Search - Swapan Chaudhuri :: Majestic Tabla

Contemporary master shines!

Nandakumar Sankaran | San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA | 11/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri is a contemporary tabla master of the Lucknow gharana (style). In this solo recording, you can hear very crisp notes even when he plays the bols at high (drut) speeds. As a tabla player myself, I hold Swapanji in the highest regard for his control, clarity, creativity and mastery over the instrument. Many of the compositions are unique and rare, given that not many recordings (or masters) of Lucknow gharana tabla exist today.



The CD opens with Asta Mongal, a rarely played taal in solo recordings. Panditji then goes on to play slow and fast variations of teen taal, interspersed with a rendition of the 14-beat cycle Ada Chautal.



Pandit Ramesh Misra does a marvellous job of keeping up the lehra on sarangi all through Swapanji's explorations through various time signatures (tisra, misra jatis). I've played this CD many times in the last 10 years and never tire of listening to the recording."