Thursday, May 28, 2020

4th Update / My music collection

Hi there,

This is a blog created by some of us friends from Mumbai as a platform to share the music we own and introduce each other to new / old music.

Today's uploads include

This is a studio album recorded in 1957 but released sometime in the end of 1959. Both are considered legendary players of the Tenor Saxophone and this album is a great listen for a relaxed evening. Listening to this album reminds me of a classic old dimly lit Jazz bar with a glass of Single Malt / Bourbon in hand and cigar smoke hanging in the air. 

Apple Music has a whole collection of both artists as do Prime Music and Spotify I am sure. Another fine album of Ben Webster is called Ben Webster's Finest Hour. As Priya would say, some of the songs on this album will remind you of Tom & Jerry. :-) This is available on Apple Music (Here) as well as Prime Music (Here). Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of this album. 

I'm not a trained musician and certainly have no understanding of Ragas but listen to what appeals to my ear. This album contains four songs in Rag Darbari sung by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Amir Khan & Jagjit Singh. The one by Jagjit Singh is my favourite of the lot. 

The King of Qawwali and one of my favourite singers / musicians, Nusrat's body of work is well known. Having heard remixes and bollywood remakes of some of his classic songs, I picked up an audio tape of the album 'Live in India' when it released in 1997. I'm not sure if this is one concert or a collection of his various concerts across India from the previous years but this is certainly an album to keep. When I bought this, Dad had recently purchased a new stereo system and one of the joys was to play this album loudly and when I closed my eyes, it almost felt as though the concert was happening in front of me. I'm not sure if this elicits the same sentiment when you listen to it but I'm curious to know what you think of it. 

There are three other songs in this folder.
a) Mere Rashke Qamar - I admit I first heard a version of this song when it was used in the film Badshaho and sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan a few years ago. However, when I searched for it online, I found this original single from 1988 when NFAK performed it for the first time and Rahat was also part of this performance. The original ghazal/qawwali was written by Urdu poet Fana Buland Shehri but performed as a song by NFAK. While it is close to 17 min long, the performance is mesmerising. 

b) Piya Re Piya Re - This was very popular as an 'Indi-Pop' song in the early 2000s. I have no idea about the album in which it was a part of. 

c) Afreen Afreen (Remix) - The last song of an album by Javed Akhtar and NFAK known as Sangam. It released in 1997 (not sure if after NFAK died) and this version was made most popular by its music video featuring the model Lisa Ray. I doubt anyone in India who was around in the 90s doesn't know about this song. 

That's it from me for today folks. Enjoy the music and until the next update.

Cheers,
Avi

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