Pran

Pran: Raga for the Rainy Season

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

Unless you're really into esoteric music, you've never heard an Indian raga played by a trombonist and brass didjeriduist. Of this I am nearly certain. Well, Greg Powers (tb) and Stuart Dempster (bd) put their minds together to do just that. Powers handles the melody, and Dempster delivers the drone. The name Pran refers to the “vital enlivening breath" and bears relevance to both the instruments and the music. The particular raga on this recording originated in the 16th century ...