Ravi is an Anglo-Indian kora player who
has several highly respected releases that fuse the traditions
of Africa and Asia with his highly distinctive improvisational
flair. He has been attracted to the music of Brazil for many years
and has also performed with some of the great musicians of Cape
Verde. The Afro-Brazilian Project stems from a 6 month sojourn
in Brazil. Ravi composed all 12 pieces here and they brim with
a warm sympathy for their surroundings and are a unique take on
the Brazilian spirit. His playing on kora, electric kora and guitar
is highly original, direct, yet detailed and warm.
Leading musicians such as clarinettist Paulo Moura, percussionists
Robertinho Silva and Roberto Marquez among others maintain a firmly
Brazilian, yet open-ended feel to all the compositions which embrace
samba, bossa, chorro, Afro-Brazilian and jazz. The only caveat
I have is that I could have done without Ravi’s fairly mundane
English-language vocals on Bird Of Paradise, an otherwise very
good bossa with some lovely jazzy harmonica playing by Guta Menezes.
Foremost modernizer/ interpreter of Brazilian Amazonian Indian
music Marlui Miranda co-composed and sings on the four-part Amazon
Journey, haunting and extremely varied pieces that sympathetically
fuse the sounds of Africa, Middle Eastern kaval flute and Tuvan
throat singing with the sounds and music of the Brazilian rainforest.
Paranuagua closes the CD reprising an earlier number in a swirl
of driving samba rhythms. The Afro-Brazilian Project comes with
a 44 page booklet that will tell you all you need to know. Those
familiar with some of the staggering array of world music produced
by ARC Music, the oldest such label which has been at it nigh
on 3 decades will be aware that they not only introduce the listener
to fine traditional music but also to tradition as a template
for the production of music that is new and creatively substantial.
By eschewing the ephemerally trendy in order to feature such highly
talented artists as Ravi they ensure that the tradition will never
die. RJ
