Search - Shujaat Khan;Tejendra Narayan Majumdar;Tanmoy Bose :: Raga Charukeshi

One of my favorites still delivers

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 08/04/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Last night I finally got around to reviewing the 2nd jugalbandi recording by these 2, Raga Lalit. That was the first Hindustani cd I had listened to in quite some time and it totally put me back in the mood. I knew I'd be listening to their Raga Charukeshi disc today.I remember when this cd came out, it felt like some sort of breakthrough to me. A great new jugalbandi for my generation of fan! This disc features Shujaat on sitar, Tejendra on sarod, and Tanmoy Bose on tabla. It's impossible to be objective about music but as much as I loved their Raga Lalit disc last night, tonight while listening to this one I felt like maybe I loved this one even more. Could have just been my mood, of course. Who knows. You can't go wrong with either disc.Beyond just the different moods of the respective ragas, I love the differences in performance/interpretation that these 2 discs display. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the Lalit performance is more dominated by Shujaat, and this one (Charukeshi) is more dominated by Tejendra. Tejendra has some absolutely mesmerizing passages on this disc. Stuff where you're not sure if your heart is stopping or if your soul is ascending to the heavens.Obviously there is no "one without the other" in the jugalbandi context, but there definitely is a different character displayed between these 2 discs, both more-or-less equally beautiful.Being that it had been a while since I was in a Hindustani mood I haven't gotten their newest disc yet (Raga Jog) but being that I quite enjoy that raga and I love these two together, now I need that disc! Tanmoy Bose plays impeccably throughout this disc. I haven't looked into it yet but I find myself hoping he is on the Jog disc. Or maybe Samir Chatterjee. I love this disc and I'm quite sure you will also."

Wonderful meeting of Imdadkhan and Maihar gharanas

Pharoah S. Wail | 05/28/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc represents the first known recording of the Imdadkhan and Maihar gharanas on CD. With Shujaat Khan being the primary disciple (and son) of Ustad Vilayat Khan and Tejendra being a disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan this album almost has to be good just based on its pedigree. Thankfully though, these aren't the kind of players to rest on name alone. Shujaat, as the senior musician leads the duet throughout the recording, but that is not to say that Tejendra is a poor player, he is merely in deference to Shujaat's esteemed position. The CD has a single raga on it, Charukeshi, and what a wonderful piece to collaborate on. After a 45 minute alap in which the two fully explore the nuances of Charukeshi through their beautiful sounding instruments (sitar and sarod respectively) the begin a roughly 30 minute or so gat with Tanmoy Bose on tabla. Here the trio show some true skill, imagination and above all, they are having fun (something missing in most music.) That enjoyment does not at all take away from the music or make it "light." This is a great record from some young players."

Exploration of a particularly beautiful raag-charukeshi

N. pearson | weston, ma USA | 05/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording explores the qualities of raag charukeshi--a favorite of the great Calcutta khyal singer Amir Khan. Two great musicians from different gharanas (schools of interpretation) Shujaat Khan, from the Imdad Khan gharana and Tejendra Narayan Majumdar of the Alauddin Khan gharana get together and perform a jugalbandi (duet). The alaap section is meditative and sweet in character, as is fitting with the raag in question. The emotion of the raag becomes more intense as the musicians elaborate the jor and jhala sections. In the fixed rhythmic section (following the tal set by the tabla drums) the musicians really take off and display their virtuosity but not at the expense of the raag itself, which comes across as even more compelling than in the alaap, jor, and jhala sections. The rhythmic section comprises two different speeds of gat (fixed composition) madhya (medium fast) in sitarkhani tal and drut (fast) gat in tintal. The meeting of musicians from these two gharanas is a somewhat rare event, and in this case comes across very successfully."