In Review--Rare Tappa Music from India
Sasha Tappa Journey Sense World Music I just received a large package of CDs from the U.K. based label, Sense World Music. So over the next two months, I will be reviewing these recordings on this blog. Many of the performers are women, which lifts my heart. I will be reviewing women who play tabla, sitar, violin and sing. And I am sure this will be a delightful journey for all of us. Of course, I will be reviewing extraordinary men musicians too. I started the journey with a new artist to my ears, Sasha, a proponent of Tappa. According to the CD Tappa Journey liner notes, Tappa is rarely heard in the West and hails from the Silk Road. It possesses a legacy of camel drivers and Punjabi influences. Passionate almost blazing vocals find themselves embellished by Derek Robert's guitar, an Indian string orchestra and traditional Indian percussion. I would even go as far to say that this music, although rarely heard in the West until now, compares to Bollywood music in that it ...