More than a month ago Chennai’s popular newspaper “The Hindu”, had this album reviewed and I just couldn’t wait to get my own review out although I had planned mine a long time ago.

I am not sure how many of you lived in and around Atlanta, GA around the end of the previous milleneum (1999-2001) and used to watch Indian programmes on the NPR (I think it was that) and similar channels on T.V. Most of these (Indian Movies and other Indian programmes) were a weekend thing and not of consistent great quality but being nostalgic about life back home in India we would watch them anyway.

However I had another reason to watch these programs, the small 10 sec or so CRY (Child Relief and You) advertisement. It could have also been from CRY America. Anyway, it was an advertisment asking people to contribute to CRY and be aware of the sufferings and things happening to underpreviliged children in India. The ad didn’t carry any video but only black and white images including one of the founder the late Rippan Kapur. As the images would flash across the screen a very haunting guitar tune would play in the background. Only the guitar was heard with a little percussion as the advertisement concluded. The hauntingly beautiful tune was so soulful that I would wait every week to listen to this small 10 second ad. I was desperate to find which band or guitarist was playing that irresistable tune. Which was the album it came from? I was only groping in the dark thinking I may never find out.

Several months later I moved to Eagan, Minnesota. I used to frequent the Madras Cafe there. Over the music system they would play songs from popular Hindi and Tamil films. On one ocassion they were playing popular songs which I recognized as ones performed by the Pakistani band Junoon. After a couple of songs there was an interesting guitar and tabla instrumental. The sound of the guitar rang a bell in me but I was not able to find out why. At that time I was under the impression that song could have been a Junoon instrumental. I checked with the guy at the restaurant only to receive a blank reply saying someone had burnt an assorted CD for him.

But providence has other things in store for you when your yearning is strong. I started checking Indian guitarists and Indian fusion bands on Amazon.com but not with much luck. I then came across Sanjay Mishra, an India guitarist living in the U.S whose three albums Amazon was selling. A name like Sanjay Mishra would have hardly rung a bell but I decided to just check out the album “Blue Incantation” purely becuase Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead had collaborated on the album. I first clicked on the Monsoon song and I instantly recognized it as the one they played at Madras Cafe. Something then told me that the tune I heard on the T.V ad in Athens, Georgia was almost there and that the wait was over. I then click on the song “For Julia” and I couldn’t believe my ears. I had finally stumbled upon the song, album and artist I was longing to find out for several months. How many times I heard the little sample on Amazon I cannot recall.

Honestly Jerry Garcia’s part is the one where the guitar playing distracts although there’s not much of him in this collaboration. Garcia’s electric guitar sometimes interjects unnecessarily when compared to Sanjay’s finger picked nylon classical (I am sure Sanjay’s classical guitar has been made electric too, I mean connected to an amp). Except for Noturne/Evening Chant I thought the rest of the songs could have done away with Garcia. Sanjay could have filled those Garcia-played parts with this own better compositions. Garcia collaborates only on three songs and that’s a reason to forgive his parts.

A review of the songs.

For Julia – Clearly the number one song of this album and one that you must listen to first. This is the song that has made Sanjay Mishra and his music famous. Once you listen to “For Julia”, you are going to keep getting back to it an incredible number of times. Extremely haunting, soulful and beautiful. Just two instruments, the guitar and Tabla do it all although I find traces of other instruments such as bass and percussion. For Julia also appears on two other albums one of which is the award winning soundtrack for the film Port Djema.

Monsoon – Not the second best song but a faster number, fastest on the album. Lovely playing reminding you of the wet rainy weather. Beautiful guitar playing though he sometimes settles in the background to let Garcia take the limelight.

Passage into Dawn – The longest song on the album and vocals are used. The tabla works in unision with the guitar tunes to produce a soft and beautiful effect. At 3:33 min the tunes of the guitar changes evoking an even deeper feeling of serenity. This song can be used for Meditation, relaxation, doing Hatha Yoga etc and it will compliment the activity perfectly.

Self Portrait – The smallest song but it so beautiful you could listen to it over and over again. It too has a haunting feel to it.

Bach in Time A variation of a Bach composition played melodiously on the guitar with the support of Tabla as percussion.

Allegro – Faster song, not as fast as Monsoon but moves beautifully. Sanjay plays beautiful tunes on his guitar against the steady Tabla rythm. Towards the end tabla and guitar combine well for some interesting moments.

My Meditation – A beautiful opener, a pleasant number indicating the style and sound that is to come.

Nocture/Evening Chant – Light vocals can be heard in the background as Sanjay weaves his majic for an evening chant a title befitting the relaxing sounds of the guitar and other instruments.

Clouds – Beautiful duet between Sanjay and Garcia. A longer song, slow, soft and lovely with Sanjay taking more of a support role and Garcia doing more of the solos. Tabla gradually join in. If not for Garcia’s guitar this could have been another good song in line with “Passage unto dawn”.

Before the summer rain – The concluding song on the album and one where the flute is also used. Sanjay provides the lovely support as the flautist does most of the solo. Soothing number to end the album.

In conclusion a great album. Blue Incantation is also a must-listen if you are a learning or practising guitarist.

Listen to MP3 clips of the songs here.

There are a couple of videos on Youtube though they aren’t the masterpieces. Here is one of them.

Sanjay has other gems from his earlier and new albums but “Blue Incantation” must be your place to start.

Sanjay’s site at www.mishra.net.

Buy the CD, Blue Incantation by Sanjay Mishra from Amazon.com.

Better still try and see if you can download the album for free at UnlimitedDownloadCenter.com.

Colours of India is a fusion album that can rival some of the best fusion albums from India in the recent past. It was also my first review on my other music blog madrasbee where I review and write about music from the Indian sub-continent. If you thought Illayaraja’s “How to Name it” (1986), another very unpopular fusion album even among staunch Illayaraja fans, or “Conversations” from the late 80′s, the fusion album from L.Subramaniam and Stefan Grapelli were some of the finest fusion albums involving musicians in South India in the recent past, here’s an album that lives up to the reputation of a great fusion album. When it was launched I was sure it was going to be well received and certainly one that was going to be talked about for some time. However even the freshness or the recent release in 2003 doesn’t seem to be fetching the album its due credit and so it is here on great-anonymous-albums.com.

The notes on the website indicates that this is a live album. However that is apparent only on one song.

Brothers Ganesh and Kumaresh have been playing the violin since the age of 7 and 5 respectively. Sons of reputed musician Rajagopalan the early grooming helped them give over a 100 concerts by the time they were into their teens. Ganesh even starred in a K Balachander’s Tamil film in his later years.

The tunes on this album will please, elevate and soothe your mind.

Here’s a review of the songs starting with the best of the album.

1. “Taj Mahal” must be the first song you should be listening to. A beautiful instrumental befitting the monument. India has gifted the ultimate monument of love – the Taj Mahal – to the world. The composition ‘Tai Mahal,’ is set to the raga “Nalinakanti” is a tribute to the monument for which John Keats wrote “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”.

2. “Utsav”. Wait till you hear the vocals on “Utsav” based on the raga “Shuddha Dhanyasi”. You won’t believe that even vocals can get you on a natural high when Ganesh starts his singing. These two songs alone are worth the price of the CD. Ganesh-Kumaresh and company are going to be remembered for a long time for these two songs.

3. “Gambhira” is a lovely intro to what’s in store on the CD. The musicianship here is top notch. Arun is tight and fantastic on his drum set here. Some of this rolls and fills are a beauty to listen to, fast, furious and perfect.
‘Gambhira,’ is set to the raga “Gambhira Nattai” and according to the website composed as a tribute to that majesty of India.

4. Chanchal is a lovely jam in typical carnatic style showcasing the talents of the musicians without sacrificing composition. Starting as an ensemble and finishing off with solos from the percussionists this is a superb composition. ‘Chanchal’ in raga “Ranjani” is the one where the audience can be heard. A longer song but worth the listen to the amazing talents of the musicians. Arun’s drum solo is the last and what a treat it is.

5. “Ahimsa” is a delightful soft Hindi devotional song sung by Ganesh on non-violence that also calls and refers other religions.

6. “Colours of India” is the only spoilt song on this album. A long and out-of-place composition reflecting various music styles from around the country it fails to match the creativity and of the stellar compositions “Taj Mahal” and “Utsav”.

The musician who grabbed most of my attention was of course Arun Kumar. He made the drums sing and talk. There was so much meaning to the fast and furious playing.

Beg, borrow, steal, or buy this album. If you don’t have this album I suggest you make a bee line to your nearest music store and get it without fail. You could listen to complete samples on musicindiaonline.com.

The Artistes on the album: Ganesh-Violin and Vocals, Kumaresh-Violin, Keith Peters -Bass Guitar, Satish Kumar-Mridangum, Kanjira, Konaakol, Deena-Keyboard, Giridhar Udupa-Ghatam, Konnakol, Arun Kumar-Drums,Percussion and Moharsingh

I have had the privilege of watching them in two fusion concerts in Chennai and they hardly fail to disappoint. Ganesh and Kumaresh have gone to release two more fusion albums. Watch out for the reviews.

Buy Colours of India by Ganesh and Kumaresh from Amazon.com.

“Teabreak” by Mynta

Mynta is a Swedish band. Two Indian musicians feature prominently in their line-up. Fazal Qureshi on tabla and Shankar Mahadevan on vocals and of the two Fazal Qureshi is a permanent member and Shankar guests more often. Early Mynta music and took a jazz rock direction. In 1987 when the band toured India they met Fazal and Shankar and their music took another turn with the subsequent collaboration.

Fazal is the younger brother of Zakir Hussain the well known tabalist of the popular fusion band of yesteryears, Shakti. Shankar Mahadevan is already a popular singer in India and part of the famous trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. The trio have composed music and songs for several Indian films. Both Shankar and Fazal have performed the world over.

The Swedish musicians are – Santiago Jimenez on violin and keyboards, Max Åhman on guitar, Ola Bothzén on percussion, Christian Paulin on bass and Dallas Smith on Flute and wind instruments. Together the four musicians slant the music in the Nordic direction, inflecting a jazz feel into the mix. Initial albums even featured a regular singer. Besides the drums Ola plays a very strange “box” like percussion instrument where he sits on the box and plays the box by slapping this hands on on side of the box.

Mynta have been together since 1979 and have made several albums. They have made impressive music over the years but this is one album where I liked many or most of the songs unlike the rest where only a few songs impress.

Here’s my review of the songs on the album.

1. Teabreak – Not the usual Mynta start for the opener and even sounds a bit techno in the beginning. Great vocals from Shankar Mahadevan and well mixed too.

2. Song from Brahmaputra – A classic and this could also have been the opening song for the album. After the initial “Aalap” and where the percussion and the other instrumentalists step in you think the song really belongs to Christian Paulin on bass. The bass gives you such a “rush”. Then Santiago Jimenez enthralls us with beautiful violin solo followerd by a lovely guitar solo too from Max Åhman.

3. Jaane Kya Hua – A song that should have been removed from the album. The only song with Hindi lyrics, it seems straight out from a Hindi film. Reallly wonder who put it there or why the band wanted this song in this album.

4. Fuzzy – You think this is going to be another Techno from the way the song starts but let not that fool you. Nice “jugalbandi (an Indian version of a Jam session)” like song with Fazal on vocal and percussion on side and violin, and acoustic guitar on the other. Violin and guitar stealing the limelight.

5. OA’s Celtic dance – Lovely violin from Santiago reminding you of the music from the Highlands. Lovely mix of Indian raaga vocals with the music. Although there is a nice little solo the violin can get a bit repetitive.

6. Sunset in Beijing – My favorite from the album. Simply hauntingly good singing from Shankar though it is just “ragaa singing” i.e without any lyrics.

7. Red Departure – Faster beats and you have a great song bursting with Shankar’s vocals singing his raagaas. Acoustic Guitar and Saxophone solos follow with steady accompaniment from the percussionists and the bassist.

8. Ten Years After – First time I hear the electric guitar on a Mynta song some DJ induced sounds too. Sounds very modern. Christian Paulin delivers some great bass and wait till you begin to hear the vocals from Fazal and Shankar. Nice stuff.

9. Bohccui – Lovely singing and lovely music, particularly guitar. Flute is also heard.

10. Dancer in the Night – Nice and easy filler with some Spanish & Flamenco feel. Pleasant.

11. Small and Angry – Sounds like a song from the Highlands again and a very Celtic feel to it with Flamenco tapping towards the end. Dallas Smith and Santiago carry the song through. Not a boring song.

12. Mr. Coy – Sounds very Kenny G like for the most of the song followed by Shankar’s not very impressive vocal solo. Not a worthy concluder.

13, 14, 15 – Remix versions of the earlier songs that I care to listen and therefore will not be reviewing.

If you are into fusion this album is highly recommended.

True to its identity the album is not available on Amazon.com. However it is available at www.cdon.com a site referred by Mynta’s web site, www.mynta.net.

You may also want to check UnlimitedDownloadCenter.com where you could download the album or songs for free.

Mynta has performed in Chennai twice. They had come in 1987 and in 2005. I went to see them in 2005. Shankar wasn’t there and they had another veteran guest for their performance in Chennai, Vikku Vinayakram on the Ghatam. It was a good performance. It could have been much better had only performed more on the drums and Santiago’s violin hadn’t developed the tuning problems.

There are other albums that have catchy songs and I’ll review them there after I take a good listen.