Customer Reviews

Rain

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many times in music we are easily disappointed when a child follows a parent into the arts. This seems especially true with attempts at song craft or mastering instruments.
The offspring of great artists typically borrow too much and fail to create their own niche.

I am pleasantly surprised to hear this isn't the state of affairs with Shujaat Hussain Khan, son of sitar master Ustad Vilayat Khan. He not only steps beyond strict Indian classical music, chooses a spike fiddler for a collaborator, but I also find his deft touch and pluck deliciously sharp and watery. Perhaps this is influenced by his belonging to the Imdad Khan School of the sitar where the style of playing is imitative of the subtleties of the human voice. Along as a passenger, an ideal sonic friend, the mercurial Iranian Kamancheh player Kayhan Kaldor.
Sweet, timeless, music. Driving stories, full of images and emotions.

First of all, if you have all of Ghazal's other CD's, you have heard several of these pieces. This live CD, recorded several years ago, is a phenomenal piece of music. The interplay of the musicians is nothing less than astounding, and the sound quality is lovely (typical for an ECM disk.) From meditative to passionate, there is a broad range of emotion displayed, all with faultless timing and skill. If you've never heard Ghazal before, this is a fine place to start. If you are a longtime fan, as I am, it's still a worthwhile CD, but when your ears perk up and you say, "Hey, wait. I know this!" it's because you do. In this, I was a little disappointed; I had hoped for new material from Ghazal (I preordered the CD as soon as I heard about it.) However, the fineness of the work itself assuaged any misgivings I'd had.

Few CDs from my 4000 collection of CDs get into my car for a long ride as frequently as The Rain. I just cannot have enough of Kalhor's kamancheh sound and the peaceful Hindu-Persian feeling that it evokes. The sound brings back for me the memories of my younger days at my aunt's Safavid era house in the Northern Iran city of Rasht and the peaceful Zoroastrian temples of Iran and India where I spent a lifetime of happy hours. This is a keeper.

I don't know much about the Indian and Persian music but my mind feels both tranquil and passionate listening to this beautiful CD. The dialogue between the sitar and the kamancheh is most interesting. Ghazal's singing voice is even better than that on the other CD "As Night Falls on the Silk Road" (although I must confess that I don't understand what he sings). Recording quality is top-notch. Highly recommended.

During a cab ride I took in New York, the driver played a CD of some Indian music which included a male voice as well as sitar, tabla and tambura. I asked him what it was and he wrote the name "Ghazal" as well as some other words that didn't show up on the Amazon search. The Rain is not the same CD and I'm not sure if it's even the same artist. The cab driver's CD was pure classical Indian and The Rain is a sort of fusion of Indian and Persian. If I made a mistake buying this CD it was a very lucky mistake because the quality of the music is very high. The interaction among the players is of a very high calibre, like that of the very best jazz combos as they take a motif and work it as if it were composed but with such a feel of spontaneity which is so much the excitment of improvisational music. I suppose that many people would like to find a piece of music like this if they only knew where to look. I got lucky with this one and I recommend it highly.

This is undoubtedly their best album. Altough two pieces of the three presented here are from their earlier albums, they now play them in a much more improved way. The audio engineering is perfect too.

The Indian influence is clearly stronger than the Persian one here exept for some imrovisational movements. Nevertheless, the collaboration between Shujaat and Kayhan remains a very good idea considering the fact that they would never be able to reach this success as solists..
I Highly Recommended This Album!!

World fusion music generally involves the merging into one piece of divergent types of music from different countries. Sometimes it succeeds, sometimes not; in this case, it does because the two musics represented here, raga (Indian classical music) and Persian classical music, are from closely neighbouring regions of the world. In fact, it works beyond the musicians' wildest dreams. The Rain is an amazing performance very much in the tradition of Middle Eastern and South Asian music.

Kayhan Kalhor (a master kamancheh player) and Shujaat Husain Khan (a 7th-generation master raga musician) are joined on these three extended pieces by Sandeep Das on the tablas. My only complaint is that no lyrics are included for us to get an idea of what Khan is singing, but this is a minor gripe. The sitar and the kamancheh complement each other quite well, and the tablas are quite possibly the best percussion choice for this music. This CD, too, was the first on Kalhor's contract with ECM; unfortunately, it seems to have been the last for Ghazal--more's the pity, as this particular collaboration works so well. It can only be hoped that Kalhor and Khan will choose to work together again sometime soon. In the meantime, we have The Rain, the culmination, in a live performance, of their three-album collaboration. Definitely worth the price of admission.

I like music from all over the world and this was one of my first CDs from this region. I really enjoy it. For what ever reason the 3rd track is just awesome and I often have that one track on repeat. There is a certain energy and freedom about that one...

The combination of sitar and Persian fiddle captivates your listening attention as the interplay of the two instruments transports you on an aural magic carpet ride. Even though it is a live recording, the audience is so spellbound, that it could easily be in the studio. This is original and authentic music that creates a serene mood. These guys are seriously good musicians and it shows in the deft playing.

"Gazal": An Urdu word, to me it means: a delicate poem of love and passion.

Pl let me share a few known things. Ustaad Shujaat is a maestro of Sitar, a seven string Indian music instrument, with a big echo box made from a shell of a gourd. He excels in "Gayaki" style where strings are plucked and intonations made to emulate vocal chords. He hums along and renders the words with Sitar as a fiddle, to follow up. He has a deep commitment to the tradition, at the same time is fearless to experiment and improvise. Please listen to his other CD "Lajo" where pristine folk tunes from Punjab, India have been given a rebirth. Amazing, indeed.

Kayhan Kalhor, for me has been an amazing find and gift to Indians; from Persia With Love. I have no words to write about him, but admire his art, vision, virtuosity.

Together they in this CD will enthrall anybody. If you can follow the words, this is ecstatic. Otherwise it is sublime. Listen and enjoy these to take a flight to another planet.

This is very inspiring music, to go on a trip, from the terrestrial to the celestial.

ENJOY.

Anil, Iselin, NJ.