Gem Tones: Saxophone Supreme - South Indian Style [Import]

Kadri Gopalnath | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Globe Style UK
• ASIN: B00004RIW4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,315 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Vinayakuni Ninnu

2. Nada Tanumanisham

3. Ra Ra Rajeevalochana

4. Ragam - Tanam - Pallavi

5. Om Shambo Shiva Shambo

6. Kangalidyatako

Editorial Reviews

Kadri is the man who introduced the saxophone to South Indian music; the album was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs and is his first CD to be released outside the traditional Indian market.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sax Appeal From The Subcontinent, August 9, 2001

By 

Meathook Williams "stepfather of the blues" (Warwick, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gem Tones: Saxophone Supreme - South Indian Style (Audio CD)

In recent years, many Indian musicians have brought western instruments into play within the context of Indian classical music, with great success. Brij Bhushan Kabri, Debashis Bhattacharya, and V.M.Bhatt have popularised guitar ( Bhatt actually plays the mohan vina, a gutar with sympathetic extra strings added). The electric mandolin virtuoso,U.Srinivas has several fine recordings available as of this writing. So, I guess it was only a matter of time before the saxophone made the journey. And it could hardly have a better champion than Kadri Gopalnath. Gem Tones ( the honorary title "Kalaimamani" means "Big Gem of the Arts") consists of six ragas. These are not the northern type, with the long, unfolding and meditative alap at the beginning that we're more used to as played by Ravi Shankar et al. These are from the more active,southern variety Carnatic style. It sounds far less odd than it might seem, the sax, if anything, making it even more accessible to western tastes. Gopalnath is joined hereby two percussionists andVadya Lahari's primo violinist Ms. A. Kanyakumari, a perfect foil.Vadya Lahari is, perhaps, my favorite ensemble from India, though only one CD of theirs is available here. If you ever come across it, snatch it up, you won't be sorry. A lot of the music here is played "jugalbandi" style with the two primary instruments playing largely in unison, but departing from time to time in complimentary fashion ( think of the "twin guitars" of the Allman Bros., but don't think rock n' roll). The double-headed mridangam is lovingly played by M.R. Sainatha, and the morsing likewise by Bangalore Rajasekar. The program is made up of rather ancient classic ragas and placed in order as if the disc was a concert.Production chores are deftly handled by the redoubtable Ben Mandelson, who really ought to be knighted for the scads of fine ethnic recordings he's introduced over the years.A winner all around.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Virtuoso sax playing, July 26, 2000

By 

Dr. Mark S. Cohen "markatucla" (Calabasas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gem Tones: Saxophone Supreme - South Indian Style (Audio CD)

NOt a fusion record, Gem Tomes displays the deep relationships betweemn Indian classical music and modern improvisational jazz. The players follow a style of playing the 'head' and imporvising about the theme that is common to both forms. Here, the saxophone of Kadri Gopalnath makes these affiinities even more clear; Indian melody, when played on the sax, sounds extraordinarily familiar to the Western ear, but when paralelled by Indian classical violin, it is obviously part of the indian tradition.

Amazing and refreshing listening.