Tabla Tarang: Melody on Drums

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Music reviews of Tabla Tarang: Melody on Drums

Music Review: As chilling as it is uplifting
Rating: 5 Stars

There's just something about the tone of these drums and the melodies being improvised. Listening to this cd makes me feel like I have stumbled upon some sort of sacred Hindu ceremony that Westerners were never supposed to witness.

A previous reviewer likened this music to gamelan. While I do think there are times when this cd does evoke a mood somewhat similar to Javanese gamelan (not Balinese gamelan at all though) this music is completely different from all gamelans in many ways. That's not good or bad, it just "is".

There is an intimacy about this recording that is absolutely magical. I really can't think of any other way to say it... this cd really does make me feel like I am in a cave in India, taking part in, or witnessing the most sacred and secret of Hindu ceremonies.

Whether you have all the sarod, sitar, and sarangi cd's in the world or not, there is still an amazing part of the north Indian music puzzle missing for you if you have never heard Kamalesh Maitra play the tabla tarang. I must also mention that Trilok Gurtu provides perfect tabla accompaniment here. This is the best recording I've heard him take part in.

As a separate recommendation I'd like to mention a cd called White Elephants And Golden Ducks: Enchanting Musical Treasures From Burma. If you'd like to hear other sorts of tuned drums, Burma's major set is called pat waing and there is an extremely cool pat waing solo track on White Elephants And Golden Ducks, as well as ensemble examples of pat waing and other Burmese tuned percussion.

Just to spice things up I would have liked to also recommended my favorite Javanese gamelan recording but it has been out-of-print now for a couple years.

Description of Tabla Tarang: Melody on Drums

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