India’s musical heritage blooms. She recently released her second recording, Monologues, which starts off with the somber “Raah Niharoon (The Wait)” and ends with the reflective “Mai Kya Hoon? (What am I).” The rest of the recording is filled with thumris and ghazals that linger and evoke Indian melodies and memories. Among the strongest tracks is the wonderful “Des Se Door (Away from the motherland)” which takes its time to unfold. Her vocal modulations flavor the recording throughout. Most lyrics are written by her husband, and multi-instrumentalist, Vishwas Thoke, but the album also includes a song each by Jigar Muradabadi and Mirza Ghalib. The lyrics range from philosophical to love songs and longing for home. She fuses Hindustani classical and traditional music with a touch of jazz. Her roots are in thumris and ghazals but there’s a joyous free spirit in her music as well. “Ever since we came to Canada, we have been listening to every kind of music style. Toronto is a mini world for us. I have taken a special liking for jazz, and it has become a bit of an obsession,” she reflects. “It didn’t change my vocal rendering that much, but it has influenced the way I arrange my music. I had never thought I will ever use bass and chords in my songs before; I’ve especially come to love the way bass sounds and feels with Indian melodies.”
Monologues (A Bouquet of Indian Melodies…)
Canada-based singer Vandana Vishwas has a voice that’s somber and reflective, the kind that’s custom-made for singing ghazals. She breathes life into poetry, and when the music is added an aura of elegance, a visage of India’s musical heritage blooms. She recently released her second recording, Monologues, which starts off with the somber “Raah Niharoon (The Wait)” and ends with the reflective “Mai Kya Hoon? (What am I).” The rest of the recording is filled with thumris and ghazals that linger and evoke Indian melodies and memories. Among the strongest tracks is the wonderful “Des Se Door (Away from the motherland)” which takes its time to unfold. Her vocal modulations flavor the recording throughout. Most lyrics are written by her husband, and multi-instrumentalist, Vishwas Thoke, but the album also includes a song each by Jigar Muradabadi and Mirza Ghalib. The lyrics range from philosophical to love songs and longing for home. She fuses Hindustani classical and traditional music with a touch of jazz. Her roots are in thumris and ghazals but there’s a joyous free spirit in her music as well. “Ever since we came to Canada, we have been listening to every kind of music style. Toronto is a mini world for us. I have taken a special liking for jazz, and it has become a bit of an obsession,” she reflects. “It didn’t change my vocal rendering that much, but it has influenced the way I arrange my music. I had never thought I will ever use bass and chords in my songs before; I’ve especially come to love the way bass sounds and feels with Indian melodies.”
Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia
Round About Weill
ECM Records
Italian jazz duo Trovesi (piccolo and alto clarinets) and Coscia (accordion) interpret one of the more baffling and creative composers of the 20th century on Round About Weill. About a third of the compositions are originals and the rest interpenetration of Kurt Weill’s works. The recording is like a question-and-answer session in which one musician goads the other into melodic directional changes. Weill’s “Alabama Song” gets a freewheeling treatment while the duo takes the original compositions, often interspersed with hints of tango and Mediterranean folk melodies, back into Weill territory. The free association of jazz improvisation is at play here, but the works are deliberate and the duo manages to transport willing ears to the smoky cabarets of the Weill’s war-tormented Germany. Weill (1900-1950) is not easily covered, but the combination of woodwinds and accordion here unleash subtle yet prescient notes that can rattle the complacent and give solace to the converted.
Round About Weill
ECM Records
Italian jazz duo Trovesi (piccolo and alto clarinets) and Coscia (accordion) interpret one of the more baffling and creative composers of the 20th century on Round About Weill. About a third of the compositions are originals and the rest interpenetration of Kurt Weill’s works. The recording is like a question-and-answer session in which one musician goads the other into melodic directional changes. Weill’s “Alabama Song” gets a freewheeling treatment while the duo takes the original compositions, often interspersed with hints of tango and Mediterranean folk melodies, back into Weill territory. The free association of jazz improvisation is at play here, but the works are deliberate and the duo manages to transport willing ears to the smoky cabarets of the Weill’s war-tormented Germany. Weill (1900-1950) is not easily covered, but the combination of woodwinds and accordion here unleash subtle yet prescient notes that can rattle the complacent and give solace to the converted.