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Artist: Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali Title: A Better Destiny Label: RealWorld Records Qawwali, an Aribic word meaning "utterance," is the devotional music of the Islamic mystics – or, as they are know in their regions, Sufis. The term includes both meduim and style in its performance, and has been a dominant feature in Islamic cultures since the 12th century – when it was introduced down through the Indian subcontinent by dervishes of Persia's Chisti order who would visit villages to perform and induce trance states through ecstatic ritual. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali is led by brothers Rizwan Mujahid Ali Khan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan, heirs to heir family legacy of qawwali perfmance spanning five centuries. Their late uncle, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, was perhaps single-handedly the greatest qawwali ambassador in history, transcending language and cultural barrier in unforgettably effortless performance, and moving people worldwide with his concerts and innovative recordings. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali carry on this innovative spirit with inventieve reinterpretations of classic spiritual songs, based on Sufi texts. Their first showcase at WOMAD UK in 1998 marked them as the newest young masters of this devotional music, with great critical acclaim, and the brothers went on to record a debut traditional album, Sacrifice To Love. On A Better Destiny, the brothers lead five secondary singers, two harmonium players and a table player, performing in customary qawwali style, sitting on the ground in the belief that they thus sit colser to God. A song will usually begin with a slow instrumental vamp which introduces the melody. The lead singer will then meander in on the first line and establish a call-and-response pattern. Phrases are repeated over and over again, punctuated by sudden and furious breaks of florid virtuoso singing by the leader. As the piece progresses, the tempo and volume gradually increase, elevating the listener to higher and higher states of entrancement. Performers of qawalli believe that they have a religious mission, to evoke the name of Allah in a quest for total transendence. They ase music as a vehicle to enlightenment or to achieve inner knowledge – via rhythmic handclapping, percussion, harmonium and a vast repertoire of sing poetry. This was origianlly in Farsi (Persian), Punjabi, and Brag Bhasha (an old form of Hindi), but the repertoire in recent times has come to also include Urdu and Arabic. This website: Copyright © 2002 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher or the previous publisher of original republished materials. |
Artist: Various Title: Jamaica Label: Putumayo World Music Putumayo visits Jamaica, the homeland of reggae music and mythical artists such as Jimmy Cliff, PeterTosh, Black Uhuru and Toots & the Maytals.These and other legends of reggae are featured on the Putumayo compilation Jamaica. With roots in African tradition and influences from American Rhythm & Blues, Motown, soul and other popular music styles, reggae has taken the world by storm with its irresistible beat and powerful messages. Jamaica celebrates the joy of reggae with this collection of classic and new tracks by some of reggae's greatest voices. Jamaica features unforgettable reggae artists known the world over with some of their greatest songs.The album includes Jimmy Cliff, PeterTosh,Toots & the Maytals, Black Uhuru, Culture, Rico, Joe Higgs, Israel Vibration, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus, The Gladiators, and Augustus Pablo. One of the most popular and influential music forms of the 20th century, reggae has traveled the world spreading its message of social and spiritual awareness. Reggae's popularity comes partially from its image and the power of its Iyrics; but at its heart it is good time music, with a laid-back, funky beat that keeps your feet moving and your head bobbing. Jamaica is one of the most famous islands in the Caribbean, thanks to its world class beaches and resorts, sunshine, rum and, of course, reggae music.The culmination of a number of historical strands in Jamaican music, reggae has a rich history that reflects a legacy of African music blended with British, Irish and Spanish influences topped off with heavy doses of American pop and soul. Carnival music, mento, ska and rock steady preceded and led to the creation of reggae. The infectious beat of reggae that Jamaica has given the world has been a great inspiration to people everywhere. With its righteous Iyrics, reggae is solace in times of trouble. It is also the musical expression of the Rastafari religion. But reggae is best known as a universal party music, which invites young and old from all walks of life to 'forget their troubles and dance', to paraphrase reggae legend Bob Marley. Jamaica features informative liner notes written by reggae critic Mark Gorney, enhanced with David Corio's artist photographs and pictures of the Jamaican landscape and architecture provided by Lonely Planet.
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Artist: Jai Uttal Title: Mondo Rama Label: Narada World For years, Jai Uttal has occupied a special place in the vanguard of the world music movement, delighting an international audience by embracing an extraordinary variety of cultures and musical traditions ranging from Appalachia, to the rock of the '60s, to the Kirtan chants of ancient India. With MONDO RAMA, he continues to break new ground, pushing the boundaries of contemporary world fusion, yet offering his most accessible music to date, producing an infectious blend that aims Uttal right at a pop mainstream audience. "This album is both a progression and a departure," Jai reflects. "During the time of conceiving and producing this CD I did a lot of traveling; Israel, Brazil, Fiji, and India, each time returning to my home in the Oakland-Berkeley area where boom boxes and car sub-woofers are the preferred way of hearing music." This multitude of experiences went into the making of MONDO RAMA. "The album seemed to grow and grow with a life and energy of its own. Sometimes it spoke to me, and sometimes I spoke to it. MONDO RAMA takes the seeds of what I've been doing with Indian and world music and spreads them in various directions: dance music, sampling, turntablism, Appalachian, Brazilian, blues, and Middle Eastern. While the rhythms and melodies are consistently organic, the textures are tripped out and electronic." Jai's rendition of Tomorrow Never Knows/Shivoya, the Beatles classic from REVOLVER, is a case in point: singularly melodic verses in English followed by soaring Sanskrit invocations to Lord Shiva (the energy of transformation) take the listener on a journey from one world to the next and back. "My music is about traveling," Jai points out. "Actually REVOLVER was kind of a model for this album. Each song created its own unique environment and yet they were all tied together." The references to the Beatles and traveling are apt. Before he ever went to India and immersed himself in other musical traditions, Jai was a '60s teenager weaned on the Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, et al. As the son of a music business executive in New York, he grew up around music (his father discovered Al Green and Blondie, and founded Bell Records) and he remembers being at recording sessions for Devil In A Blue Dress at age eight. But it wasn't until he was nineteen, studying at Reed College in Oregon, that he surrendered completely to the sounds of Indian music after attending a concert by the great sarod master, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The experience was so transcendent that he dropped out and moved to the Bay Area and began a 25-year guru-sheshia relationship with the legendary Khan, who taught him mastery of the 25-stringed instrument. When he traveled to India, Uttal became fascinated by all the traditions and lived with the Bauls of Bengal, the mystical musical madmen of East India who combined elements of Tantric Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufism. Jai could communicate with them only through music, and by the time he returned to the U.S., exposure to the Bauls, Kirtan singers, and other Indian forms had profoundly altered the way he perceived, conceived, and performed music. MONDO RAMA affirms that Jai Uttal has evolved into one of the foremost artists communicating spiritual themes in truly original world music. The title conveys the presence of "an absolute all pervading Being in a big crazy world," Jai explains, and the album was created in a year of great personal change for the artist: in Narayana, Hindu chants morph into strains of bossa nova; in Sri Krishna, devotional Kirtan singing meets contemporary DJ turntablism; Shalom utilizes the words of a Hebrew prayer for wholeness, forgiveness, and peace, reflecting the influence of the Kabbalists on the artist; Mood X is a "psychedelic hillbilly song of anguish and love"; Kali Mati is "roadhouse rock merged with Indian village music"; and in Valencia Gardens we hear the voice of a 15-year-old girl who attempted murder, while Jai sings Iyrics derived from the songs of the Bauls. |
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