Free Jazz Music

Lovely music. Nice Indian flavor yet contemporary. Dreamy. Great addition to have Sting accompany on the one track. Ravi gets it going fast on his tracks. Love Karsh Kale on this.

Awesome music all the way! It must take 2 geniuses to come up with something like this. It took me a couple listens to get the music but after that I simply got hooked. Traditional Indian classical music takes a lot to get into, but this one melded with awesome beats and soothing traditional classical is what is the highlight of this CD. It is like hamburger cooked with spices, this music is spicy. Track #2 Slither and #10 Abyss are my favorite. Norah Johns with her half sister on track # 10 is simply amazing. Ravishankar and Anoushka's oceanic part 2 is addictive. Stings song is mediocre but still blends well. My least favorite of all is Little Glass Folk. All in all an amazing fusion music that has all the potential to be next generation indo-western sound. A classic fusion.

Being an avid fan of indian music , and owning a sitar myself. I thought Ravi shankar was the best , but he should be very proud of his daughter for in my opinon ,being the most beautiful woman in the world, not just by her presence , but especially in the music she presents , that makes her talent as beautiful as she is. I didn't know what to think when I saw this cd. I always wanted her to be just a solo artist, but I really was wrong. I hope she and Karsh kale do more projects together , this in my opinon is the best music she has ever done and this disc is by far the most beutiful piece of work I have ever heard.

Amateurs of classical Indian music - beware... as this music may unsettle you. All other true music lovers, proceed in confidence !
What a fabulous album Anushka Shankar has produced. Wonderful taste, variety, serenity, sensuality.... Only 1 song clearly sits at a lower quality level - Little Glass Folk - a bizarre and rather tasteless pastiche. But the rest - listen, listen, and listen again. It is true magic !

Anoushka is Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar's daughter.
After "Rise", which was released two years ago, got her a Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary World Music category she has been experimenting with forms far beyond those of Indian classical music to reach a wider audience.
Anoushka's album, made in collaboration with musician Karsh Kale, blends Indian classical, electronica and folk.
London-born and New York-raised, Kale balances his Indian heritage with rock 'n' roll, hip-hop and atmospheric pop.
"I am pushing the envelope on a personal level and trying to see how far I can go", Anoushka said. "It means so much to me to explore the Indian classical music my father taught me, yet I am so deeply excited to be discovering my own creative voice".
Imagine living in a world where psychedelic raves follow classical recitals and rock and roll dives become Bollywood hangouts. A world where one finds West Coast yogis immersed in Eastern culture and the New York underground drawing inspiration from the Mumbai club scene, where globalization is an internal state-of-being and borders were made to be crossed.
This is the world Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale live in and journey through.
"Breathing Under Water" is the soundtrack of this journey as created by two of the most visionary talents pioneering the hip and fertile overlap of today's world music scene.
The album is carefully constructed and composed, boasting some of the finest guest artists on the order of Ravi Shankar - who created the nucleus of two climatic pieces for the album (Oceanic Parts 1 & 2) plus Sting, Anoushka's sister Norah Jones, MIDIval PunditZ, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Noah Lembersky , Shankar Mahadevan and Sunidhi Chauhan.
"Breathing Under Water" plays like a modern gypsy travelogue through the alluring world of Shankar and Kale.
Karsh Kale, 32-year old, a tabla drummer who is also an electronica producer and programmer, was raised in America by Indian parents, and proved his instrumental talent early - as a founding member of the all-star super group Tabla Beat Science and later as producer and composer of some of the finest global electronica of the past decade.
His meeting amd working with Anoushka Shankar - the 25-year old star sitarist and composer would seems almost inevitable, given their markedly parallel paths.
Saying that "Breathing Under Water" is a career breakthrough for both Shankar and Kale is an understatement.
For both, it proved creatively catalytic and stands as a measure of their growth as musicians, as they broke ground beyond the roles each is known for: Shankar expanding her talents as an electronic producer, keyboard/pianist, composer and lyricist, and Kale as a composer and singer, while playing guitars, tabla, drums, keyboards and bass.
For both the common thread within this album remained the Indian Classical repertoire.
In the same way rock and roll artists used blues music and hip hop artists use jazz and funk as their muse to create new forms, Kale and Shankar both keep Indian music at the centre of all that they create, yet allow the music to expand beyond cultural and traditional borders to reach a panoramic view of their world.
"Breathing Under Water" features numerous special guests, some of them actually rather famous.
Sitar maestro and living legend Ravi Shankar, 85, plays on two tracks.
The pleasant "Sea Dreamer", features vocals and acoustic guitar from Sting, more evocative singing comes from Sunidhi Chauhan on the haunting "Ghost Story".
"Easy", featuring a vocal Norah Jones, is surely the album's flat-out prettiest track, a delicate, restrained piece that sees the two sisters trying to out-do each other on the blissful melodies.
Overall, the album is a genuine meld of music that cohesively blends different sounds and represents the best kind of change that can be brought about through tasteful fusion and well crafted songwriting.
"Breathing Under Water is nothing less than delightfully -- and sometimes powerfully -- unique". Thom Jurek-Allmusic
My highlights : "Easy", "Ghost Story", "Oceanic, Part.1" and "Little Glass Folk".

Rise
Chants Of India: Ravi Shankar; George Harrison
The Essential Ravi Shankar
33 1/3
Broken English
Not Too Late

Just discovered this record via iTunes Plus, where it's going for an insane $5.99. While the bass could indeed be better recorded (this is true of so many records), as a previous reviewer notes, no need to be put off by this. The bass is quite audible, and I don't think this minor issue merits the loss of a star.

Evan Parker, Barry Guy, and Paul Lytton, three masters of their craft, a craft which very few have the abiltiy to even think about trying. Barry's stand-up bass could be louder in the mix but this is still required listening for Free-Improvisation fans and new recruits to the "genre". I may have the wrong number but I think it's BREATHS AND HEARTBEAT 4. Evan does some of that only-Evan-can-do-this stuff on soprano saxophone, the stuff where there are 2 and 3 melodic lines happening at once (no overdubs here mind you). First time I heard #4 I got dizzy and almost fell off of my bed. If Barry's bass was slightly louder this would be a 5 star cd.

This is a great record, and unique among the recordings by the Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton trio. They are playing at their unbelievable telepathic best, and the tracks are separated by short all-percussion segments by all three players -- the "heartbeats." This works, for me, to punctuate and add texture to record as a whole. Most tracks are fairly short as well, so the effect is different from the typical live session with one or two long improvisations.

BREATHS & HEARTBEATS was one of the first Evan Parker records I heard, and I still think it's one the best. It would make a great introduction for anyone who hasn't heard him, and if you have, this is an essential addition to your collection. The trio doesn't seem to be playing together much anymore -- this December 1994 London recording is from their early-mid 1990s peak of activity.

In the Seventies, I was too into Miles and Coltrane. I missed Rahsaan Roland Kirk passing by. Huge energy. Dig in!

I'm so happy this album is on CD. I was lucky enough to see R.R. Kirk during the same time period with the same band. We were young college students and expected some serious angry black jazz music.... INSTEAD we got to join Rahsaan in his warm joyous educational hysterical jazz party! The buzz from that night lasted for weeks! Well documented on this recording.

The in-between chatter on this recording only adds to the vibe. Hearing Rahsaan's raps almost made me cry now that he's been gone for so long. Pour yourself a cocktail, relax and let Rahsaan take you to his 'Bright Moments' place. You'll enjoy the journey.

THE CD BRIGHT MOMENTS IS A RECORDING OF A LIVE CONCERT THAT RAHSAAN DID IN THE MID-LATE 1970'S WHICH IS HIS MOST CREATVIE AND UNIQUE PERIOD OF HIS MUSIC. I REMEBER WHEN THIS CAME OUT IN THE 1970'S I HAD IT THEN AND I'M GLAD I HAVE A COPY NOW. THIS CD ENCOMPASSES ALL THAT'S GREAT ABOUT RAHSAAN: HIS POETRY, HIS ABILITY TO PLAY MANY DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS (SOMETIMES ALL AT THE SAME TIME), HIS USE OF MULTIMEDIA (SOUNDS EFFECTS) INCORPORATED INTO HIS MUSIC, ABILITY TO INTERPERET ANY KIND OF MUSIC, STANDARDS OR POPULAR MUSIC OF THE DAY, AND HIS UNIQUE VISION THAT HE BRINGS TO THAT MUSIC. I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT LISTEN TO JAZZ THAT DISMISS RAHSAAN, CALLING HIM A ONE TRICK PONY, "Y'NOW THAT GUY THAT PLAYS ALL THOSE INSTRUMENTS AT THE SAME TIME, BUT THAT IS BECASUE THEY HAVE NEVER REALLY SAT DOWN AND LISTENED TO WHAT THE MAN WAS SAYING WITH HIS MUSIC, AND THE WAY HE SAID IT SO DIFFERENTLY FROM ANYONE ELSE. IT WAS INTERESTING TO READ IN AN ARTICLE THE OTHER DAY THAT IAN ANDERSON, THE GREAT FLUTIST AND FRONT MAN FOR THE ROCK BAND JETHRO TULL, CREDITED RAHSAAN AS HIS MAJOR INFLUENCE IN HIS FLUTE PLAYING. I SAW RAHSAAN PLAY LIVE A FEW TIMES AND I AM A FAN FOR LIFE, THE MAN IS JUST ONE OF THOSE RARE INDIVIDUALS THAT JUST OOZED TALENT. EVERY TIME I SAW HIM IT WASN'T JUST A SHOW, IT WAS AN EVENT.

Roland Kirk in person was something you just don't forget. He seemed able to do anything, and capable of doing anything. Some of his on stage raps and antics got him thrown out of clubs - flagged for life. "Volunteered Slavery" has some excellent live tracks, as does "Here Comes The Whistle Man", but Bright Moments does the best job of putting you inside the experience of a Rahsaan club date. It's a real musical journey and shows what a marvelous student of jazz he was. From the tasty tribute to Fats Waller, Jitterbug Waltz, to the NOLA visit, Dem Red Beans and Rice, Roland takes you traveling through space and time. The title track is an anthem delivered tenderly on flute, a loving dedication to the entire audience. (Kirk's flute playing ranked him #2 after Dolphy.) When he breaks out You'll Never Get To Heaven, and If I loved You, you can almost hear the club creaking on its foundations, he simply wears them out. Roland got his hat, no more live shows. But thanks to this CD, you can get pretty close.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk is one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting character in the history of American music. To top it off he was extremly talanted player. This recording is one of the few recordings I believe if one opens itself to, will take you out the doldrums no matter what tradegy has happened in this lifetime. Everything is essential here - the music, the crowd, the excellent sound, the rants, ect

This is one great cd of music on piano and clarinet with a lot of freedom but with focused melodic sense . Avant garde elements creep in through out. Just the right balance between composed and freedom done with class by classy artists.