Customer Reviews

Tintal / Jhaptal

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I had never heard of Bhai Gaitonde (bhai means "brother" in Hindi---its his nickname by the way) before I got this album, but having a great appreciation of tabla playing, I decided to check it out. One thing that makes this recording so refreshing is the fact that the playing is so clean and tight. Many modern solo tabla records are nothing but gigantic show off records. That type of thing is interesting only for a little while. Gaitonde's recording however is quite different. It shows a commitment to solid tabla playing: no more, no less. While there are certainly moments of great virtuosity, its all done with great care and a high amount of class. Gaitonde approaches the solo with the idea of solidly rendering the tala with unique ideas and firm articulation of the many sounds capable of being rendered on tabla. He's not in a rush to make the listener stand up and say "Wow, that's the coolest thing I've ever heard!" Gaitonde's commitment and strength lies in his patience, articulation, creativity and experience. I find myself returning to this tabla recording more than most others in my collection for the plain and simple reason that this is NOT a show-off recording. Its simply good playing.

The maestro covers a wide variety of compositions that show his expertise This CD is also a great tool for those trying to self-learn a bit.

Having never heard of this artist, I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of performance on this recording. The liner notes are great,(as they are in all of these tabla recordings from India Archive Music) since they are by James Kippen, ethnomusicologist and specialist in the area of tabla music. Gaitonde is able to play an interesting array of compositions with great clarity, and interest in his developement, no matter what the speed.
A great recording for the connoisseur as well as someone new to the artform.