When Eastern classical musicians and Western jazz or pop musicians get together to jam, the result are always heartwarming; two wildly disparate traditions coming together to make music is such an irresistible gesture of human unity and cross-cultural cooperation. What's not to love? Frankly, what's not to love is often the music itself, which all too frequently is long on multicultural good intentions and short on things like coherence, interest, and hooks. The intermittently mystical jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, who has been nursing an India jones for decades now, is hardly innocent of such offenses. But on The Believer, a live set featuring McLaughlin, electric mandolinist U. Shrinivas, kanjira and ghatam player V. Slevaganesh, and legendary tabla player Zakir Hussain, he delivers a gloriously tight, rhythmically thrilling program of original compositions (as well as one contribution each from Shrinivas and Hussain). The group is called Remember Shakti in reference to Shakti, the similarly configured band that McLaughlin co-led in the mid-'70s. If anything, his playing has grown more exciting than it was then; listening to him negotiate the thorny rhythmic changes of this music in unison with Shrinivas and to both of them bouncing off the complexly woven rhythmic patterns laid out by Hussain and Slevaganesh is not only impressive, but uplifting as well. Highlights include the downright funky "Anna" and Shrinivas' composition "Maya." Very highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
The band Shakti, together from 1975 to 1977, was an extension of John McLaughlin's longstanding interest in Indian music, integrating his guitar with Indian instruments and exploring the myriad tonal and rhythmic complexities of the subcontinent. After re-forming in 1997 as Remember Shakti, the group went through some personnel shifts before reaching the form heard here on a 1999 European tour. Along with McLaughlin's original partner Zakir Hussain on tabla drums, the quartet includes V. Selvaganesh on percussion and U. Shrinivas on mandolin. The combination is heady, pairing two string players and two hand drummers in improvised dialogues that are often carried on at superhuman speed. Even the Indian elements are a synthesis. Hussain's tablas are the drums of choice in Northern Indian music, while Selvaganesh plays instruments of the South--a clay pot called a ghatam, the two-headed mridangam that functions like tablas, and kanjira, a small tambourine that has somehow become a virtuoso instrument. Shrinivas's electric mandolin is a Southern adaptation that in practice resembles a soprano slide guitar or a high-pitched vina. McLaughlin adds Western harmonic elements into the mix, blending chords with pitch-shifting Indian scales to create some very distinctive music. There's tremendous diversity in the 77-minute CD, from the serene reflections of McLaughlin's "Lotus Feet" to playful exchanges to flights of transcendent and transcontinental virtuosity, like Shrinivas's solo on his own "Maya." There's a natural affinity between the improvisational languages of Indian music and jazz, and the flexibility here is such that McLaughlin can even suggest some roadhouse roots on Hussain's "Ma No Pa." --Stuart Broomer TRACK LISTINGS 1. 5 in the Morning, 6 in the Afternoon 2. Ma No Pa 3. Lotus Feet 4. Maya 5. Anna 6. Finding the way Personnel: John McLaughlin (guitar); U. Shrinivas (mandolin); Zakir Hussain (tabla); V. Selvaganesh (kanjira, ghatam, mridangam). CMJ (10/16/00, p.55) - "...These sessions showcase 2 sides of one of jazz's greatest guitarists, and make fine additons to the McLaughlin canon." Flac tracks (EAC Rip): 400 MB | MP3 - 320 kbs: 190 MB | Scans Archives have 5% of the information for restoration FLAC Part 1 <http://lougyl.com/files/0KDNCCPG/JmRShTheB.part1.rar> | Part 2<http://lougyl.com/files/ND5JAOMD/JmRShTheB.part2.rar>| Part 3 <http://lougyl.com/files/V5BERWDI/JmRShTheB.part3.rar> | Part 4<http://lougyl.com/files/11WZTUPP/JmRShTheB.part4.rar>| Part 5 <http://lougyl.com/files/0WGKCXGU/JmRShTheB.part5.rar> OR MP3 320 kbs Part 1 <http://lougyl.com/files/QATVP1AE/JmRShTheBMP.part1.rar> | Part 2<http://lougyl.com/files/P9CRDMBQ/JmRShTheBMP.part2.rar>| Part 3 <http://lougyl.com/files/0YJ4EGSQ/JmRShTheBMP.part3.rar> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gugukluhayat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gugukluhayat?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
