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WORLD MUSIC
FROM MUNICH
No beer, no
Schuhplattler! But Tabla and Strings? Munich as the site of a multicultural
event of some significance - who would have thought it? It's simply
about the point of intersection from New York to Calcutta, Freiburg
and Freilassing. It is at this focal point that the music for their
debut album Islands Everywhere came into being. Should the term
'post modern' ever have meant anything, then it is this successful
mélange of modern grooves from jazz, fusion or Indian elements
with their rhythmic cunning. The guitarist from New York, Geoff
Goodman not only breathes new tones into the rare and unusual mandolin,
but is also the initiator and composer at the same time, whilst
Shankar Lal serves as an all pervasive medium - indeed, Calcutta,
the charm and the thrill of it in equal measure. The stylistically
manifold hydra-headed creature on the electric guitar, Bernd Hess,
and Tobias Ott on the infrequently drummed Ghatam prove indefatigable
in brillantly expressing strong form.The music of Tabla & Strings
reconcile opposites and integrate not only diverse musical cultures,
but also folklore elements with mytical sounds of the spheres, contrasting
acoustic and electronic strings, whilst stringent compositional
structures rub against collective improvisation. This is all - astonishingly
- welded together without the usual loss of substance or authenticity,
as the magazine Jazzpodium reported on Tabla & Strings. A song
of great praise, that the band is able continually to live upto
- on the highest instrumental levels.
Jazzdimensions
about 'Oriental Gates'
Rondo
about 'Oriental Gates'
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