Hellborg, Jonas / Shawn Lane / V. Selvaganesh - Good People In Times Of Evil
SKU
28-BARD40.2
Hellborg plays an acoustic bass guitar, Shawn plays acoustic, and they are joined by Remember Shakti member V. Selvagenesh on udu (Indian drum). More trancendental raga/fusion greatness!
"There are strong links between this group and John McLaughlin's recently reconstituted Shakti. Bassist Jonas Hellborg was once a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and percussionist-vocalist V. Selvaganesh is a member of the current Shakti. Like that group, this trio--with Hellborg's regular partner Shawn Lane on guitar--plays an accelerated fusion of Indian and western elements with a mix of amplified and acoustic strings and subcontinent drumming. Given those similarities, though, the trio finds terrain of its own, from the country drawl of Lane's guitar on the opening "Aga of the Ladies" to the spy film insinuations in "Who Would You Like to Be?" Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level. Lane, sometimes suggesting McLaughlin, has done a remarkable job of mastering the pitch-bending intricacies of raga. On "Savitri," he even combines it with his own Southern rock flavor. "Little Souvenir" includes a duet between Hellborg and Selvaganesh in which the bassist manages to extend funk-slap electric bass playing to the complex, high-speed metrics of Indian music. An impressive technical feat, it's also a creative one. "Bhakti Ras" provides a striking change of pace. Recorded in concert in India, it has Ustad Sultan Khan joining the group on sarangi, an Indian bowed string instrument. He uses its keening metallic resonance to create a mood of striking depth. The playing here is always impressive, as is the way these musicians speak their hybrid tongue, but it's the spirited interplay and occasionally welling calm that endure."-Stuart Broomer
- LabelBardo
- UPC647882004025