AS NIGHT FALLS ON THE SILK ROAD

This is the second release to feature the exceptional collaboration between Persian and Indian musical masters and it is every bit as good. Kayhan Kalhor is a consummate player of the kamancheh (Persian spike fiddle). In Kalhor's hands this instrument has a range of expression from gentle melancholy to fiery passion. Shujaat Hussain Khan is the masterful sitarist of this musical meeting. His pure tone and technique create watery cascades of notes, and at other times, eruptions of bright sparks of sound. Swapan Chaudhuri, tabla virtuoso, provides the rhythmic foundation and deft percussive ornamentation. The four long pieces on this title are rich treasure troves of classical technique and dazzling improvisation. The marvelous interplay between the bowed kamancheh, the plucked sitar, the struck tabla, and the warm vocals, exemplify not only the meeting of the remarkable minds of the musicians, but also the joining of two rich musical traditions finding harmonious common ground. --Jeff Grubb