| 1. Raga Jogiya |
| 2. Dhun |
| 3. Rupak Tal |
| 4. Raga Madhu Kauns |
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Interest in the Sitar Master Has Never Been Greater, Precipitating the Re-release of this LP. Remastered and Now Sounding Better Than Ever.
Anyway, what you DO get is one of the all-time masters of melodic line at peak performance, for an hour. The bunch of this CD is the fast, rhythm-centered sitarwork termed "gat". Not lyrical in a Western sense, but intense, "dancing", unflaggingly inventive twists and turns of melody. Ravi goes all out with one of his favorite tricks here: playing a phrase twice in a row, then playing just the start of it and suddenly veering away into a new melody. A full analysis of all the dozens of ways in which Ravi creates surprise, tension, release, and excitement using just a single melody line would take many pages. To say that he is a master of ornamentation would be just the beginning.
One nice thing is that for each raga you get to hear two different buildups to a climax - the first without tabla (drum) accompaniment and the second, larger buildup, with tabla. It's almost as if there are six performances on the CD, not just three. Very effective - when the drums come in each time, I get the pleasure of knowing that the superlative stringwork still ringing in my ears from the first movement will be topped by the
coming, percussion-accompanied sequel. It is also very nice that the three ragas featured here come from three entirely different melodic families, and create rather different effects.
Based on what I've heard of his music so far, it seems to me that later in his life Ravi Shankar, though losing none of his speed or showmanship, could no longer bring such sheer densely-packed melodic inventiveness to his gats as he shows here(his alaps only got better, however). Whether that's true or not, however, this is a stunning performance and some of the best music most people will ever hear. Get it.
I was struck by the flawless remastering job, first of all--although this album was recorded in 1956, it could have been recorded yesterday for the freshness and sharpness of the sound. Shankar's performances are beyond reproach--while I wouldn't call this the peak of his career, exactly (unlike one of the previous reviewers), I would say this was a very promising start, and an excellent introduction for anyone to Indian classical music. Raga itself is truly timeless music--it never sounds dated, like some forms of music do, but it is truly the sound of the soul; Ravi even describes "Raga Jog" as the expression of one soul's longing, and you feel this quite strongly.
I purchased this one along with his later work A Morning Raga/An Evening Raga, and had previously purchased Improvisations (his first actual American release, issued by the World Pacific label in 1962 and remastered by Angel-EMI in 1999 as one of the first few titles in the Ravi Shankar Collection series). I highly recommend this music for anyone who truly enjoys world music in general (being one of those myself, something for which I will always heartily thank my wife) and Indian music in particular. For those wishing to explore the Carnatic tradition of South India, I would recommend the late Ramnad Krishnan's 1968 recording Vidwan...also a challenging, but ultimately rewarding, listen.
That's probably not the most popular thing to say, given the fact that his career has been so long and this is not his most famous performance/album, but the proof is in the music itself. He certainly didn't have the degree of fame in 1956 that he would have just a decade later, but his music was peaking. If I were chatting with someone and they offhandedly said that Raga Jog from this disc was the best 28 minutes of Ravi's officially-released career, I would not be inclined to argue with them. If you've been all ga-ga over Monterey Pop for the past 30 years (or 30 days) but you've never heard this album, you should prepare yourself now. Ravi's Monterey Pop performance is but a shadow of what happens here, even though his performance was the highlight of Monterey Pop itself.
The alap, jor, and jhala in Raga Jog are some of the best of Ravi's life. This alap is much more powerful than the alap in Bhimpalasi from Monterey, and here with Chatur Lal on tabla, the gats reveal Ravi at his all-time high in terms of rhythmic sophistication and plain old-fashioned fire power. Not enough good things can be said about Chatur Lal... one of the best tabla players of his generation. An incredible musician who made everyone better around him.
Rags Ahir Bhairav and Simhendra Madhyamam are shorter, compact performances at 15 and 11 minutes respectively but that is fine, especially in light of the fact that several of the Angel-remastered early albums are made up largely of shorter performances... and again, these 2 are at the top of the heap.
If you can only have one Ravi Shankar album, make sure this is the one. After this, take the previous reviewer's advice with respect to Nikhil Banerjee. Nikhil was unbelievably brilliant... a melodic genius.
It does not get 5 stars because of packaging issues. The CDs were packaged in plastic cases on the front and back cover of the book, so when I took them out there were blemishes on the surface and the CDs would not play properly. However after one thorough round of cleaning, they started playing .
However, the 74 ragas performed are not full-fledged performances as such but more like compressed demo pieces, so an expert listener may not enjoy it as much - but the average listener probably would not appreciate a 75 minute performance of Raga Multani anyway.
You receive 4 CD's and a guide to raga. Not just a plastic cd jewel case with some foldout but a guidebook.
The information contained in the guidebook is a wonderful resource. The whole package is very similar to a college textbook with media.
The sound quality is top shelf. Again, this is a quality production.
Enjoy
I used to be of the mindset of only listening to ragas during their prescribed time of day but I have kind of gotten out of that. Now I listen to whatever I need to listen to whenever I am in the mood for it... which brings me to this disc.
Recorded live in Rotterdam in 1970, Nikhil Banerjee and Kanai Dutta give what are, for me, "deep dark dead of night" performances of 2 afternoon ragas. Very little compares to listening to this disc around 2 or 3am with all the lights off and just the flickering of a few candles flashing through your closed eyelids. I don't mean this is relax and zone-out music (as is the general stereotype), though. You will be hanging on every note, every emotion. There is just something so deep and so emotional about Nikhil's brilliant tone and melodic invention here... these are performances that burrow into your soul.
Part of Nikhil's power (at least to my ears) was that he seemed to have a surbahar sensibility, yet he played the sitar. His tone, melodic ideas, and his meends are on a whole other level. Of course no one can put a musical experience in words, but there are a couple notes here... a couple phrases that haunt me. The whole performance is excellent... I don't mean to make it sound like there are just a couple moments... but what I mean is that there are some things he does here that feel as if the entire beautiful history of Hindustani music was leading up to those couple phrases. You just feel it all. I'm not sure any other sitarist ever had "the power of One Note" the way Nikhil had it.
Add Nikhil's power of melody and tone with Kanai Dutta's remarkable precision and dexterity on tabla and you have the recipe for some wonderous gats.
Pick this one up for yourself, turn off the lights and be moved.
While most of the Kauns' are among the heavier ragas this one (Madhu-Kauns) is exceptionally beautiful. Also, it is the most evenly paced recordings I've heard of this raga. It all happens in about 20 minutes! It starts with a slow, sad mood which keeps tugging at your heart. Once you are almost satisfied with the alaap, it gets into a medium paced momentum which gives a feeling of having a leisurely walk in a park with lots of little nooks with a variety of flowers. A little more that half way into the raga, it starts running, taking small flights at times, which give you brief flashes of even more beautiful scenes. One can feel the rhythm in the background, but the tabla is not playing yet ! Its an amazing feeling !
I usually stop at this point but to all the die-hard fans of tabla, there is still more. The last few minutes build up a dancing crescendo between the Sitar and the tablas which takes you to a climax.
P.S: Listen to it with no distractions, headphones preferred. Keep a cigarette ready just in case.
The music composed by Rachel Portman is nothing short of wonderful! Very American in its orchestration and has often reminded me of the score to JFK (John Williams) & The Natural (Randy Newman/ironically another Redford film). From the scenes where Damon's on the golf course and the camera performs its classic Hitchcock maneuver, to the humorous driving sound as Theron's character takes on the city councilmen, this score proves to be one that must be cherished by all movie music goers.
This is a soundtrack that can inspire people with imagination and heighten the experience of outdoor activities. I myself have played this score while hiking back home and it has performed beautifully. When I play this in my free time it has allowed me to drift away from troubles and distress.
As for the tracks that aren't Portman's composition, they are equally enjoyable. The sound of Muggsy Spanier, Ellington, & Fats Waller are just pure boogie, woogie, oogie know what I mean? Makes you wanna swing.
It's a good soundtrack, one that I am lucky to have in my horde. If you can get it, I highly recommend it.
However, after I listened to this CD, I was hugely dissapointed. While it has a great production value, orchestration, and showcases Vanessa-Mae's violin skills, I found most of the compositions to be nothing spectacular... and frankly, tedious... This failed introduction into Vanessa-Mae's work actually prevented me from trying out her other CDs for the past several years until now. For newcomers to Vanessa-Mae, I find her "The Violin Player" and "Best of Vanessa-Mae" to be immensly more superior CDs than this one.
.....Another great release from Harry....
He says that this is his blending of American Gospel with his Indian Raga Blues. I didn't know what to expect, but the "gospel" sound is only really strong on one song (Sittin' on Top of the World, done in a light upbeat way). What is noticable, is the lyrics seem more upfront here. While Harry plays his usual tasteful mix of Lap Slide Guitar, Mohan Veena, Banjo, Harmonica and Tamboura, he also utilizes female backup vocals (rich and beautiful), keyboards, and tabla and other percussions, but puts these all backseat to supporting the songs. The result is a pop/R&B sound like Van Morrison at his mellow best. The instrumental fills are more Indian sounding (Mohan Veena slide and Tabla). These are spiritual blues or blues washed in light, the gospel part is that the intent is a blending of East and West spiritual roots music.
These are deep and profound songs but packaged and delivered in an easy listening way. As he sings in Stir A Little Breeze, "The world is a tale, told by a fool...Come see real flowers, of this painful world, their numbers few...This ways' not for the blind"
Brilliant performances.
Interest in the Sitar Master Has Never Been Greater, Precipitating the Re-release of this LP. Remastered and Now Sounding Better Than Ever.
Ragas & Talas,Ravi Shankar,Bgo - Beat Goes on,Asia,Early Music / Chant,India,Indian Classical,Int'l & World Music,Pop,Raga,World Fusion,World Music
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Three Ragas
Ravi Shankar Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  India
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ASIN: B00004U92Q Release Date: 2000-07-18 |
Tracks:
- Raga Jog
- Raga Ahir Bhairav
- Raga Simhendra Madhyamam
Customer Reviews:
Very Pleased.......2007-05-14
Awesome, consistent, and diverse.......2006-06-06
Anyway, what you DO get is one of the all-time masters of melodic line at peak performance, for an hour. The bunch of this CD is the fast, rhythm-centered sitarwork termed "gat". Not lyrical in a Western sense, but intense, "dancing", unflaggingly inventive twists and turns of melody. Ravi goes all out with one of his favorite tricks here: playing a phrase twice in a row, then playing just the start of it and suddenly veering away into a new melody. A full analysis of all the dozens of ways in which Ravi creates surprise, tension, release, and excitement using just a single melody line would take many pages. To say that he is a master of ornamentation would be just the beginning.
One nice thing is that for each raga you get to hear two different buildups to a climax - the first without tabla (drum) accompaniment and the second, larger buildup, with tabla. It's almost as if there are six performances on the CD, not just three. Very effective - when the drums come in each time, I get the pleasure of knowing that the superlative stringwork still ringing in my ears from the first movement will be topped by the
coming, percussion-accompanied sequel. It is also very nice that the three ragas featured here come from three entirely different melodic families, and create rather different effects.
Based on what I've heard of his music so far, it seems to me that later in his life Ravi Shankar, though losing none of his speed or showmanship, could no longer bring such sheer densely-packed melodic inventiveness to his gats as he shows here(his alaps only got better, however). Whether that's true or not, however, this is a stunning performance and some of the best music most people will ever hear. Get it.
Timeless music.......2005-01-15
I was struck by the flawless remastering job, first of all--although this album was recorded in 1956, it could have been recorded yesterday for the freshness and sharpness of the sound. Shankar's performances are beyond reproach--while I wouldn't call this the peak of his career, exactly (unlike one of the previous reviewers), I would say this was a very promising start, and an excellent introduction for anyone to Indian classical music. Raga itself is truly timeless music--it never sounds dated, like some forms of music do, but it is truly the sound of the soul; Ravi even describes "Raga Jog" as the expression of one soul's longing, and you feel this quite strongly.
I purchased this one along with his later work A Morning Raga/An Evening Raga, and had previously purchased Improvisations (his first actual American release, issued by the World Pacific label in 1962 and remastered by Angel-EMI in 1999 as one of the first few titles in the Ravi Shankar Collection series). I highly recommend this music for anyone who truly enjoys world music in general (being one of those myself, something for which I will always heartily thank my wife) and Indian music in particular. For those wishing to explore the Carnatic tradition of South India, I would recommend the late Ramnad Krishnan's 1968 recording Vidwan...also a challenging, but ultimately rewarding, listen.
Ravi's Peak.......2004-12-12
That's probably not the most popular thing to say, given the fact that his career has been so long and this is not his most famous performance/album, but the proof is in the music itself. He certainly didn't have the degree of fame in 1956 that he would have just a decade later, but his music was peaking. If I were chatting with someone and they offhandedly said that Raga Jog from this disc was the best 28 minutes of Ravi's officially-released career, I would not be inclined to argue with them. If you've been all ga-ga over Monterey Pop for the past 30 years (or 30 days) but you've never heard this album, you should prepare yourself now. Ravi's Monterey Pop performance is but a shadow of what happens here, even though his performance was the highlight of Monterey Pop itself.
The alap, jor, and jhala in Raga Jog are some of the best of Ravi's life. This alap is much more powerful than the alap in Bhimpalasi from Monterey, and here with Chatur Lal on tabla, the gats reveal Ravi at his all-time high in terms of rhythmic sophistication and plain old-fashioned fire power. Not enough good things can be said about Chatur Lal... one of the best tabla players of his generation. An incredible musician who made everyone better around him.
Rags Ahir Bhairav and Simhendra Madhyamam are shorter, compact performances at 15 and 11 minutes respectively but that is fine, especially in light of the fact that several of the Angel-remastered early albums are made up largely of shorter performances... and again, these 2 are at the top of the heap.
If you can only have one Ravi Shankar album, make sure this is the one. After this, take the previous reviewer's advice with respect to Nikhil Banerjee. Nikhil was unbelievably brilliant... a melodic genius.
Masterpiece.......2004-04-08
Newcomers to this genre will also want to listen to the duet recording of sarodist Ali Akbar Khan and sitarist Nikhil Banerjee performing ragas Manj Khammaj and Misra Mand. Although these two masters were taught by the same guru who taught Ravi Shankar, their style and approach is different from (but just as beautiful as) Ravi's.
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The Raga Guide: Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas
Various Artists Manufacturer: Nimbus Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India
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ASIN: B00000JT5P Release Date: 2004-03-02 |
Tracks:
- Abbogi - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Adana - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Ahir Bhairav - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Alhaiya Bilaval - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Asavari - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Ted De Jong
- Bageshri - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Bahar - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Basant - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- bahirav - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Bhairavi - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Bhatiyar - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Bhimpalasi - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Bhupal Todi - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Bhupali - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Bibhas - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Bihag - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Bilaskani Todi - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Brindabani Sarang - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
Tracks:
- Chandrakauns - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Chayanat - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Darbari Kanada - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Desh - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Deshi - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Dhani - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Durga - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Gaud Malhar - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Gaud Sarang - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Gorakh Kalyan - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Gujari Todi - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Gunakri - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Hamir - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Hansadhvani - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Hindol - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Jaijaivanti - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Jaunpuri - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Jhinjhoti - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
Tracks:
- Jog - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Jogiya - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Ted De Jong
- Kafi - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Ted De Jong
- Kamod - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Kedar - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Khamaj - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Kirvani - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Lalit - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Madhuvanti - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Malkauns - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Manj Khamaj - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Maru Bihag - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Marva - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Megh - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Miyan Ki Malhar - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Miyan Ki Todi - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Multani - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Nayaki Kanada - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Patdip - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Pilu - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
Tracks:
- Puriya - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Puriya Dhanashri - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Puriya Kalyan - Hariprasad Chaurasia/Shib Shankar Ray
- Purvi - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Rageshri - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Ramkali - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Shahana - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Shankara - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Shri - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Shuddh Kalyan - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Shuddh Sarang - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Shyam Kalyan - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Sindhura - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Sohini - Vidyadhar Vyas/Sandip Bhattacharya
- Sur Malhar - Buddahadev DasGupta/Devendra Kanti Chakrabarty
- Tilak Kamod - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Tilang - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
- Yaman - Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar/Madhukar Kothare/Anant Krishnaji Kunte
Amazon.com
These four CDs tucked into a meaty, comprehensive book portray and explain the different histories, tonalities, and rhythms of 74 of Hindu's most common ragas. The raga, a musical form of ancient Hindustani prayer and poetry, has been the cornerstone of Indian music for centuries, evolving into a complex set of expressions inviting improvisation and varying according to purpose, mood, story, and ritual. Stately in their sounds, ragas are most often created with sitar, sarod, tabla, tamboura (or drone), and voice with each note functioning as an evocation of the world's sanctity. The Raga Guide offers five hours and 15 minutes of stunningly beautiful music, played by masters of the instrument and accompanied by informative description, music transcriptions, and (where applicable) texts with English translations. Lovingly recorded, carefully authored, simply laid out, this wonderful package is the essence of perfection, topped off by exquisite color plates of ragamalas, or paintings depicting the stories of the ragas. A sublime tribute to Indian classical music. --Karen KarleskiCustomer Reviews:
Great product, poor packaging.......2007-01-18
It does not get 5 stars because of packaging issues. The CDs were packaged in plastic cases on the front and back cover of the book, so when I took them out there were blemishes on the surface and the CDs would not play properly. However after one thorough round of cleaning, they started playing .
review.......2006-04-22
Great collection for reference .......2005-09-21
However, the 74 ragas performed are not full-fledged performances as such but more like compressed demo pieces, so an expert listener may not enjoy it as much - but the average listener probably would not appreciate a 75 minute performance of Raga Multani anyway.
A must.......2005-08-01
A Master Class.......2004-07-27
You receive 4 CD's and a guide to raga. Not just a plastic cd jewel case with some foldout but a guidebook.
The information contained in the guidebook is a wonderful resource. The whole package is very similar to a college textbook with media.
The sound quality is top shelf. Again, this is a quality production.
Enjoy
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Afternoon Ragas Rotterdam 1970
Nikhil Banerjee Manufacturer: Raga ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India
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ASIN: B000009CLM Release Date: 1992-06-01 |
Tracks:
- Rag Bhimpalasri: Alap
- Rag Bhimpalasri: Slow Rupak
- Rag Bhimpalasri: Fast Titnal
- Rag Bhimpalasri: Jhalla
- Rag Multani: Alap
- Rag Multani: Medium Tintal
- Rag Multani: Fast Tintal
- Rag Multani: Jhalla
Album Description
Bhimpalasri: Late afternoon; mood of devotion, pathos, joy. "You can make the animals cry with this rag..." Multani: Late afternoon. "Take out pathos effect of morning and put in devotion and heroic..." "...as sun is going down and down, komal ri and tivra ma start coming out..." (Quotes from Ali Akbar Khan classes.)Customer Reviews:
Magnificent!!!.......2006-10-09
ONE OF THE GREATEST INDIAN MUSICIANS.......2005-07-09
Allauddin Khan's Genius of the Sitar.......2004-12-12
I used to be of the mindset of only listening to ragas during their prescribed time of day but I have kind of gotten out of that. Now I listen to whatever I need to listen to whenever I am in the mood for it... which brings me to this disc.
Recorded live in Rotterdam in 1970, Nikhil Banerjee and Kanai Dutta give what are, for me, "deep dark dead of night" performances of 2 afternoon ragas. Very little compares to listening to this disc around 2 or 3am with all the lights off and just the flickering of a few candles flashing through your closed eyelids. I don't mean this is relax and zone-out music (as is the general stereotype), though. You will be hanging on every note, every emotion. There is just something so deep and so emotional about Nikhil's brilliant tone and melodic invention here... these are performances that burrow into your soul.
Part of Nikhil's power (at least to my ears) was that he seemed to have a surbahar sensibility, yet he played the sitar. His tone, melodic ideas, and his meends are on a whole other level. Of course no one can put a musical experience in words, but there are a couple notes here... a couple phrases that haunt me. The whole performance is excellent... I don't mean to make it sound like there are just a couple moments... but what I mean is that there are some things he does here that feel as if the entire beautiful history of Hindustani music was leading up to those couple phrases. You just feel it all. I'm not sure any other sitarist ever had "the power of One Note" the way Nikhil had it.
Add Nikhil's power of melody and tone with Kanai Dutta's remarkable precision and dexterity on tabla and you have the recipe for some wonderous gats.
Pick this one up for yourself, turn off the lights and be moved.
Music Of Inner Mind.......2000-12-24
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Ragas & Talas
Ravi Shankar Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India
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ASIN: B00004LML9 Release Date: 2000-02-29 |
Tracks:
- Raga Jogiya
- Dhun
- Rupak Tal
- Raga Madhu-Kauns
Customer Reviews:
Instant Meditation! .......2007-03-27
Supurb music.......2006-12-23
very nice, good for contemplation in the afternoon.......2005-07-09
Satisfying !.......2004-05-05
While most of the Kauns' are among the heavier ragas this one (Madhu-Kauns) is exceptionally beautiful. Also, it is the most evenly paced recordings I've heard of this raga. It all happens in about 20 minutes! It starts with a slow, sad mood which keeps tugging at your heart. Once you are almost satisfied with the alaap, it gets into a medium paced momentum which gives a feeling of having a leisurely walk in a park with lots of little nooks with a variety of flowers. A little more that half way into the raga, it starts running, taking small flights at times, which give you brief flashes of even more beautiful scenes. One can feel the rhythm in the background, but the tabla is not playing yet ! Its an amazing feeling !
I usually stop at this point but to all the die-hard fans of tabla, there is still more. The last few minutes build up a dancing crescendo between the Sitar and the tablas which takes you to a climax.
P.S: Listen to it with no distractions, headphones preferred. Keep a cigarette ready just in case.
Incredible from every standpoint.......2000-07-19
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The Legend of Bagger Vance: Music from the Motion Picture (2000 Film)
Manufacturer: Chapter III Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
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ASIN: B0000508VR Release Date: 2000-11-07 |
Tracks:
- My Best Wishes - Fats Waller
- The Legend Of Bagger Vance
- Savannah Needs A Hero
- Bagger Offers To Caddy For Junuh
- Bagger & Hardy Measure The Course At Night
- The Day Of The Match Dawns
- Birdie
- Junuh Sees The Field
- Hole In One
- Junuh Comes Out Of The Woods
- Bagger Leaves
- Old Hardy Joins Bagger By The Sea
- Bluin' The Blues - Muggsy Spanier
- Mood Indigo - Duke Ellington
Amazon.com
Robert Redford's fable of a cynical, young, white war veteran (Matt Damon) learning the perfect golf swing--and the meanings of life--from a mysterious black caddy (Will Smith) is typically rich in subtexts, from racial discrimination to armchair existential philosophy. As she did for the period dramaThe Cider House Rules, English composer Rachel Portman imbues Vance with an American sense of time and place. Bookended by the bluesy jazz of Fats Waller, Mugsy Spanier, and Duke Ellington, Portman's elegant orchestral score is rich in powerful brass and string-driven melody and emotional nuances. Portman once again displays a strong affinity for the plaintive resolve and emotionally longing colors of Aaron Copland's most familiar works, and there are moments here that subtly evoke passages of that composer's Lincoln Portrait. It's a fine irony of modern film that one of Copland's spiritual heirs and most effective practitioners of his essentially male American musical ethos is a soft-spoken Englishwoman. --Jerry McCulleyCustomer Reviews:
A soundtrack as wonderful as the movie!.......2005-08-17
The music composed by Rachel Portman is nothing short of wonderful! Very American in its orchestration and has often reminded me of the score to JFK (John Williams) & The Natural (Randy Newman/ironically another Redford film). From the scenes where Damon's on the golf course and the camera performs its classic Hitchcock maneuver, to the humorous driving sound as Theron's character takes on the city councilmen, this score proves to be one that must be cherished by all movie music goers.
This is a soundtrack that can inspire people with imagination and heighten the experience of outdoor activities. I myself have played this score while hiking back home and it has performed beautifully. When I play this in my free time it has allowed me to drift away from troubles and distress.
As for the tracks that aren't Portman's composition, they are equally enjoyable. The sound of Muggsy Spanier, Ellington, & Fats Waller are just pure boogie, woogie, oogie know what I mean? Makes you wanna swing.
It's a good soundtrack, one that I am lucky to have in my horde. If you can get it, I highly recommend it.
Why is this soundtrack so hard to find?.......2004-02-18
The Legend of Bagger Vance.......2003-02-20
This soundtrack was worthy of an oscar........2002-11-07
This is my favorite CD.......2001-11-04
Average customer rating:
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Choreography
Peter Hajioff Vanessa-Mae Cohen , Jon Cohen , Kad / Vanessa-Mae Cohen Jon / Achouri , George Frideric Handel , Aram Khachaturian , A. R. Rahman , Walter Taieb , Walter / Vanessa-Mae Taieb , Vanessa-Mae , Vangelis , Bill Whelan , Cliff Masterson , Matt Dunkley , Nick Ingman , Paul Bateman , Tolga Kashif , Davide Giovannini , Ray Fean , Martin Narman , Alejandro Schwarz , Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Yves Cohen , Fergus Gerrand , Salah Dawson Miller , Paul Jayasinha , Brian Dunphy , Cathal Synnott , and Deepa Narayan Manufacturer: Sbme Import ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets
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ASIN: B0002TB6G6 Release Date: 2004-09-20 |
Tracks:
- Sabre Dance
- Roxane's Veil
- Bolero for Violin and Orchestra
- Tango de Los Exilados
- Havana Slide
- Emerald Tiger
- Tribal Gathering
- Raga's Dance
- Moroccan Roll
- Minuet
Album Description
From the tribal dances of Africa to the silken grace of a European minuet, dance rhythms deliver the inspiration for Choreography, violin phenomenon Vanessa-Mae's first recording for the Sony Classical label. Backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the stunning young violinist introduces new, dance-inspired tracks by composers as diverse as Oscar-winning Vangelis, Bill Whelan of Riverdance, Tolga Kashif (The Queen Symphony) & the Indian film composer A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams). Choreography will be released internationally in September 2004 (& in the U.S. early 2005). Sony.Album Details
2004 Album from "The Violin Player" as She Makes her Debut for Sony Music. She Does Two Numbers with Legendary Instrumentalist Vangelis and Conquers the "Sabre Dance" and "Bolero".Customer Reviews:
Not what I was expecting.......2007-06-04
However, after I listened to this CD, I was hugely dissapointed. While it has a great production value, orchestration, and showcases Vanessa-Mae's violin skills, I found most of the compositions to be nothing spectacular... and frankly, tedious... This failed introduction into Vanessa-Mae's work actually prevented me from trying out her other CDs for the past several years until now. For newcomers to Vanessa-Mae, I find her "The Violin Player" and "Best of Vanessa-Mae" to be immensly more superior CDs than this one.
If a Virtuoso.......2006-11-13
Technically superb but the melody is not exciting..........2006-08-16
VANESSA-MAE CHOREOGRAPHY.......2005-12-22
the best Vanessa Mae CD yet........2005-08-28
Average customer rating:
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West Eats Meet
Harry Manx Manufacturer: Dog My Cat Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| Blues
| Styles
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Slide Guitar
| Blues
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General
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ASIN: B00025DZ9G Release Date: 2005-05-24 |
Tracks:
- Help Me
- Make Way for the Living
- Shadow of the Whip
- Great Unknown
- Forgive & Remember
- Sittin' on Top of the World
- That Knowing Look of Fate
- Sitr a Little Breeze
- Tough & Tender
- Ways of Love
- Something of Your Grace
- Hector's Song
Customer Reviews:
Further On...Further In.......2005-10-20
.....Another great release from Harry....
He says that this is his blending of American Gospel with his Indian Raga Blues. I didn't know what to expect, but the "gospel" sound is only really strong on one song (Sittin' on Top of the World, done in a light upbeat way). What is noticable, is the lyrics seem more upfront here. While Harry plays his usual tasteful mix of Lap Slide Guitar, Mohan Veena, Banjo, Harmonica and Tamboura, he also utilizes female backup vocals (rich and beautiful), keyboards, and tabla and other percussions, but puts these all backseat to supporting the songs. The result is a pop/R&B sound like Van Morrison at his mellow best. The instrumental fills are more Indian sounding (Mohan Veena slide and Tabla). These are spiritual blues or blues washed in light, the gospel part is that the intent is a blending of East and West spiritual roots music.
These are deep and profound songs but packaged and delivered in an easy listening way. As he sings in Stir A Little Breeze, "The world is a tale, told by a fool...Come see real flowers, of this painful world, their numbers few...This ways' not for the blind"
"West Eats Meet" Is The One C.D. That I Take Everywhere!.......2004-12-05
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Healing Ragas
Mandala Manufacturer: Malimba Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
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ASIN: B00008AIUZ Release Date: 2003-02-01 |
Tracks:
- Raga Yaman
- Raga Bhairavi
Album Description
An album of exquisite beauty and sensitivity, performed by two of today's most brilliant emerging performers of Indian classical music. Two ragas, chosen for their soothing mood, are performed on bamboo flute, santoor and tablas to lull you into a feeling of deep relaxation and serenity. This music is designed to facilitate and deepen a space of calmness and peacefulness of the heart where healing, deep relaxation or sleep can take place.Customer Reviews:
Great Ragas.......2005-02-28
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Celtic Ragas
Chinmaya Dunster , and Vidroha Jamie Manufacturer: New Earth Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General
| International
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ASIN: B0000253WV Release Date: 2002-07-02 |
Tracks:
- Chance Meeting
- The Mists Of Ruantallain
- At The Edge Of The Known World
- Mere Hamsafar
- Tara
- The Goddess
- Wandering Way
- A Gypsy Tale
- Dorset
Amazon.com
Although it's not quite the fusion of reel and raga suggested by the title, Celtic Ragas features sarod player Chinmaya Dunster and guitarist Vidroha Jamie finding a surprisingly fertile common ground between Irish and Indian music. Dunster and Jamie, along with a group of musicians who play violin, percussion, flute, bass, and tanpura, create gentle soundscapes that range from the playful rhythms of "A Gypsy Tale" to the haunting, almost spooky beauty of "The Mists of Ruantallain." The arrangements are focused, and even on slow, meditative tracks like "Mere Hamsafar," the tempo never drags and the melodies don't meander. The mix of Indian and Irish elements works particularly well on "Tara," on which the buzzing, microtonal sound of the sarod meshes with the rhythms of a courtly dance and creates a sonic dream where the musicians of Ireland and India play in the castle of an ancient Celtic king. Dunster and Jamie describe Celtic Ragas as "Indo-Celtic chill-out music," a too-trendy term that nonetheless captures the essence of their soothing sound. --Michael SimmonsAlbum Description
Celtic Ragas is a musical love affair between Celtic and Indian instrumentation. The strings of Dunster's sarod and Jamie's guitar eloquently meld into rich, flowing melodies making the similarities between the musical traditions of these two cultures apparent.Customer Reviews:
Hauntingly beautiful.......2002-08-01
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Ragas
Ravi Shankar Manufacturer: Fantasy ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD India
| India & Pakistan
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ASIN: B000000XFA Release Date: 1990-07-09 |
Tracks:
- Raga Palas Kafi - Ravi Shankar, Kanall Dutta, Nodu C. Kumar
- Raga Bilashkani Todi - Ravi Shankar, Kanall Dutta, Ashish Kumar
- Raga Ramdas Malhar
- Raga Malika
Amazon.com essential recording
This 1973 release presents some precious collaborative music from the mid-'60s by India's greatest sitar player, Ravi Shankar, and master sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, for an insightful snapshot of Indian classical music in America during the 1960s. If it's possible to "jam" on the sitar and sarod, that's what these two masters do on the first two tracks while drone and tabla dance in and out of their soulful, somewhat improvised, vignette. "Ragas Ramdar Dalhar" takes its sweet time in unfolding, sprinkling glorious tones like raindrops before jumping into waves of ecstatic sound when the tabla furiously chimes in. "Raga Malika" is a steady, melodious piece, churning on with lively tabla and vibrant sarod. The CD's sound quality, while not up to late-1990s standards, is certainly free of crackling and distortion. Very listenable and a wonderful slice of history. --Karen KarleskiCustomer Reviews:
simple commentary.......2006-11-10
Should be redone.......2005-09-11
Brilliant performances.
Can't Get Better Than This.......2005-07-14
Meditation.......2003-12-29
The Perception of an Eastern Sunrise....................2003-03-22
Ben.
the 16 Year old.
Pop Music:
- Reco Do Bandolim & Choro Livre [Import]
- Sabato Sera Studio Uno 67 [Import]
- Samba De Gringo: New York - Sao Paulo Sessions [Import]
- Samuele Bersani [Import]
- Saure Drops und Schokoroll [Import]
- Scacchi E Tarocchi [Import]
- Take Me Home Country Roa [Import]
- The Early Recordings, Vol. 1
- The Early Recordings, Vol. 2
- Tibetan Buddhism Complication [Import]
