Ragas
This 1973 release presents some precious collaborative music from the mid-'60s by India's greatest sitar player,Ravi Shankar, and master sarod playerAli Akbar Khan, for an insightful snapshot of Indian classical music in America during the 1960s. If it's possible to "jam" on the sitar and sarod, that's what these two masters do on the first two tracks while drone and tabla dance in and out of their soulful, somewhat improvised, vignette. "Ragas Ramdar Dalhar" takes its sweet time in unfolding, sprinkling glorious tones like raindrops before jumping into waves of ecstatic sound when the tabla furiously chimes in. "Raga Malika" is a steady, melodious piece, churning on with lively tabla and vibrant sarod. The CD's sound quality, while not up to late-1990s standards, is certainly free of crackling and distortion. Very listenable and a wonderful slice of history.--Karen Karleski