India-fusion with the group Musafir (India/Rajastan), Ghazalaw (India/Wales), Erik Truffaz (France/India), produced by Cobie Ivens.
I– Musafir. (23:37 min)
The musicians who make up the group Musafir hail from Rajasthan, a region in northwest India. What makes this group unique is its diverse ethnic and religious background: Hindus, Muslims, Sufis, snake charmers, street performers, and gypsies. Quawwali music, Indian gypsy music, meditation and dance music: as diverse as the group is, so too is the music. Everything is played on traditional instruments, and the vocals radiate both power and warmth. A live performance by Musafir can be described (in the positive sense of the word) as a musical circus.
CD. Dhola maru – Musafir. LABEL: Sounds True (1999), code: STA M114D. VIDEO
II– Ghazalaw. (23:43 min)
The group Ghazalaw blends Indian ghazal singing with Welsh folk. Indian ghazal singer Tauseef Akhtar and Welsh singer-songwriter Gwyneth Glyn found this an exciting project. In India, ghazal is a highly regarded form of poetry; wouldn’t they disapprove of a fusion? Their debut album clearly demonstrates how these two musical traditions blend beautifully. And thankfully, they found it so in India too. An interesting similarity in both Welsh and Indian ghazal poetry is the longing for an absent or impossible lover. The group Ghazalaw chooses old, anonymous short poems that are perfectly suited to complement the classic ghazal poetry. Alternating between Welsh and Urdu, both singers sing in a relaxed, easygoing manner.
CD. Ghazalaw – Ghazalaw. LABEL: Marvels of the Universe (2015), code: MARVEL2. VIDEO
III– Erik Truffaz. (12:15 min)
The album is a delight. Especially because of Indrani Mukherjee’s beautiful vocals and Apurba Mukherjee’s tabla playing. But Malcolm Braff’s charming piano playing and Erik Truffaz’s mainstream trumpet accents add a nice jazz flavor to the music, which truly complements it. True fans of traditional Indian music might feel frustrated by the intrusion of piano and trumpet, and admittedly, the album is musically carried by the Indrani Mukherjees, but the combination works perfectly.
CD. Benares – Erik Truffaz. LABEL: Blue Note Records (2008), code: 2437032. VIDEO
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