Last Gasp of Nimbus Records'
10/28/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Sadly, Nimbus Records is closing shop now (October 2001) but fortunately they managed to release another Asad Ali Khan album before they went out of business. It's a great album, but not the all-time masterpiece that his earlier JAIJAIVANTI release was - for two reasons. First, it has two half-hour performances (Purvi/Jogiya) instead of the elaborate full-disc phenomenon that was his Jaijaivanti recording. Asad Ali Khan is one of few instrumental players who can elaborate the grand ragas for hours to terrific effect, so I prefer longer recordings of him. Second, the two dhrupad composition heads are not quite as good (in my opinion) as the amazing one he revealed in Jaijaivanti. But good nonetheless; the sound has the same problems as on the earlier disc though (too much reverb on the drum, sounds mildly ridiculous) but the music is well worth four stars. (And wouldn't it be unthinkable that an Asad Ali Khan recording could be worth less than four stars? :) However, unlike the earlier album which could have got a five, I don't know if I would have given this more than four even with a clean sound."
Sublime Rudra-veena
Aurindom Narayan | Tampa, FL | 10/01/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is an excellent album, a must-have. The contents are somewhat unusual: Raga Purvi is no longer often heard, and Raga Jogia in dhrupad style is quite uncommon. The music is so sublime that the occasional glitches in the playing are easy to forgive. Ustad Asad Ali Khan's command over rhythm is second to none. The only reason I do not award 5 stars is the less-than-perfect recording quality."