Punjab

This progressive session from Joe Henderson is a quintessential mid-'60s Blue Note disc. Although a great deal of attention has been placed on the significance of the work of Miles Davis and John Coltrane at that time, Henderson was one of the leaders in the '60s scene that forged new ground into adventurous areas of jazz. The saxophonist plays sharply with a highly rhythmic style that swings and strides through the modally oriented material of stellar tracks like the blazing title cut, "Punjab," and the funky mambo "Short Story." Joining Henderson on the session are Kenny Dorham, McCoy Tyner, Richard Davis, and Elvin Jones, the last of whom drives the proceedings like a madman in one of his best non-Coltrane performances.

After dropping the synthesizers and reformatting his group Horizon in 1990, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson recorded one of the most memorable CDs of his career. His opener "The Punjab of Java Po'" is a powerful hard bop number with elements of East Indian and Brazilian influences, while its catchy bass vamp supports strong solos by pianist Edward Simon, trumpeter Melton Mustafa, and the leader. Drummer Victor Lewis proves to be as gifted a composer as Watson. He wrote two vehicles for Watson's soprano sax: "Big Girls" and the tense, uptempo "7th Avenue." The arrangement of standards such as "Falling in Love with Love" and "In a Sentimental Mood" are also worth noting.

Deep India is a venture under Deep Forests Projects, where Eric Mouquet experiments with different kinds of music from all over the world. This is a first of its kind collaboration between Indias iconic Santoor Instrument player Rahul Sharma and the legendary Eric Mouquet of Deep Forest fame. The album titled Deep India brings alive a fusion between traditional Indian melodies by Rahul Sharma and Electronica by Deep Forest. Deep India consists of 9 brand new tracks and 1 Radio edit that capture folk melodies from across the country. The tracks draw inspiration from ethnic folk numbers that are rooted within the regions of Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, North East and South India among others.