Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Prasanna: Be the Change

182

Prasanna: Be the Change

By

View read count
Prasanna: Be the Change
When the fusion of guitar jazz and traditional Indian music is discussed, either John McLaughlin or the late Shawn Lane will immediately come to mind. One can add to those ranks the marvelous talents of Prasanna, who has the added legitimacy of being a native Indian. On this entertaining album Prasanna has achieved a most impressive translation of sitar technique to the electric guitar, his fleet fingers painlessly pulling off the usual bends and shudders of the native instrument and making it seem natural (except for the burning “Ragabop,” which leans toward the supernatural). Factor in the presence of some stellar sidemen, and the result is a wonderful cross-cultural melange.



There are two core ensembles at work here. Flecktones bandmates Jeff Coffin and Victor Wooten, and their frequent drum partner Derico Watson, work their special magic on several tracks. All of Coffin’s horns are overdubbed into a wind orchestra on the opener, “Pangaea Rising.” The melody keeps alternating between lyrical and driving, a wild ride. Prasanna recites the rhythmic tala syllables on “Ta ka ta ki ta Blues” before his guitar and Coffin’s tenor fire up the cyclical theme, and “The Grapevine” unfolds quietly as the guitar and bass exchange sinuous lines. Following a pensive acoustic guitar statement, Wooten and Watson support Prasanna and vocalist Shalini on the punchy second part of “Bliss Factor.” The pinpoint unison between the guitar and voice on its exotic theme is simply indescribable.



The second core group here includes reedman Andy Suzuki (Brubeck, Corea, Kilauea), drummer Ralph Humphrey (Frank Zappa, Don Ellis, Manhattan Transfer), and bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report). Once again Prasanna draws the best from his bandmates, beginning with the light-hearted “Satyam.” The Indian elements on this album are never simply stylistic filigree but an integral part of the whole concept, and Prasanna makes it work beautifully. Highly recommended.

Visit Prasanna on the web.

Track Listing

Pangaea Rising; Ta ka ta ki ta Blues; Satyam; Ragabop; The Grapevine; Dharma becomes Alibama; Uncensored; Bliss Factor - Part I; Bliss Factor - Part II; Kalyani Connection.

Personnel

Prasanna, vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitar, konnakol, tala; Shalini, vocals (#3,9); Andy Suzuki, tenor and alto saxes, piano, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute (#3,6,7); Jeff Coffin, tenor and soprano saxes, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet (#1,2,5); Alphonso Johnson, electric and acoustic basses (#3,4,6,7,10); Victor Wooten, electric bass (#1,2,5,9); Ralph Humphrey (#3,4,6,7,10), Derico Watson (#1,2,5,9), drums.

Album information

Title: Be the Change | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Susila Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.