Be the Change

Prasanna | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 14, 2004)
• Original Release Date: January 14, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Susila Music
• ASIN: B0001FZG7Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,047 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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......with a solid understanding of a multitude of styles, he (Prasanna) creates world music with a distinctive sound.

Product Description

Considered by many to be one of the most unique guitar virtuosos in the world, Prasanna takes a quantum leap into the future with ‘Be the Change’. Stellar performances from an all star line-up of some of the worlds’ best musicians like multi-Grammy winning Bela Fleck and the Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten, ex-Weather Report bass legend Alphonso Johnson, the dynamic Flecktones saxophonist Jeff Coffin, ex-Frank Zappa drummer Ralph Humphrey, one of LA’s hottest saxophonists Andy Suzuki, the explosive drummer Derico Watson and the versatile vocalist Shalini, complement Prasanna’s dynamic guitars, vocals and strikingly original compositions of rare depth. ‘Pangaea Rising’ musically mirrors the result of cataclysmic changes in the Earth’s geological past, ‘Bliss Factor’ is a song in Sanskrit with the text from the advaita Hindu philosophy of ancient India wafting through some high voltage Jazz/ Funk, ‘Ragabop’ showcases the journey of the chromatically adventurous Carnatic raga ‘Kapi’ in a be-bop laden jazz acoustic guitar trio format with jaw-dropping virtuosity, Dharma becomes Alibama’ brings in the bitter-sweet dissonance of carnatic ragas Dharmavathi and Saramathi rising over some exquisite straight ahead Jazz, ‘The Grapevine’ is a now Jazz-now progressive rock camouflage, ‘Satyam’, the bi-lingual English/Sanskrit song blends R and B, Funk, Carnatic, Disco and African elements with soaring vocals, a powerful message and infectious groove, ‘Kalyani Connection’ unleashes the power of the inexhaustible carnatic raga ‘Kalyani’ clothed in an instrumental Rock Power ballad, at times even sonically bordering on New Age, the blazing ‘Ta ka ta ki ta Blues’ is a pounding blend of hard rock, blues and jazz against an unmistakable rhythmic tala structure of carnatic music, ‘Uncensored’ is proud old-school Jazz/Rock peppered with an incendiary new twist of Clave-meets Carnatic Tala vocalization.

‘Be the Change’ is a mind, body and soul experience.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhilarating Experience.., April 23, 2004

By 

Bikram Kumai (Dallas,TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be the Change (Audio CD)

This album is an exquisitely crafted work of art by an extremely gifted and skilled musician. To me, it's a must hear/keep for all world/jazz listeners. It is very different because in Prasanna we have a very unique guitarist so well versed with the nuances of both the eastern carnatic and western jazz. All the songs in the album convey the artist's strong and very melodic carnatic message packaged in the overall jazz & blues context. The fusion is totally seamless. So to a listener unexposed to this form of eastern music, it may also come accross as a new exotic expression to jazz, which it is in many ways. And guess what, the singing too by both Prasanna and his wife Shalini sound very smooth and fit well in the album.
Not to forget,what makes the album stand out is also the top brass accompanying artists on the rythm,bass,wind sections. The excellent arrangement of it all makes the album a sure winner.
Kudos to Prasanna for this beautiful piece of art.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Genius!, February 9, 2004

By 

S. Rajagopalan (Newark, DE, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be the Change (Audio CD)

This album is pure genius. It combines at once two very serious improvisational art forms, carnatic
(south indian classical music) and jazz, and brings it to an audience which is bound to have a very
unique experience. This album is bound to change your view of jazz -- forever. Never before has
multicultural collaboration been attempted at this honest and serious a level. Ok, maybe Akamoon is
probably as serious (apparently Prasanna plays with them regularly in Europe), but how often do you
hear odd-signature songs this accessible? If you are an avid Shakti fan and are wondering what to
listen to next, not only should you listen to this album, but also check out Prasanna's "Peaceful,"
which I believe is available through his website at guitarprasanna.com. In "Peaceful," you will find
Prasanna shining in a freer setting, with some renditions of traditional carnatic -- meant clearly to
showcase his absolute genius as a guitar player and his very creative ideas as a musician.
Pick up "Be The Change" for compositional integrity, pure genius guitar playing, the grammy-winning musicians, and the use of a rare (musical) vocabulary.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz Fusion at its Best!, February 16, 2004

By 

Raj Alur (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Be the Change (Audio CD)

Be the Change is probably the best CD album that I have heard in a while. Prasanna weaves in soulful guitar lines on a backdrop of hypnotic harmonies over complex time signatures. His guitar playing is unique, playing in both a contemporary Jazz style such as Scofield, Stern and Metheny as well as in an Indian Carnatic music style. The CD is 70 minutes long....almost as much music as a double-CD set. Every guitar player whether they play Jazz, Rock, Funk, Classical or Fusion should buy this.