Namaste (also known as Namaste, India) is a collaborative studio album by American soft jazz saxophonist Kenny G and Indian musician Rahul Sharma. The album was issued in two different formats in India (2011) and the United States (2012), with elements of both musicians' styles,[1] with original compositions by Sharma that contrast string instruments and woodwind instruments.[3]
| Namaste | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover to the American re-release | ||||
| Studio album by Kenny G and Rahul Sharma | ||||
| Released | June 12, 2012 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:07 | |||
| Label | Concord Music Group (American edition) | |||
| Producer |
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| Kenny G chronology | ||||
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"I took each song as it came. In the west, with jazz you are expected to play these elaborate solos. But in this album it was more organic. I experimented in 20 different ways before I found the right mix. I never thought of merging our sounds when I began. I wanted to place myself in the players' seat and see what comes off it."
—Kenny G on his approach to recording Namase.[2]
Reception
editEditors at AllMusic rated this album 3 out of 5 stars, with critic Thom Jurek writing about the American edition "sound[s] geared toward club music as a world fusion exercise throughout" and he praised Sharma's performance, hoping that "Western listeners will take notice of Sharma's talent and become interested enough to seek out the original mix of this record and his other albums to boot".[1] A brief review from Selwyn Harris of Jazzwise scored this album 1 out of 5 stars.[4]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Rahul Sharma, except where noted.
American edition
- "Namaste" – 5:26
- "Brhama-Vishnu-Shiva" – "5:29
- "Dance of the Elephant God" – 4:54
- "Lotus Lovers" – 4:57
- "Transcendental Consciousness" – 5:13
- "Valley of Flowers" – 5:58
- "Silsila" (Shiv-Hari) – 6:38
- "Om Shanti" – 4:10
- "Transcendental Consciousness" (Walter A Remix) – 3:44
- "Namaste" (Sould Seekerz Club Remix) – 3:38
Personnel
edit- Kenny G – soprano saxophone
- Rahul Sharma – santoor, vocals, production, liner notes
- Walter Afanasieff – arrangement, production
- Greg Allen – art direction, design
- Amitabh Bachchan – vocals
- Adrian Bradford – mixing, programming
- Larissa Collins – creative direction
- Tanay Gajjar – mixing
- Tyler Gordon – engineering
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Dominick Guillemot – photography
- Marc JB – remixing, additional production (American edition)
- Jatin Kamani – photography
- Kid Tricky – bass guitar, guitar, Fender Rhodes, keyboards, drums, loops, remixing, additional production (American edition)
- Kapil Rege – engineering
- Prasad Sashtey – keyboards, arrangement, programming
- Jackie Vanjari – keyboards, arrangement, programming, sound design
Chart performance
editNamaste entered the contemporary jazz charts at first place[1] and the title track reached second place on Billboard's world charts and number 4 on the smooth jazz charts.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e Jurek, Thom (n.d.). "Kenny G / Rahul Sharma – Namaste". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Lobo, Kevin (March 18, 2011). "Kenny G on his album 'Namaste India'". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Udasi, Harshikaa (April 12, 2011). "Santoor meets sax". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Selwyn (October 2012). "Kenny G: Rahul Sharma Namaste". Reviews. Jazzwise. ISSN 1368-0021. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Sen, Debarati S. (July 14, 2012). "The single, Namaste, topping charts". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
External links
edit- Namaste at Discogs (list of releases)
- Namaste at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Page from Concord Music Group
