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Review

Sense World Music is a new addition to the growing number of labels dedicated to Indian classical music. Started in 2002 Sense World is based in UK, with a studio in Gujarat. Many of the albums are live concert recordings of the Saptak Music Festival held every year in Ahmedabad, Gujarat every year in winter.

This CD by Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is a live recording of the Saptak Concert in 2001. A very popular concert artist, Pt. Bhatt, represents the Ravi Shankar stream of Maihar Gharana. He plays the Mohan Veena, his own adaptation of the slide guitar. Pt Bhatt shot into fame when he received the Grammy for his collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder in Meeting By The River. The young tabla accompanist is Sandeep Das, a disciple of the Benaras maestro Pt Kishan Maharaj.

The CD starts with a long alaap in Raaga Puriya Dhanashri, a serious meditative evening raaga. The exploration of the raaga is slow, contemplative and deeply moving. Starting with the lower register, Bhatt slowly moves on to the upper register before starting a short jhor, a somewhat rhythmic exploration of the raaga and then jhala.

The second track is Shyam Kalyan ( Article on Shyam Kalyan ) in Teen Taal. This involves a good interplay of raaga and rhythm between Bhatt and the young tabla player, Sandeep Das, evoking a playful mood compatible with Shyam Kalyan, though somewhat listless. At times Das seems to be introducing too many variations all the same time.

The last track is again Shyam Kalyan in dhruth Teen Taal. This is somewhat more evocative and enchanting than the earlier track, in spite of a few uncharacteristic stunts by Pt Bhatt.

The accompaniment of Sandeep Das is competent and even exhilarating at times. He displays virtuosity partnering the maestro Pt Bhatt very well.

Overall 3.5 stars for the music and 4.0 stars for the recording. Recommended.

CD Information

Tracks

Nu.	Title	Time	Music
1	Alaap in Raaga Puriya Dhanashri	37:38
2	Raaga Shyam Kalyan, Vilambith TeenTaal	21:42
3	Raaga Shyam Kalyan, Dhruth TeenTaal	18:23

Liner Notes

Good liner notes with a profile of the artist and explanation of the music.