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Charu Suri: The Book of Ragas Volume II
ByAnd then there is India, bringing violinists Arun Ramamurthy, Trina Basu and cellist Amali Premawardhana to mind, and pianist Charu Suri, presenting her The Book Of Ragas (Amala Records, 2019), and now the followup: Book Of Ragas Volume II.
Suri's music blends American jazz and Eastern India's ragas along with instrumental and Sufi vocal improvisations. A first spin of the discto ears uninitiated to the music of Indian ragasreveals sounds which seems as exotic as the Bossa Nova of Getz/Gilberto (Verve) did back in 1964. It also, as did that Bossa Nova shot across our bow, presents an alternate universe beauty, vibrating with life and a sense of hopefulness.
These four tunes are "morning ragas," exploring different morning moods, translated to sound by Suri's piano work, Jesse Gerbasi's vibraphone and Umer Piracha's Sufi vocals. The vibes in the mix enhance the morning aspect of the sound, a gorgeous smear of sunrise in the Eastern sky, tinting even the melancholic "Asvari" with an optimistic and ethereal backdrop.
A terrific follow-up to Suri's first effort in this genre, The Book Of Ragas, this The Book Of Ragas Volume II reaches even deeper into the pianist's Indian roots, revealing more layers, more intricacies of the music of India in a gorgeous infiltration of American jazz.
Track Listing
Raga Jaunpuri (Late Morning); Asavari (Late Morning); Sankarabaranam (Morning); Aaj Rang Hai (Today There is Color).
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Jesse Gerbasi: vibraphone.
Album information
Title: The Book of Ragas Volume II | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Amala Records
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Charu Suri
Album Review
Dan McClenaghan
The Book of Ragas vol. 2
Amala Records
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