The Whole Music Experience

Deepak Ram Steps Golden Horn Records Imagine John Coltrane's Giant Steps played on a bansuri flute (India) backed by a bossa nova rhythms played on guitar and percussion, and that describes flutist Deepak Ram's latest CD, Steps . Since Indian classical music and jazz both rely on improvisation, this is not the first time the two traditions wed. And the overall musical marriage wraps a warm blanket of dreamy revelry around its listeners. This album feels good as it lifts the energy in the room. Not only that, Deepak and those musicians who came on board, Tony Marino, Vic Juris and Jamey Haddad know their way around jazz classics. Besides, Coltrane's Giant Steps and Naima (off of the same Coltrane album), Deepak also brings in Miles Davis' All Blues , Gershwin's Summertime , Darius Brubeck's October and Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodger's My Funny Valentine . Deepak contributes his two original pieces, Madiba's Dance and Blues for Shyam Babu

Le Trio Joubran Majaz Randana/Harmonia Mundi The Joubran brothers, Samir, Wissam, and Adnan all deftly play the Arabic oud. Palestinian by birth, but sporting Israeli citizenship, it's challenging to fathom that the beautiful music flowing from the newest disc, Majaz , hails from a place of turmoil. In recent news, we read that the Israeli government placed another stranglehold on the Palestinians living in Gaza, and now many Palestinians seek refuge in Egypt, causing an already overheated Middle Eastern situation to boil over while the rest of the world watches helplessly. It's hard not to think of this political situation when listening to the three brothers play their ouds. These are young men who hail from a long lineage of Palestinian traditional musicians and instrument makers, and in fact, the middle brother, Wissam not only composes and joins his other two brothers on oud, but he also crafts the instruments. While performance of a 3-oud ensemble brings a contempor