Chateau Benares

Sanjay Mishra (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Akar Records
• ASIN: B000H8RVDO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,487 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Forty decades after George Harrison first twanged a sitar, Indian crossover is still going strong. Sanjay Mishra said that growing up in India he tried to be like Harrison, and he's been doing that since his debut, Blue Incantations, 11 years ago. On that album, Mishra had Jerry Garcia as a guest on three tracks, some of the last music the Grateful Dead guitarist would record. Jerry's gone, but Sanjay is still here with his fourth CD. More than Harrison, Mishra follows in the tradition of John McLaughlin's influential east-west fusion group, Shakti. Mishra, however, mixes in more western elements, playing his fretless guitar in raga modes atop rhythms that are sometimes free alaps and other times minimal electronica grooves. While most of the music is Indian-derived, he brings his classical background to bear on the counterpoint of Enrique Granados's "Oriental" and jumps into some jamming funk on "The Gateless Gate" with Steve Gorn blowing bluesy bansuri flute over a walking bass line. Some of Chateau Benares is a little jammy and aimless, especially the tracks with looped grooves like "Loop 4 Alternate." Mishra works best on more heavily arranged tracks like the guitar-synth chamber piece, "Oslo," and "The Bells of Heaven Ring," where Mishra weaves his guitar between the rivulets of Barun Pal playing the hansa veena, a sitar-like lute. Chateau Benares is an album of intoxicating elegance and ruminative graces--check in and you won't want to leave. --John Diliberto

Product Description

Thanks in no small part to "Blue Incantation," a highly regarded collaboration with fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia released in 1995, Sanjay Mishra has developed a reputation for creating imaginative, cross-cultural soundscapes. "Chateau Benares," in which East again coalesces with West in ways that sometimes border on the hypnotic, follows suit.

The Indian-born, Virginia-based Mishra draws on a wide variety of guests this time around, including tabla player Samir Chatterjee and turntablist DJ Logic, to create a path that extends from traditional microtonalism to contemporary hip-hop grooves and electronica. Yet even when exploring more contemporary tacks, Mishra likely will not disappoint longtime followers. DJ Logic's contributions on "Logical Journey," for instance, are clearly designed to complement the guitarist's melodic flair and the album's ambient thrust.

Still, nothing rivals the mostly acoustic ballads as far as sheer lyricism is concerned. Particularly enjoyable is the pairing of "The Ladywith the Flowers" -- featuring Barun Kumar Pal on hansa veena , an Indian slide guitar -- and "Since Then," distinguished by Steve Gorn's soulful flute. Another charmer, albeit a more courtly one, is "Oriental," a sparkling weave of melody and countermelody.

Given a little airplay, "Chateau Benares" should attract a lot of newcomers. It's easy to imagine fans of John McLaughlin, Michael Hedges and Kaki King being drawn to "The Gateless Gate," which finds Mishra vibrantly teamed with guitarist Keller Williams and percussionist Chatterjee. Whatever the album's commercial fate, Mishra's artistry and vision certainly deserve the exposure.

Mike Joyce, Wahington Post

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Release!, December 6, 2006

By	Michael M. Johnsen "dj_monet" (Takoma Park, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Chateau Benares" is, by far, Sanjay's most cohesive and exploritory work yet and evokes past themes; themes which you'll recognize from previous compositions. But, as evident in "Mirror," these themes are much more finely developed and fully explored. Yup, that's DJ Logic on "Logical Journey," so don't expect any lightweight electronica here- or anywhere Sanjay slips easily into ambient. Mishra has always incorporated electronic elements into his work, and Logic's involvement mixing jazz (such as his remix of Red Norvo's "Night and Day") fits well into Mishra's inclusive, cross-cutting composition. "Since Then" is a fine example of the moving and spacey (yet emotional) writing in Sanjay's work while the classical guitar composition "Oriental" (which demonstrates methods Sanjay describes in his recent instructional book) is finely executed. Electronica artists should take a clue from "Loop4" and "Loop4 Alternate" as a way to get a truely organic feel - Sanjay incorporates traditional Indian music styles in the composition of his pieces- not just adding a sitar as a flourish while maintaining western 4/4 timing.

"A Different Morning" is a sonic fest- there's alot going on in here. "Raindrum" is, perhaps, closest to Sanjay's prior work but his sly use of electronics makes this entire album (with its clear, spaceous production) much closer to an ECM release. "Bells of Heaven Ring" starts at Roxy Music's "Avalon" and launches into dreaminess from there. But "The Gateless Gate" is one of the most interesting songs on the album. The groove Sanjay's band arrives at is... sweet, like the Grateful Dead could be at times. All of the impressions and memories "Chateau Benares" evoke are threads Sanjay weaves as he and his band expound into territories that seemlessly blend styles divided by geography, culture, and time.

National Public Radio has an interview with Sanjay Mishra that's worth checking out (Weekend Edition 11/19/06 by Andrea Seabrook). More importantly, this album is worth buying. It's Excellent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful!!!, June 26, 2008

By	A. Bull (Central MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first heard this artist on a plane flying from Europe to the US and loved the piece they had on the audio program. So I ordered this CD and love it so much, I ordered another CD by this artist. It is the perfect background music while eating, relaxing etc. Very unusual style and beautifully done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent music!, September 16, 2008

By	Mark A. Forrest "Mark" (NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sanjay Mishra makes wonderful music. I think he has topped himself with Camden Benares. Absolutely amazing! Highly recommended. Sure to please.