The Whole Music Experience

The Pleasures of Indian Ragas My introduction to Indian classical ragas was a humbling experience. It was 2003, I had just started discovering music from around the world as a music journalist (making a transition from alternative rock to world music) and I attended my first Indian classical recital. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor) and Zakir Hussain (tabla) headlined at the King Cat Theatre in Seattle. A few thousand Indians filled the theatre to the brim, and only a handful of Anglo-Americans were in attendance. I sat next to one, who thankfully was an expert on Indian classical music. I received a comp to attend the recital if I reviewed it for World Music Central and my own website at the time Cranky Crow World Music . So I sat down waiting for the recital to begin. The musicians tuned their instruments on a carpeted-covered platform on the stage and then dove into the Alap section of the raga. Only I couldn’t tell when the tuning of t...

Kadri Gopalnath & Ronu Majumdar Evolution Sense World Music This is not the first time I am hearing saxophone on a classical Indian music recording, nor will it be the last. Saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath and Bansuri flautist Ronu Majumdar unite their musical gifts on Evolution with spectacular results. Although Gopalnath has modified his saxophone to perform classical Indian micro-tones, it still has a jazz-like quality and so it gives off an otherworldly timbre in this Indian classical atmosphere. Majumdar brings his own bamboo-wind pyrotechnics to this recording. The musician has phenomenal breath control which is essential to playing the flute and there are times when Majumdar leaves his audience members breathless on this live recording. For anyone who has heard earlier work of this musician will know just what to expect. Majumdar happens to be one of those musicians with the ability to take his listeners' minds straight to the stratosphere. When combined this mus...