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4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant trio debut, May 29, 2005
This review is from: Trio Tarana (Audio CD)
Primarily know as the drummer in Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre's current trio, Ravish Momin strikes out with his debut album as a leader. Vastly different than the work he has done with McIntyre, "Climbing The Banyan Tree" is a meditation on the improvisational possibilities of Eastern Music in a jazz related context.
Unlike more anonymous efforts in the milieu, Momin's recording pays off ample dividends by virtue of its intense melodicism. Middle-Eastern derived jazz compositions are nothing new in this day and age, and if anything, with the recent Radical Jewish Cultural Movement, are even a bit passé. But Momin's trio never casually mimics the folk music of the Asian subcontinent. Instead, traditional forms are utilized as springboards for focused improvisation.
Sticking almost exclusively to a traditional pared down trap set, Momin never steals the show, instead providing inventive rhythmic support for Hwang and Blumenkranz's string excursions. A subtle but truly inventive player, Momin's rhythms and melodies derive inspiration from such musical elements as North Indian rhythm cycles, Chinese folk melodies, Indonesian Keckack ensembles and Middle Eastern harmonic modes. Despite their disparate cultural underpinnings there is a sense of cohesiveness found within these variegated pieces that exemplifies a parallel aesthetic. This is mirrored by the egalitarian nature of the trio and the two string players exploit this with maximum glee.
Violinist Hwang is capable of delivering truly awe-inspiring flurries of microtones from his instrument as well as coaxing delicate bittersweet melodic phrases. His timbre is raspy, but not overly distorted, merely approximating the gritty but expressive tonality of Asiatic folk music. Blumenkranz's bass accompaniment complements his occasional forays on the oud, as his tonal preference is for a brighter, oud-like sound. Momin has a knack for building abstracted polyrhythms that are as melodic and catchy as they are rhythmically complex, much like traditional tabla playing, building a bridge between his Indian ancestry and contemporary creative improvised music.
A sublime debut album, "Climbing The Banyan Tree" is hopefully the first of but many from this iconoclastic young percussionist.
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