Customer Reviews

Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was lucky enough to be part of this recording and the rehearsals leading up to it. Reviewers who bemoan the lack of melody at this performance have a legitimate complaint. But this is due to the totally new format these musicians were working under. If you pull together a band of virtuoso jazz musicians who have never played live together before, they will speak a common language of standards and form (head, solos, head, done) that will allow them to work as unit playing melodic tunes. The repertoire is deep and the shared knowledge is broad. Not so here, these guys are making it up as they go, they are blazing the trail and it's obvious.

That is not to say that there is nothing here, there is. These are amazing musicians engaged in a long improvisation of texture and rhythm. I tend to think of it as watching the surf. To some, it may seem monotonous, but to me, each wave is different and the overall effect is hypnotic.

The audience ate it all up. 10,000 people on their feet and dancing to these world beats. I remember one moment in particular where the band had laid back and let Zakir take a solo, Zakir's solo was reaching a climax and Laswell jumped back in. He owns the frequency band below 80Hz and you could feel the concussive power of his bass in your gut, it passed through your body like you were made of jello and washed over the crowd which responded with an estactic release of mass joy. Amazing.

The day leading to concert was spent in a rehearsal hall, working out about 6 different songs. These weren't so much songs as structures for improv. We shared burritos from the Mission and had a few laughs. These guys were fun and total pros. It was an experience I won't forget.

On the live front Laswell unleashes the touring version of his Indian rhythm-drenched collective, Tabla Beat Science, on this double CD recorded at San Francisco's long-running summer festival at Stern Grove park. While their debut 2000 studio incarnation Tala Matrix, which was billed as `adventures in electro-acoustic hypercussion', featured the quadraphonic tabla talents of Indian whiz Zakir Hussain, jazz-fusionist Trilok Gurtu, UK/Asian Underground producer/percussionist Talvin Singh and San Francisco beat-groover Karsh Kale, only Hussain and Kale are onboard for this live edition. But they're enough.

Also present from the original lineup are classical Indian sarangi master/ vocalist Ustad Sultan Khan and Laswell himself on bass, with added guests; the alluring Ms. Gigi, Bay area turntable-ist DJ Disk, and New Delhi-based mixing duo MIDIval Pundits. Combined they're a formidable team.

Zakir alone is worth the price of admission here. His calm demeanor belies the powerful rhythms that continually leap from his hands. A tabla player's tabla player, Hussain has an immaculate percussive pedigree (the gifted son of the late Alla Rakha, the longtime tabla partner of sitarist Ravi Shankar), with an almost unbelievable level of dexterous speed and skill at his disposal. Throw him together on `Sacred Channel' with Laswell's thundering underwater bassline and Kale's crisp kit drumming, and you create an explosive chemical reaction which can match virtually any power rock trio for rhythmic intensity.

Gigi attempts to calm things down a bit from time to time, as on `Nafekefi', trading subtle Ethiopian/Indian vocals with Sultan Khan, but it's a lost cause, and da boys quickly start propelling the proceedings forward again, with sub-dub beats and blistering audio assaults. With tracks ranging from 5 to 15 minutes there's plenty of time for extended solos and semi-structured jamming. Khan's energetically bowed sarangi merges whining high-pitched Indian melodies with DJ Disk's turntable technology, while Laswell's rumbling bass shakes the heavens and the percussionists go ballistic. It's loud, multi-layered exciting stuff, which will be too full-on for some tastes, but just the ticket for any self-respecting Laswell/Hussain percussion fanatic. Approach with caution and fasten your seatbelts, but if you're rhythmically brave, then definitely seek out this live, high voltage set.

There's an inherent hazard in attempting anything under the vast umbrella of 'fusion.' Since the idea is to blend elements of separate styles or genres, it's important to strike a balance among the different sounds involved. I'll admit I'm no expert on the world of Indian techno out there, but I have to say that Tabla Beat Science meets that challenge perhaps more than anyone else I've heard. The earthy beats of the classic tabla (in the hands of the talented Karsh Kale and Zakir Hussain, no less) fit perfectly hand-in-hand with the ever-shifting samples and techno beats of the current century's dance-club sensibility. It's all about rhythm anyway, and if rhythm isn't universal I don't know what is.

Group mastermind Bill Laswell stays in the steady role of central bassist, providing a solid foundation for everyone else to spin, groove and whirl over. The electronic touches (far from being mere loop programs) grow and modulate throughout, giving everything else an organic pulse that keeps it far away from the realm of droning repetition. The turntable aspect is handled by the inventive DJ Disk and the mad-sampling duo Midival PunditZ; in fact, just about everyone involved has a productive career in their own right, and the sum of the parts with everyone contributing is something mighty fascinating indeed. "Taaruf" starts things with a stealthily complex opening jam between - surprise - two tablas. It's during the semi-startling jump to "Sacred Channel" that the east-west fusion truly gets off the ground. Ustad Sultan Khan and Gigi drop in and out with some occasional spirited vocals, "Nafeken" and "Satellite" being two of the supremely stellar standouts (cool alliteration alert!) to my ears. There's not a whole lot of variety overall, but that seems to be the least of anyone's concerns. Disc 1 in itself is a vibrantly charged instrumental workout for all involved, but it's on the ... disc 2 where the freeform jam-happy side really comes out, reaching its peak of collective insanity in the closing "Devotional Dub." That one.. much like the whole album, really.. simply needs to be heard to be believed. Lesser percussionists would be left helplessly gasping in the dust.

If I was to complain about anything on this release, it would be the minimum of actual melody on offer: though, it's not really surprising considering that the basis of this music begins and ends with rhythm. So (as you can probably guess) if you're looking for some well-composed tunes, you'd better look elsewhere. Tabla Beat Science is for those with a hyper pulse, a taste for thumping bass and a musical outlook beyond plain ordinary funk or techno.. or maybe just those with an open mind who want to shake some walls.

This 2 CD live set of the Bill Laswell-led Table Beat Science is pretty, well, live. The first disc a little tabla heavy (hey, the group's name is Tabla Beat Science) but the interaction of old-world instruments played by world-class players mxed with contemporary rhythms and heady electronic production values gives us some VERY interesting stuff here. It comes off a little more jazz-based than their actual studio album, but that's to be expected.

The second disc really showcases the groove aspects of the instrumentation and is the more daring of the two. The turntablism and generally nutty experimentation really gives us a record that electronic music enthusiasts will dig and the average joe will find pretty interesting, if not wholly accessible.

For fans of the group and world music at the very least. Strong, but a bit left-field for the average listener.

Tabla Beat Science was (is?) a unique collaboration-- a crossing of electronica and traditional Indian musics in a largely improvised fashion. If this sounds interesting to you, read on, otherwise you're more likely to be happy skipping this one.

From the first song, you'd have no idea this is anything other than a traditional Indian album, Ustad Sultan Khan's sarangi soars over tabla performance from Zakir Hussain (and maybe Karsh Kale as well?), its a very traditional setting-- the playing is fantastic, but its nothing out of the ordinary for over fifteen minutes. Then something changes. Kale sits at a western drum kit, kicks in a monster beat and is joined with a dub-ish baseline courtesy of Bill Laswell. Electronic sounds and rhythms highlight the music (courtesy of DJ Disk, MIDIval PunditZ, and Fabian Alsultany).

The album really continues along this trend-- the music is engaging, gripping, powerful, and well conceived, and the musicians are very clearly having a blast playing it. It drifts in and out of traditional musics of various forms, but never quite settles on anything except being very heavily groove oriented, even when Laswell assumes a more esoteric stance. Occasionally vocals (courtesy of Khan and Gigi Shibabaw) join the fray, and it sounds to my ears like musicians come and go during different pieces. The emphasis for the most part is on the tabla, and Hussain delivers the goods like no one can.

I actually find the second disc far more engaging than the first, it includes a great vocal piece and an all out turntable/tabla war that is not to be missed. It may seem gimmicky to some, but try to avoid stereotypes and expectations about the turntable-- take it as a percussion instrument and you're bound to be intrigued. I really can't say enough good things about this record, my only regret is that i never got to see this band live.

...and so am getting this without having heard it in mixed CD form; as much as a memento as in confidence that it will be enjoyable upon 2nd listening, so to speak.

The crowd was an interesting and uniquely Bay Area melange of a) the large local Hindustani community which turns out in force for almost any appearance by Zakirji and Sultan Khansahib and b) the hipster-electronica scene, with the usual other San Fran boho/liberal archetypes also well represented.

Those who have the Tabla Beat Science studio CD will note the absence in this live show of 2 players from that CD: Talvin Singh, who failed to show at the last hour due to his being sick with a cold in London, and the Hamburg-based multi-percussionist Trilok Gurtu, who, I heard from an Indian friend who hung out with him at another Calif. festival that same summer, apparently wasn't invited by the others to take part in the live tour. It's shame neither was there, as Talvin, along with Karsh Kale, is one of the best examples of the intersection of the Indian classical tradition with modern dj electronica, while Trilok is the best Indian multi-percussionist I've ever seen (in my case, his taking over the percussion role in the band Oregon from the deceased Colin Walcott was a major revelation; as another reviewer put, "with Trilok Gurtu, Oregon rocks like they never have before..."

It is funny, because the cover is so cheesy. This recording (live) is UNBELIEVABLE! This group is filled with fantastic traditional Eastern music style players and I still can not believe it is live! I found this in a dance section at a music retailer. WRONG! This is some of the best Tabla records I have ever heard. Lots of other traditional India instruments and GREAT bass & subtle synth. Trilok Gurtu should be influenced by this band FANTASIC spin! TEN stars!! Should be classified under world music or upbeat new age.

Zakir Hussain, Bill Laswell, Karsh Kale and pals engage in a spirited live Indian classical/electronic funk jamfest. Recorded live at an outdoor venue in San Francisco, this 2-CD set has remarkably good sound, with Hussain's amazing tabla playing dominating the beginning of the album. Laswell is pretty far in the back, which I guess is understandable, once he's been taken out of his studio kingdom. The turntabulism by DJ Disk and tweaky mixing by the Midival Punditz also work in pretty well... For mix'n'match modernists, this is an album well worth checking out.

Tabla beat science won't be a name that's familiar to everyone, but literally a who's, who of eastern world music or percussion. The ubiquitous `Bill Laswell', overseers the project, handling...bass, Mixing translations. "Zakir Hussain" handles the tabla, with a deft proficiency, that rivals `Tirlok Gurtu's' performances, and with the help of their friends, tackle a multitude of genres that range from space-Dub, Jazz-rock, Indian classical, Ethiopian-pop, Funk and even westernised genres such as Hip-hop & rhythmic Drum `n' Bass. With songs that frequently hit over 10 minutes, this is not an album for those short of patience.

It's certainly more suited to those that have already cut their teeth with the realms of Worldbeat music, as songs vary from slow burners that slowly gather pace, and envelope into stunning expressive imaginative pieces that justify the long running time over these 2 cds. Through to Immediate fast paced songs that quikckly whip the attending audience into a Rapturous applause. This is a collection of the eastern worlds finest musicians showing their considerable skills with their instruments. Every genre that is tackled is a resounding success, whether it be the Dj Disk hip-hop influenced turntable trickery over furious bass grooves, or the epic opening track "Taaruf" showing the virtuosity of `Zakir Hussain's' tabla beats, or the dynamic vocalism displayed on "Nafekeñ", everything spans and is essentially a fusion of the ancient tradition of the tabla and various percussive instruments coupled with contemporary electroncia.

Their acoustic wizardry is beyond all doubt, and is a perfect example of artists that consistently look to push the boundaries of contemporary eastern music, that is often extremely compelling as well as innovative and a truly worthwhile union of experiential musicians that contribute something worthwhile and somehow have made their individual parts gel as a coherent unit. Those looking to make the purchase here, should be warned that.....as exceptionally brilliant as this is, this isn't really suited to people entering into the genre of Worldbeat, Experimental fusion for the first time, as this 2 Cd live album can be a daunting prospect, with the first track alone stretching into a 16 minutes, which will undoubtedly stretch the patience of first timers. But then this was never really intended for people new to this style of music, and the frequent leaping from genre to genre, will unbalance those who like their albums to not be quite so eclectic.

But anyone with a passing interest in this styles of music, this is more than worth a look, and it has the potential to rekindle peoples interest altogether. And those (like me), that can't get enough of this form of beautifully played music, this is one of the greatest live albums of recent times, that awaits your discerning ear.

I was at this concert, and it was absolutely incredible. Completely blew me away. This CD is not as good as being there, but it's somewhat better than the studio-recorded album. If you're into Asian underground, or are entraced by the world of Indian classical music and want to hear it with a thoroughly modern twist, this is definitely the album for you.