Ravi Shankar - The Essential Ravi Shankar

With over 90 albums to his credit, the task for those who wish to investigate the recordings of India's master musician Ravi Shankar can be a daunting one. Therefore, the Legacy/BMG Essential Ravi Shankar fills a welcome place in his catalog and serves as a starting point for the novitiate. There are 20 cuts on these two discs that range over most of the sitarist and composer's shelf, from his early Angel recordings where he played mostly indian classical music, to his later recordings for Private Music, to his lone Columbia album, The Sounds of India, in 1968. Along the way, Shakar is featured in many settings, from solo to performances with large ensembles of traditional Indian musicians, to his collaborations with violinist Yehudi Menuhin from the gorgeous West Meets East recording, to his recording with George Harrison, to his work with Philip Glass and numerous other musicians on Passages. Through it all, Shankar is consistently in the classical framework, whether he is improvising on ragas or performing other compositions. The sound here has been completely remastered and the liner essay by Hank Bordowitz is both informative and compelling factually. This is the real intro to Shankar that has been needed for such a long time on CD. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Name Credits Aashish Khan Sarod Abhiman Kaushal Tabla Al Brown & His Tunetoppers Viola Alan Raph Trombone Ali Akbar Khan Sarod Alla Rakha Tabla Ashish Khan Sarod Ashit Desai Vocals, Conductor Balachandra Joshi Percussion Barry Finclair Viola, Violin Batia Lieberman Cello Beverly Lauridsen Cello Chatur Lal Tabla Darcy Proper Compilation Producer, Mastering Darren Salmieri A&R, Tape Research Daya Shankar Shahnai Didier C. Deutsch Compilation Producer Frank Serafine Producer, Original Recording Producer, Synthesizer Frederick Zlotkin Cello George Avakian Original Recording Producer, Producer George Fenton Conductor, Original Recording Producer, Producer, Arranger Gowri Shankar Tamboura Hank Bordowitz Liner Notes, A&R Harihar Rao Tamboura Hemangini Desai Vocals Howard Fritzson Art Direction Jack Kripl Sax (Soprano), Flute Kailash Sharma Flute Keith O'Quinn Trombone Kumar Bose Tabla, Duggis Kurt Munkasci Producer, Original Recording Producer Lenny Pickett Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor) Markandeya Mishra Tabla Masako Yanagita Violin, Viola Mayuki Fukuhara Violin Michael Riesman Conductor Mike Kull Tape Research Nathan Sedlander Product Manager Parimal Sadaphal Sitar Partha Sarathy Veena, Sarod Parthasarthy Chowdhury Sarod Patti Matheny A&R Peter Baumann Producer, Original Recording Producer Peter Gordon French Horn Prodyot Sen Tamboura Ramesh Mishra Sarangui Ratna Mala Vocals Ravi Shankar Sitar, Synthesizer, Original Recording Producer, Arranger, Vocals, Narrator, Producer Ravindra Sathe Vocals Ray Cooper Marimba Regis Iandiorio Violin Richard Bock Producer, Original Recording Producer Richard Peck Sax (Tenor), Sax (Alto) Richard Sortomme Viola Ron Sell French Horn Ronu Mazumdar Flute Sergiu Schwartz Violin Seymour Barab Cello Shubhendra Rao Sitar Steven Berkowitz Compilation Producer Sultan Khan Sarangui Suresh Lalwani Producer, Original Recording Producer, Conductor Swapan Choudhuri Tabla T. Srinivasan Mridangam, Drum Sounds T.R. Sundaresan Mridangam, Ghatam Tim Baker Violin V. Poliansky Conductor Vikram Patil Percussion Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Guitar Warren Wernick A&R Yehudi Menuhin Violin