Customer Reviews

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan & Zakir Hussain

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is a live recording of three melodies. Amjad Ali Khan is at his best here with the flirtatious yet melancolic sentiments of the Ragini Pilu and a thunderous rhythmic exploration in the Raga Kirwani. Beautiful and skillful accompaniment by Zakir Hussain makes this recording a must for all listeners. The final item is a string of melodies known as a raga mala in which Amjad Ali Khan connects several ragas together in a seamless fashion. Khansahib starts with Khammaj and effortlessly weaves Hamsadhwani, Durga, Bhopali, and a few other ragas into a complete musical landscape. He finishes with Zakirji in a display of rhythmic and melodic virtuosity of the highest order.

If I had to pick my favorite classical indian CD, this would be it. An extremely beautiful and powerful live performance, with ustad amjad ali khan and zakir hussain performing at the highest levels of virtuosity. Amjad Ali Khan not only plays strings of melodies at blazing speeds (somewhat of his trademark) but also creates intricate permutations on the main notes of the raga. His play is truly inspired. Zakir Hussain's tabla is both highly rythmnic and melodic as he increases both the intricacy and power of his play as the performance continues, culminating at one point with a rythmnic display that is so incredible that both the live audience and the listener are left in amazement. This is music, quite simply, at its ultimate best.

This recording is so pure and so impeccable in its sound, style, and sensibility. Zakir Hussain and Amjad Ali Khan play with their whole heart with tremendous energy that you can feel while you listen to this recording. You can even sense the chemistry between them while they play the ragas. Awesome performance of two musical geniuses!

I'm a big fan of Amjad Ali Khan and the first track (Rag Pilu/Kirwani) is superbly nuanced and moving. Zakir Hussain's controlled performance has all his flair without some of his flamboyance, so he complements Amjad's performance beautifully without stealing the show. I found the second track (Ragmala) somewhat disappointing, but perhaps that's because the first track is so good in comparison.

Meaning to write this review for several years, I finally get around to it because I'm about to make a "So you'd like to..." list pertaining to slides and/or bent notes. No list of that sort could be complete without Amjad Ali Khan generally, or this album specifically.

This is as 5 Stars as 5 Stars gets. Before I go further, I want to say that this cd still seems to be in print even though it's no longer available here. The Moment Records website lists some cds as being "currently out of stock". This cd has received no such designation on that site. If you're reading this and the other reviews on this page, head over there now to buy this album. You'll not regret it.

Amjad is my favorite sarod player of which I know so far, and this is my favorite of his albums. With better recording/sonic quality than some other Moment albums (like Amjad's A Homage to Mother Teresa and Ravi Shankar's Concert for Peace: Royal Albert Hall), and a performance coming straight from the gods, I'll never regret owning this album. While the Kirwana (track 1) is a sprawling tour de force it is track 2, the dhun coming out of the folk song motif, that melts me. I've played this segment for other people (people not even all that much into Hindustani music) and blown them away with it. Amjad turns into the baddest, most high-art low-down blues player you'd ever want to meet. Forget Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. I've cried during this part of the cd 30 times, easily. He could have played this in a Mississippi juke joint or in Mali to a crowd of Ali Farka Toure fans and people would have been jumping up and down screaming in praise at both places.

This is a monumental album.

This piece of art is one to behold with an opened mind and a quiet room. You will be changed.

I got this CD from Amazon yesterday. wow! it is absolutely fantastic. I'm so proud to be from the country with such great musicians. Zakir as well as Amjad Ali Kahn show sheer mastery over their instruments. May they live long and produce more of such brilliance.

Few will anticipate the intensity with which the first track ends. Makes great listening!