Anahita

Amazon.com
There are many musicians adapting the sounds of Indian vocals, singing Vedic chants like Rasa or creating vocal hybrids like Lisa Gerrard and Vas. But Shweta Jhaveri is the real deal, an Indian singer, steeped in the traditions of the drut khyal style of ornamental singing. Her vocals swirl in uncanny glissandos and precision vibrato through melodies that unfold in epic stories. Yet this is far from a traditional album. Jhaveri has surrounded herself with a quartet of San Francisco's finest world-music eclectics. Guitarist Will Bernard, a veteran of Jai Uttal and Peter Apfelbaum's ensembles, creates swirling, ambient backgrounds of processed guitar that hang like Spanish moss on Jhaveri's melodic lines. Violinist Jenny Schienman is like an alter ego to Jhaveri, doubling her lines, trailing her in shadows. The understated bass and drum rhythm section of Bill Douglass and Jim Kassis doesn't replicate Indian rhythms and sounds so much as create a textural rhythmic backdrop for Jhaveri. She favors that high, slightly edgy register of Indian singers, but without the adenoidal tone that's usually part of the sound. Her Hindustani lyrics are devotional hymns and love songs, but her vocal flights quickly leave them behind as she undulates over inventive and intoxicating space. --John Diliberto

Anahita,Shweta Jhaveri,Intuition,India / Pakistan,Indian Classical,Int'l & World Music,Pop

Average customer rating: Mesmerizing mix of Indian classical&smooth jazz Mind-bending

Anahita Shweta Jhaveri Manufacturer: Intuition ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B00002434P Release Date: 2000-05-16

Tracks:

1. Invocation
2. To A Beloved
3. Amidst A Mist
4. No More
5. To The Spring
6. A Nosy Dawn

Customer Reviews:

Mesmerizing mix of Indian classical&smooth jazz.......2007-01-24

I first heard Shweta Jhaveri on Putumayo's now out-of-print "Gardens of Eden." While "To a Beloved" is in a shortened version on that compilation,I purchased this album&savored the entire song.

"Anahita" is a marvelous mix of Indian classical and smooth jazz;though it has an Eastern flavor,it was recorded in San Francisco with Bay Area jazz musicians."Invocation" opens the album in a devotional mood."To a Beloved" is a lilting,hypnotic love song."Amidst a mist" is mysterious and almost melancholy."To the Spring" is joyous."A Nosy Dawn" is serene and beautiful,despite its odd name.

"Anahita" is perfect for those who enjoy Indian music and smooth jazz!

Mind-bending.......2006-01-06

I have had this CD since it first came out five years ago and it just grows in power. A sympathetic collaboration between the classical Hindi singer and a modern North American acoustic-electric jazz combo with a psychedelic edge. Spacious and evocative of the seasons, the tracks tingle the spine and allow one to look out the window at the natural world with wonder and awe. Sacred and profane.

Average customer rating:

Wagner: Die Walkure Manufacturer: Arte Nove Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00005YUK0 Release Date: 2002-10-29

Average customer rating:

Ppaper-Anahita ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Compilations | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music | Ambient | Dance Pop | Disco | Drum & Bass | Electronica | Freestyle | Techno-House | Trance | Trip Hop ASIN: B000MZGWEG Release Date: 2007-02-13

Average customer rating: Smooth jazz in Jaipur This is what jazz is all about. Anahita Beautiful recording Breaking the grip of tradition

Anahita Shweta Jhaveri Manufacturer: Intuition ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music General | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00004SZT1 Release Date: 2000-05-16

Tracks:

1. Invocation
2. To a Beloved
3. Admidst a Mist
4. No More
5. To the Spring
6. Nosy Dawn

Amazon.com

There are many musicians adapting the sounds of Indian vocals, singing Vedic chants like Rasa or creating vocal hybrids like Lisa Gerrard and Vas. But Shweta Jhaveri is the real deal, an Indian singer, steeped in the traditions of the drut khyal style of ornamental singing. Her vocals swirl in uncanny glissandos and precision vibrato through melodies that unfold in epic stories. Yet this is far from a traditional album. Jhaveri has surrounded herself with a quartet of San Francisco's finest world-music eclectics. Guitarist Will Bernard, a veteran of Jai Uttal and Peter Apfelbaum's ensembles, creates swirling, ambient backgrounds of processed guitar that hang like Spanish moss on Jhaveri's melodic lines. Violinist Jenny Schienman is like an alter ego to Jhaveri, doubling her lines, trailing her in shadows. The understated bass and drum rhythm section of Bill Douglass and Jim Kassis doesn't replicate Indian rhythms and sounds so much as create a textural rhythmic backdrop for Jhaveri. She favors that high, slightly edgy register of Indian singers, but without the adenoidal tone that's usually part of the sound. Her Hindustani lyrics are devotional hymns and love songs, but her vocal flights quickly leave them behind as she undulates over inventive and intoxicating space. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Smooth jazz in Jaipur.......2006-06-27

This is a very relaxing album--it's what smooth jazz should be,and more.Shweta Jhaveri adeptly combines classical Indian singing with jazz worth lounging to.This album is best combined with other Indian fusion albums (Putumayo's "Asian Lounge",Ana Rita Simonka's "Bossa Nova Delhi",DJ Cheb I Sabbah's "Shri Durga"&"Krishna Lila")

Highlights-
1)To a Beloved.MOST of this track is on Putumayo's sadly discontinued "Gardens of Eden" compilation.This meditative&atmospheric.
2)Amidst a Mist-Mysterious,flowing.Since the jazz musicians are from San Francisco,it is fitting this song makes one think of the Bay Area fog.
3)To the Spring-A joyful,energetic piece.
4)A nosy dawn-Very touching&beautiful,despite the title's strangeness.

This is a beautiful album for contemplation,meditation,relaxation.

This is what jazz is all about........2001-12-16

This is what jazz is all about---great musicians coming together, challenging each other musically, pushing each other to new heights of ensemble performance, and leaving a grateful fan like me with a recording like this.

In this case, four accomplished San Francisco Bay Area instrumentalists accompany a vocalist trained the north Indian classical tradition. Additionally, each song is composed in a rag format, and is based on a 16-beat rhythm, and I've just told you everything I know about the rag format.

The first track, "Invocation," is a perfect introduction to Jhaveri's vocal prowess. She begins softly, then her voice soars with sudden assured power, then effortlessly slips into a more quiet, delicate, slightly breathy tone, while maintaining remarkable precision in intonation and melody. She's only singing the syllable "ah" to start the song, but the sheer beauty of her voice is riveting.

The second track, "To A Beloved," is the one that completely blew me away and made me fall in love with this record. The instrumental introduction is very strong---too strong, in my opinion, for a jazz vocal piece. But Jhaveri's voice, with its astounding power and grace, is more than up to the task. She truly has an amazing instrument.

Her voice is so powerful I can think of no other comparable vocalist. She reminds me more of a jazz horn player. In fact, I would say that if Miles Davis had ever made an Indian rag record, it would sound something like this record. Miles had the ability to play soft and gentle, and then suddenly take your breath away with his power. Shweta Jhaveri has the same ability, and it is perfectly showcased on this record.

"Anahita" is a modern jazz masterpiece.

Anahita.......2001-09-20

After hearing only a few songs from this album, I came to understand where George Harrison got his inspiration to write "Within You and Without You". Schweta's voice is pure and soothing whitch rounds over the dissonant melodic structure that most western music listerners are not used to. If you've never appreciated Indian music, this might be the one that gets you started.

Beautiful recording.......2000-10-01

There is nothing electronic about this album. It is a beautiful, succesful fusion of "Indian light raga meets jazz" in a tastefully structured way. Ranging from introspective to nostalgic, romantic and blissful, this recording takes you through a variety of emotions and moods and leaves you perfectly satisfied.

Breaking the grip of tradition.......2000-08-11

Jhaveri is a north-Indian classical singer. She breaks away from the traditional milieu of her art form and ventures into Fateh Ali Khan territory. Electronic ragas!

This album was a beautiful fusion of interesting sounds and moods. She is incredibly talented. Hope she makes more music of this kind. For those of you who are purists, you might want to check out some of her releases under the Biswas label.

Average customer rating:

Anahita Shweta Jhaveri Manufacturer: Intuition ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B000A2134K Release Date: 2000-05-16

Tracks:

1. Invocation
2. To a Beloved
3. Admidst a Mist
4. No More
5. To the Spring
6. Nosy Dawn

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