This
album on the ARC label is an instrumental classic.
The wealth of instruments, the amazing playing, and the
feeling of empathy between the players makes this a landmark
recording including extended new versions for 6 piece
band of some pieces from the Jazz Orient - Bird Dancer
album.
"a vertitable feast of sound.Lovely
stuff" - LA Daily News
background
Jazz
Orient (or Re-Orient as the record company prefered them
to be known) got the deal to record with ARC not long after
Bird Dancer was released. ARC also wanted more of a world
music album and less of a jazz one, and no songs. This led
the group to decide to record multi-track re-arranged
versions
of existing material with some improvisations.
The album was quite a difficult album to make - new studio,
time restrictions, new (to the band) recording techniques
all played a part. The epic 15 minute version of Tarana
16 took quite a time. There are some real gems on the recording
though, the improvisations proving particularly inspired.
The new arrangements of the Bird Dancer tracks were all
considerable advancements. Unforgotten Days was used on
a BBC TV serial.
influences
Dr L Subramanium, Piirpauke, Okay Temiz, Flora Purim, Oregon,
Kolinda
trivia
1,
4, 5, 8 by Chris Conway
2, 6, 10 by Bauluji Shrivastav
10 by Linda Shanovitch
9
by Conway/Hunt/Bell
7 by Conway/Shrivastav/Hunt
3 by Conway/Shrivastav/Hunt/Bell/Mukherjee.
Bird
Dancer was dedicated to violinist Dr L Subramanium
whom Chris worked with on an Indian dance interpretation
of the Taming of the Shrew which featured dancers portraying
birds.
Garuda came from Linda's song cycle about Hindu gods
and goddesses which was a childrens book with accompanying
tape.
Unforgotten Days was used in a BBC TV drama program
about taxi drivers called Roger Roger.
Child of the Emerald Air became a live favourite
of the band - a version can be heard on their Live
at the South Bank album as "Emerald Airchild"
In 2010 ARC Music re-released the album with new cover
art and including 1 track from the 3rd
Re-Orient album
CC's
fave track -Unforgotten Days
reviews
Ambience - Jasper
Re-Orient
is acclaimed Indian classical musician Baluji Shrivastav
with members of the group Jazz Orient, plus various guest
artists. Together, on Indian World Music Fusion, they
present 23 different musical instruments, and a fusion
of styles that draws upon both traditional and improvisational
sources.
As the sleeve notes tell us, the band would like us to
let go of dogma and listen from the heart. The amalgam
of talents and Eastern and Western approaches has produced
an invigorating and unique recording. This is further
achieved through the diverse combination of instruments,
such as Irish tin whistle and ghatam, as found on the
superb Child of the Emerald Air, or saxophone and sitar
on Unforgotten Days, and flute and dilruba on the improvised
PaniHari. Great jazz elements are threaded throughout,
but no more keenly felt than on the delightful Tarana16,
which features a terrific piano solo, along with eclectic
vocalisations from Linda Shanovitch. Her voice, meld seamlessly
with all the other instrumentation and is peppered throughout
the 10 tracks.
Indian World Music is a gem to discover, unfolding in
many interesting directions.
LA
Daily News, USA - Fred
Shuster
"In
this unusual but recommended world music hybrid, outstanding
Indian classical musicians interact with jazz soloists
for a vertitable feast of sound. There are improvised
ragas in which sax, bamboo flute and tabla dialogue, fast
Turkish rhythms, meetings of sitar and 12-string guitar,
peaceful musical reflections via soprano sax and gorgeous
melodies throughout. Lovely stuff. ***"
originally released with this artwork with 1 less track.
