Search - Sanjay Mishra, Jerry Garcia :: Blue Incantation

Incredible music, but not jerry's best

Humphrey Bogart | vt | 04/04/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great gateway album to indian music. A few of the tracks are absolutely mindblowing compositions that take you on a journey winding through time and space. However, Jerry Garcia's additions are the weakest part of the album. He plays electric guitar, sits in the background playing long notes while sanjay noodles endlessly. Makes Jerry look bad. This album is worth it by all means if nothing else, just for the song "Julia", which flies sky high with electrical energy that makes the body shake, the eyes roll back in the head..."

Jerry Garcia's final divine blues

Amaranth | Northern California | 01/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sanjay Mishra's "Blue Incantation" is a wonderful album of meditative acoustic Indian music. It's a bittersweet taste of East/ West fusion. Mishra collaborates with Grateful Dead front man, Jerry Garcia, in "Monsoon", "Clouds" and "Nocturne/ Evening Chant." Since this album was Garcia's last, "Blue Incantaion" has a tragic quality to it. It stands as Garcia's musical will and testament, proclaiming shanti (peace) to the earth.



"My meditation" and "Self portrait" are introspective, thoughtful pieces. "Passage into dawn" samples a Hindu chant. "For Julia",originally composed for a soundtrack,is a love song. "Bach in time" in an East/West fusion of Indian and Western classical music. Mishra makes Bach's music into his own,making it timeless. "Monsoon","Clouds" and "Nocturne/ Evening Chant" are Indian acid jams, complete with Garcia's masterful playing. It's as if Blues for Allah had become Blues for Brahma/Vishnu/Shiva. Garcia was on the brink of some powerful Asian explorations;tragically,his premature death cut them short.



"Blue Incantation" is a perfect introduction to fusion music as well as Indian music. Relaxing, meditative, melancholy, it takes one into a timeless realm."

Blues for Brahma

Amaranth | Northern California | 01/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Blue Incantation" is a thoughtful, meditative album. Indian guitarist Sanjay Mishra, who moved to the US from Calcutta, blends acoustic music with native percussion and a New Age sensibility. His debut album was also Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia's last. Garcia guests on the songs "Monsoon","Clouds",and "Nocturne/Evening Chant." Garcia was on the verge of some electrifying East-West fusion when he passed away,giving this album a poignant quality.



The opening song,"My meditation" is introspective and melancholy. "For Julia" is a quiet love song. "Passage into dawn" is an eerie threnody. It is musical twilight. Though it is his final album,Garcia's contributions in "Monsoon","Clouds",and "Nocturne/Evening Chant" show him still in fine form. He gives a bluesy,acid rock flavor to Sanjay's Indian acoustic melodies. It's the Indian complement to the Arabic "Blues for Allah." All three songs are instrumentals that wouldn't have been out of place on a Grateful Dead album. "Self Portrait" has Sanjay melding his classical background with Indian sensibilities. "Bach in time" is a marvelous blend of classical Western music with Indian acoustic guitar. Sanjay takes a classical Bach piece and makes it his own.



"Blue Incantation" stands as Jerry Garcia's musical final will&testament,wishing shanti (peace) on humanity. This album is a peaceful,meditative masterpiece."