Ragas

A journey to the East in the company of Beethoven with pianist Shani Diluka and Indian musicians Mehboob Nadeem and Mitel Purohit.

The saxophone is not an instrument usually associated with Pakistani music. And Pakistanis are not especially famous for collaborating with Norwegians. But that is what listeners have on this incredible recording. The music is predominantly Pakistani in sound, tonality, and structure; voice, sarangi, and tabla improvise along with Garbarek's saxophone on every track. For aficionados of Indian or Pakistani music, this is a great recording; Garbarek's lines are right in step with the traditional styles of improvisation. Listeners unacquainted with these traditions will find this recording a mesmerizingly exotic disc. Those familiar with Garbarek's work will be very surprised. This is a completely unique recording for him; one can only hope that he makes further explorations in this vein.

Shivkumar Sharma is accompanied on this album by Zakir Hussain. Nimbus's importance as the first CD pressing plant in Britain meant that its recording wing had developed a keen and early appreciation of the technology and potential of CD production. A beautiful, sensitively played pairing.