Raga Aberi is an album by the Indian musician L. Shankar, released in 1995.[2][3] He is credited with Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram.[4][5] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best World Music Album".[6]
| Raga Aberi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Syntasy | |||
| Label | Music of the World[1] | |||
| Producer | L. Shankar, The Epidemics | |||
| L. Shankar chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editProduced by Shankar and the Epidemics, the album was recorded at Syntasy Studios.[7][8] Shankar's wife, Caroline, played the tamboura drone.[9] Shankar employed the ragam tanam pallavi form on Raga Aberi.[10] He played a 10-string double violin.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide |  [7] |
| The Republican | [12] |
The Edmonton Journal wrote that, "if [Shankar]'s one to wear his heart on his sleeve (especially in the opening solo rangam) it's not without careful attention to an almost mystical level of technique, or the considerable intellectual complexity he spins in interacting with the percussionists during the later parts of the raga."[9] The Republican determined that "Shankar not only plays with breathtaking speed, he's also mastered the art of dynamics, letting the instrument breathe and taking advantage of the violin's full tonal qualities."[12] Billboard called the album "masterful."[13]
AllMusic wrote that "the energy is consistently high, and there are a lot of solos by each musician, as well as deftly coordinated unison passages."[11] In 1999, Dirty Linen called "Raga Aberi" the highlight of the India – Jewels of the Subcontinent compilation, writing that it "features some dazzling percussion interplay and a double konnakol break."[14]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Raga Aberi: Tanam" | |
| 2. | "Raga Aberi: Beginning Pallavi" | |
| 3. | "Raga Aberi: Middle Pallavi" | |
| 4. | "Raga Aberi: Percussion Improv" | |
| 5. | "Raga Aberi: Percussion Section + Finale" | |
| 6. | "Raga Aberi: Entire Percussion Section Plus Finale" | |
| 7. | "Raga Aberi" |
References
edit- ^ Harris, Paul A. (17 Aug 1995). "Raga Aberi Shankar". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9.
- ^ "Shankar Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Penguin Books Ltd. 1998. p. 1175.
- ^ Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; Trillo, Richard; Duane, Orla; McConnachie, James (August 5, 1999). World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific. Rough Guides.
- ^ Kumar, Raj (August 5, 2003). Essays on Indian Music. Discovery Publishing House.
- ^ "1995 Grammy Winners". Recording Academy. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ a b MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 704.
- ^ Miner, Allyn (1996). "Shankar with Zakir Hussain & Vikku Vinayakram – Raga Aberi". The World of Music. 38 (1): 155–157.
- ^ a b Levesque, Roger (11 Nov 1995). "Fine discs from Rogers, Shankar". Edmonton Journal. p. C7.
- ^ Wolf, Richard (Autumn 1998 – Winter 1999). "Review". Asian Music. 30 (1): 199–203.
- ^ a b "Shankar Raga Aberi". AllMusic.
- ^ a b O'Hare, Kevin (May 14, 1995). "Shankar, 'Raga Aberi'". The Republican. p. F5.
- ^ Bambarger, Bradley (Jul 6, 1996). "World Music Institute catalog, tours thriving". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 27. p. 10.
- ^ Latkovich, Peggy J. (Dec 1999 – Jan 2000). "Various artists India – Jewels of the Subcontinent". Dirty Linen. p. 91.