Good People in Times of Evil

Good People in Times of Evil

ASIN: B000050I2S

Track Listings

1. Aga of the Ladies

2. Savitri

3. Leal Souvenir

4. Bhakti Ras

5. Who Would You Like to Be?

6. Uma Haimavati

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
There are strong links between this group and John McLaughlin's recently reconstituted Shakti. Bassist Jonas Hellborg was once a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and percussionist-vocalist V. Selvaganesh is a member of the current Shakti. Like that group, this trio--with Hellborg's regular partner Shawn Lane on guitar--plays an accelerated fusion of Indian and western elements with a mix of amplified and acoustic strings and subcontinent drumming. Given those similarities, though, the trio finds terrain of its own, from the country drawl of Lane's guitar on the opening "Aga of the Ladies" to the spy film insinuations in "Who Would You Like to Be?" Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level. Lane, sometimes suggesting McLaughlin, has done a remarkable job of mastering the pitch-bending intricacies of raga. On "Savitri," he even combines it with his own Southern rock flavor. "Little Souvenir" includes a duet between Hellborg and Selvaganesh in which the bassist manages to extend funk-slap electric bass playing to the complex, high-speed metrics of Indian music. An impressive technical feat, it's also a creative one. "Bhakti Ras" provides a striking change of pace. Recorded in concert in India, it has Ustad Sultan Khan joining the group on sarangi, an Indian bowed string instrument. He uses its keening metallic resonance to create a mood of striking depth. The playing here is always impressive, as is the way these musicians speak their hybrid tongue, but it's the spirited interplay and occasionally welling calm that endure. --Stuart Broomer

Tracks:

Aga of the Ladies
Savitri
Leal Souvenir
Bhakti Ras
Who Would You Like to Be?
Uma Haimavati

Amazon.com

There are strong links between this group and John McLaughlin's recently reconstituted Shakti. Bassist Jonas Hellborg was once a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and percussionist-vocalist V. Selvaganesh is a member of the current Shakti. Like that group, this trio--with Hellborg's regular partner Shawn Lane on guitar--plays an accelerated fusion of Indian and western elements with a mix of amplified and acoustic strings and subcontinent drumming. Given those similarities, though, the trio finds terrain of its own, from the country drawl of Lane's guitar on the opening "Aga of the Ladies" to the spy film insinuations in "Who Would You Like to Be?" Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level. Lane, sometimes suggesting McLaughlin, has done a remarkable job of mastering the pitch-bending intricacies of raga. On "Savitri," he even combines it with his own Southern rock flavor. "Little Souvenir" includes a duet between Hellborg and Selvaganesh in which the bassist manages to extend funk-slap electric bass playing to the complex, high-speed metrics of Indian music. An impressive technical feat, it's also a creative one. "Bhakti Ras" provides a striking change of pace. Recorded in concert in India, it has Ustad Sultan Khan joining the group on sarangi, an Indian bowed string instrument. He uses its keening metallic resonance to create a mood of striking depth. The playing here is always impressive, as is the way these musicians speak their hybrid tongue, but it's the spirited interplay and occasionally welling calm that endure. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Great East meets West fusion with pioneer players.......2006-03-31

Ive been a fan of all 3 seperate musicians from this recording. Shawn from Black Oak Arkansas, Jonas from the revamped Mahavishnu, and Salvaganesh from the recent Shakti. Suffice to say I was really excited to open this and listen. From start to finish this recording reeks of great tones from all. Everyone shines in their solo spots and the songs themselves are rhythmically sophisticated. This is the kind of stuff that great musicians are made from. Ive since gotten the dvd and its just as incredible. Go out and get this, a wealth of learning material and good sounding too.

Indo-Jazz Fusion at its most sublime.......2005-08-24

This album is startling - and is the best in its genre save, Shakti's Natural Elements. The individual virtuosity never once compromises the integrity of the ensemble.

A must buy for anyone who's a fan of Shakti, Trilok Gurtu and the rest.

Fusion fission.......2003-10-27

A great collection of tunes from Jonas Hellborg performed with masterful assurance by Hellborg, musical comet Shawn Lane on guitar and the V.Selvaganesh on percussion. The instrumentation by it's very nature sets this group a litle apart from say Shakti. The mix isn't the best i've heard but i really don't care because the music reaches through it. Personally I could do with a little less of the vocal-percussion thing. Many western musicians are so fascinated by this ancient Indian technique that renders any rhythm through the voice itself with no need for an instrument, that they include large segments of it that are quite unnecessary, and there is one of those on this album. That's about all the negatives I can think of! On the other side, the players are simply smoking, the renditions are live, and the interplay between the Memphis guitarist, Swedish bass player and Indian percussionist just smashes the illusion of music having any sort of boundaries or cultural barriers. Of course the music is based on Hellborg's study of Indian classical music, mainly the Carnatic tradition, but Lane's chameleonic improvisations morph into a myriad shapes, colors and styles sometimes in the same line! Like no other player I've heard, he is able to bring focus his tremendous vocabulary into improvised bursts that really transport the tunes someplace else. When you think of how simply constructed both the ganjira and the ghatam are, the life Selvagenesh breathes into them is extraordinary. Of course, Hellborg is in a class by himself among contemporary musicians. The thing I admire most about this album (like other Hellborg Lane collaborations) is that it was obviously conceived without even the slightest thought of so much as a market, let alone sales, charts and the like. This gives it a quality of integrity that is rare. An exceptional release.

Stunning musicianship.......2003-10-20

"Technique and rhythmic interplay here are consistently at an extraordinary level." This statement is absolutly true. Another one is false, I suppose. This music was not recorded live in India but in an Italian studio, in Spoleto. Anyway, the music contened in this cd is exceptional. It is quite similar to the kind of fusion between indian and western music played by John McLaughlin's Shakti. I think you have to love this kind of musical situation to fully enjoy this compilation. The music you can find here is really indian in a sense. The form is raga, a modal kind of music where you have a pedal (a single gravitational note, a single fixed chord used as base) running for the full lenght of the track. The kind of rhythms are sure indian but with some kind of western flavour here and there. On this "statical" base musicians improvise melodically but more than anything else rythmically on a certain scale. The thing that is really important to listen to is the interplay going on between the musicians, here at an extraordinary level. For what concerned the single musician, Hellborg has developed a stunning slap technique on the bass to fully render this kind of music. Selvaganesh is absolutly outstanding both on vocals and percussions. He is a one man band. The things he can do rythmically and melodically are unbelievable. He is probably the best indian musician in the world. Shawn Lane, well, he belongs to a separate category. He's one of my all time favourite musician. I can't do justice to his guitar playing with simple words. Some people say Petrucci is a master. If this is true, how should we call Lane? God? The only complaint, for what I am concerned is in the mixing. Lane is often mixed too far, his lines are not always perfectly audible. He is not really in front of the listener when he is soloing. He is a little too far ... the rythmn section is too loud. Anyway, apart from this, this album contains a spectacular collection of improvisations.
Ciao Shawn, I'm so sad you're gone. Stay in peace.

Hellborg still improves.......2003-07-29

Sweedish bass player (or bass guitarist) Jonas Hellborg has been picking up from where Jaco left off years ago. Showing how the electric bass can be used to play huge chords, accompany itself, and drive the melody of a song. More intelligent use of the bass then even Jaco dreamed of Hellborg continues to astound on this disc. His playing is smooth, virtuosic, intelligent, and original. He's no mindless showoff like Wooten, and he plays better. Shawn Lane finally learns that other musicians play on these albums and offers his best playing since Temporal Analogues of Paradise, the solo on the final track is truly inspired. Like a funky, blues inpired, jazz fused Indian, if you can imagine such a thing. Selveganesh plays absolutely amazing and shows this rockin' couple that a Ghatam can easily replace a drum kit. This is what Shakti should of done when they came back. It is true world fusion, not just a visit to things that have been done before with new instrumentation. Hellborg is still the best composer that fusion has ever seen. This is the first time I have truly understood why Hellborg chose to play with Shawn Lane. The next album with these three, Icon, showed me why Shawn may be the best alive.

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