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Review

Indian classical music being improvisation based has always stressed on individual artist. But the interplay between artists has also been interesting, given that one would not know what to expect. That is the reason why jugalbandhi has been a popular form from a long time, Pt Ravi Shankar with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan or Ustad Bismillah Khan with Pt V. J. Jog. Especially a jugalbandhi between two different traditions of classical music viz. Hindustani and Carnatic would generate enormous interest.

This CD is a live recording of the concert held at Royal Festival Hall at London in 1994. Obviously both Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Dr M. Balamurali Krishna are well past their prime, with Pt Joshi at 71 years of age and BMK at 64.

The concert begins with a long alaap in Raag Bhairav, somewhat faster than what one would be used to in the Hindustani system. MayamalavaGowla is the Carnatic equavalent of Raag Bhairav. As the liner notes mention, this is not the way Pt Joshi normally sings. He usually has a very short alaap with a long khyal in slow tempo. There is no equivalent in the Carnatic system and thus apparently they decided on an alaap in a faster tempo. Then there is a khyal Hamse Karat by Pt joshi in drut teen taal, with BMK shuffling between a self composed krithi set to aadi taala and the khyal.

The alaap perhaps is a little long for this kind of jugalbandhi though the maestros perform admirably. The khyal / krithi is infact quite good. Here they combine very well, with BMK singing the sargams with aplomb and Pt Joshi replying with taans and some sargams and the other way round. Its definitely an interesting experience to hear Pt Joshi accompanied on the mridangam !

I've heard some people say they prefer studio recordings because live recordings can't be good. This is the CD they should definitely listen to hear how good a live recording should sound. I've always preferred live recordings because usually Indian artists perform better on stage than in studio. In this recording the instrument separation is good and soundstage is quite wide, though not deep. Infact the recording is good enough for me to use it as a reference recording.

I had heard recordings of Pt Joshi and BMK singing together in the 60s Kannada film Sandhyaaraaga. I beleive after that they came to perform together again only in the 90's. There is another jugalbandhi cd by navras featuring Darbari Kanada, Malkauns / Hindolam, Bhairavi (NRCD 0022). I had also seen on TV a concert for National Integration by the duo.

Overall 4 stars for the music and 4.5 stars for the recording. Highly recommended.

CD Information

Tracks

Num.	Track	Time
1	Alaap	49:22
2	Khyal in Drut Teental	14:22

Liner Notes

As is the norm with navras, the liner notes by Martin Clayton is quite good. Brief profiles of the main artists and the raga are given. An explanation of the performance is also given.