Bollywood Brass Band:1015 894

This is the 4th album of London-based Bollywood Brass Band (BBB) but this time they have added vocals. Brass bands are part of a typical Indian wedding celebration and their playlist consists of popular Hindi or Bollywood songs from old and new movies.This album follows the same tradition in their choice of songs that is a combination of old/new. What is different abt this album is the sufi element in many of their tracks & singer Rafaqat Ali Khan comes from a family of traditional music family.
Aside: the temptation to compare BBB to the original Bollywood numbers is bound to come up when you listen to this album.

Try 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11,

1. Slow, sufi-inspired song.
2. An old Bollywood standard. The original is a RD Burman classic from 1970s sung by Asha Bhosle. The track works in parts, but lacks the original punch.
3. Oscar winner AR Rahman’s classic number. Fast, peppy with lots of dhol (drums) and brassy riffs.
4. A bhangra infused number with lots of dhol from the film Dhoom that was filmed in Latin America.
5. Mellow, old-styled Hindi film song from the 1950s. The original number was inspired by Egyptian singer Umm Kalthumm.
6. Show number, where vocals dominate the track.
7. Kajra Re was a chart topper in 2006. BBB’s version amps up quite a bit with its combo of trombone/trumpet/dhol. Energetic.
8. This is one of their better tracks and their interpretation of the 1960 song work. The best part is in the last one minute.
9. Bollywood pop is how they describe the tune. The original RD Burman works great. BBB’s version works in parts.
10. Dum Maro Dum is an old Bollywood standard that is hard to beat, and BBB tries and it works partly. They have added an extra minute of playful riff between the horns and dhols.
11. This is where BBB really shines & that is no surprise since this is their signature number. Potent mix of sax/trombone/dhol infused with bhangra & folk elements =DANCEABLE BIG TIME.

Kamla Sept 26, 2012