September 2008 Music Review
Joy Is Now; Between Two Worlds
Joy Is Now
A dynamic yet light and graceful celebration of the divine within, Joy Is Now is easy listening for he ear that finds respite for the soul in kirtan .
The joy expressed here is a quiet joy, the joy birthed of devotion. Yogi Bhajan must be dancing in the skies, for his devotees have created a concert of lovely, prayerful vocal duets and peaceful call-response chants in masculine and feminine point-counterpoint. The chanting is clear and easy to follow, with one song featuring English verse surrounding the traditional Sanskrit.
The calls come in the gentle, strong voice of Guruganesha Singh, beautifully balanced by the light tone of Snatam Kaur's responses. And in the background, the voice of Manish Vyas adds texture to this rich vocal tableau.
And behind and all around the vocals, we are treated to the engaging guitar magic of Guruganesha Singh — sufficient in its own right to make this a rich musical experience. Seamlessly he blends classical Indian elements including sitar, sarod, esraj, tabla, flute and Indian violin, modulating the entire work with Western jazz influences to create a veritable musical banquet.
Kudos as well to producer Thomas Barquee for bringing it all together in such an elegant manner.
—Chiwah
Between Two Worlds
The Tabla Tarong, Melody Drums of India
Award-winning musician Daniel Paul takes the rare art of melody drumming on a fantastic journey Between Two Worlds , blending India's ecstatic rhythms with Celtic, African, Middle Eastern and Western instrumentation.
A graduate and former instructor at Ali Akbar College of Music, Daniel fell in love with the music of India at an early age. The list of legendary musicians he has studied under reads like a “Who's Who” of Indian music. As personal assistant to maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan for six years, he accompanied Khan on the stringed drone instrument, the tamboura, and managed and produced concerts and recordings worldwide. As one of the few musicians proficient on the rare melodic drumset, the table tarong, he was granted a Fulbright Research award in 1987 to survey the many styles of tabla drumming in India.
A plush musical tableau, Between Two Worlds takes full advantage of the melodic nature of the tabla in some very nontraditional ways. Daniel is joined on this CD by a rich cadre of musical friends, from Deva Priyo of Lost at Last , performing exquisitely on guitar, sarod and berimbao, to Soundings Ensemble artists Singh Kaur with her haunting vocals, the wonderful Dean Evenson soaring on flute, and Sonic Tribe's amazing Scott Huckabay with his stunning guitar harmonics.
Daniel shares his Indian-style vocalizations on several chant pieces. His rich background in Indian classical forms and his sensitivity to western music make him a new and delightful addition to the world of fusion music.
I found this CD enchanting, to say the least. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!
—Chiwah
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