SHUJAAT HUSAIN KHAN: Gayaki Ang
Dunya/Felmay, 2006

Sitar master (and son of the esteemed Vilayat Khan) in a beautifully flowing, melodious performance, one of the most approachable and captivating Indian classical discs we’ve received in recent years. The music is simply gorgeous: propulsive, exciting, but not frantic. He has a lovely singing voice, too. This is a really nice way to fill an hour.

1. 22:48 – solo sitar, bright and sparkling. Starts with staccato strumming and light picking, little musings that come and go for about 8 minutes. Then a rhythm enters and the piece becomes hypnotic, flowing through rapids and into deep pools. Pretty vocal in last 3 minutes.

2. 16:38 – tabla joins sitar, vocal continues for first 4 minutes, and returns at the midpoint. First half maintains a lively midtempo through several shifts in rhythmic patterns, second half is more aggressive, with some superfast bits near the end that get quiet and build back up.

3. 19:37 – pleasant folk song: slow solo sitar for 2 mins, then gentle vocal. Tabla enters at halfway point, and it’s a nice, relaxed stroll until the final few minutes, when it breaks into a joyous run.

[ Fo ] 1-May-07