- artist:Deepak Ram
- featured artist:Ustad Tari Khan
- release year:2005
- country:India
- formats:CD (Compact Disc)
- record posted by:Golden Horn Records
- label:Golden Horn Records
- publisher:Seher Music Publishing (ASCAP)
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Golden Horn's newest release title “Samvad” translates as 'Conversation,' a beautiful description of the experience of listening to this recording of North Indian classical music. The bamboo flute and tabla drums speak volumes to each other through lilting, melodious tones and dancing rhythms.
The masterful flutist, Deepak Ram, coaxes beauty and warmth from the bansuri or bamboo flute, and moves skillfully through the notes of each raga presented on this recording. His musicality shines through on each track, evoking for the listener the spirit of this deep rich tradition. Ram’s accomplishment in North Indian Classical Music is complemented by his collaborations with musicians of other genres, his innovative compositions and his excellence as a teacher. These qualities meet and are reflected in this extraordinary new release. Each of its four tracks contains ragas with distinct melodic personalities and emotional color.
North Indian classical music is highly structured, taking years to master and understand. The tradition is based on the exploration and improvisation of its two musical entities--Raga, or melodic form, and Tala, or rhythmic cycle--within a strict set of guidelines. Once these are internalized, the musician can then improvise using the musical rules inherent in each raga. This important dialectic gives the artist a springboard for great creativity and nuance, demonstrated artfully by the artists on Samvad.
Deepak Ram is a highly gifted musician with a firm foundation in the traditions of North Indian classical music, as well as an inspired versatility--straddling and ultimately doing away with the boundary that once divided East from West. Though quite young, Deepak Ram's reputation already shines with the luster of a large and admiring audience. Among his many laurels is the award for Best Instrumental Album, South African Music Awards 2000. Ram has collaborated with renowned musicians in a variety of genres, from jazz pianist Darius Brubeck to Tunisian ud player Dhafer Yousseff. He has performed throughout the world, including South Africaís Millennium Concert on Robben Island before such illustrious audience members as presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. In addition to masterful composition, arranging, and performance, Ram is also an accomplished teacher, most recently holding a post with the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Ram plays the bansuri, a bamboo flute whose origins date several thousand years back into India's rich past, being the chosen instrument of Lord Krishna, its sweet, melancholy, yet joyful sound a manifestation of the divine.
Ram is accompanied on this recording by Tari Khan on the tabla. Khan has demonstrated his remarkable skills as a percussionist in performances throughout the world, both as accompanist as well as solo artist. His expressive and lyrical accompaniment style has enriched the performances of the world’s finest Indian classical artists. He is also respected for his dazzling and artful contribution to performances of the South Asian genres known as ghazal and qawwali and has accompanied many top exponents. Khan has received many awards for his musicianship and his work is included in documentary and feature films in Pakistan and the U.S. Khan is active as a performer and a teacher and has presented workshops throughout the U.S.