Vilayat Khan and Avtar Singh: live performance in Montreal, recorded in 1978

Here is a 145 minute recording of Vilayat Khan and Avtar Singh performing in Montreal, Canada in 1978.

This originally surfaced in 2004 on an online torrent site devoted to live recordings. It was later reposted there with some adjustments in 2015. That is when I obtained the recording. A few days ago I made some very small adjustments to the sound (almost all in the first track) to bring out the best aspects of this performance. Hopefully some day the original reel-to-reel recording will be made available to the public. Until then we have this digital transfer of a cassette copy made of the original tape.

Ustad Vilayat Khan - sitar and vocals

Avtar Singh - tabla
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
June 30, 1978

soundboard recording, unknown taper

2004 transfer and seed by (unknown)

May 2015 reseed:
Retracked with minor repairs and volume adjustments

tracklist:

01 Raga Marwa 57:17
02 Raga Bageshri 62:05
03 Raga Bhairavi 26:46


SBD -> reel to reel -> cassette -> Sound Forge -> CD-R -> EAC ->
FLAC 8 w/align on sector boundaries

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (905 MB)

320kbps mp3 file (331 MB)

Tagore songs over at world music village blog

I have just posted the first of what I hope to be many LPs of songs by Rabindranath Tagore over at one of our sister blogs, World Music Village. 

Head on over there and enjoy what the world is offering!

Ravi Shankar: The Sounds of India [Columbia WL 119] an LP recorded in the US in 1957 and released in the US in 1958

This is Ravi Shankar's second full length LP album, recorded on the heels of 1956's brilliant and required "Music of India" (later retitled "Three Ragas"). 

It was released as part of Columbia Records' series entitled "Adventures in Sound" which was begun in 1958 ostensibly as part of Columbia's celebrations of the 10th anniversary of their introduction of the LP. This series was one of the first to be devoted to world music on a major record label. Capitol Records would eventually produce a similar series entitled "Capitol of the World" featuring several reissues of EMI India titles.

The album was recorded in New York in 1957 and produced by noted producer George Avakian (uncredited). It was released as an LP in 1958. There have been multiple reissues and cover art changes but this is the earliest available edition.

This was originally conceived as an educational as well as entertaining record, and there is a very basic 4-minute talk entitled "An Introduction to Indian Music" which I have edited out of this transfer. There are so many more educational resources available to the average person 62 years after this album was released that it seems pointless to include this very basic introduction. I have also edited out Ravi ji's very brief identification of the ragas and talas before each piece. I am certain these spoken parts are available on YouTube and also on the CD reissue. 

The liner notes are by noted classical composer Alan Hovhaness.

Of interest to me is this review by Yoshi Kato of the album as part of the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die":

Ravi Shankar's The Sounds Of India was the ultimate mix compilation for classical Indian music, in that it was accessible, gloriously played, and inherently well informed. At a time when tracking down global musical styles took some effort, Shankar was the perfect musical ambassador, one who was already familiar to legions of listeners as both an elder friend and informal musical teacher to The Beatles (George Harrison once called him "the godfather of world music").

Please note two things: this is part of a journalistic genre I like to think of as, "Record Reviews Written With No Clear Evidence of the Record Having Been Listened To." More importantly, Mr Kato seems to be under the impression that the album was released in 1968 (a mistake that Wikipedia repeats). In fact, in 1958, almost no one in the United States knew who Shankar was, and George Harrison was 15 years old and spending his days in school in Liverpool.

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water.

Turntable: Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: ATmono3LP

Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution

Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24bit, 96kHz mono WAV file (744 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz mono WAV file (219 MB)

320kbps mono mp3 file (114 MB)

Vasant Rai and Alla Rakha Play Ragas of Meditation and Happiness [SRV 73013] an LP recorded and released in the US in 1975

Vasant Rai was born in 1942 and at the age of seven began musical studies. At 16 he became one of the last disciples of Allauddin "Baba" Khan, the sarod maestro who taught four legends of Hindustani music: his son Ali Akbar Khan, sitarists Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee, flautist Pannalal Ghosh, and many others. 

Rai died at the relatively young age of 43, and left only a handful of classical albums which supplement several "fusion" LPs. His collaborations with musicians such as Don Cherry, Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, and the "world-fusion" band Oregon continue to bring new listeners to his body of recorded work.

Alla Rakha (1919-2000) was one of the towering figures of 20th century music. His collaborations with Ravi Shankar were legendary, but his tabla work was more than just as a partner to Ravi ji. His students included his son, Zakir Hussain.

Equipment used in transfer:

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water
Turntable: Audio-technica AT-LP-1240
Cartridge: Shure M97xE
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, kid3, and xAct.

  

downloads:

24bit, 96kHz FLAC files (774 MB)

highest resolution files I am capable of producing

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (227 MB)

after decoding to WAV files, these can be burned to CDR

320 kbps mp3 files (107 MB)

highest quality mp3 files possible 

A good explanation of what FLAC files are and why you should be listening to them if you can

Sandhya Mukherjee: Geetashree [ECSD 2602] an LP recorded and released in India in 1980

For this post we have a delightful LP by Sandhya Mukherjee. Although she is best known for her work in the Mumbai and Bengali film industry, she has recorded several LPS of classical music. 

Born in 1931, she first began studies under A.T. Kanan and subsequently became a disciple of the great Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Please see the photos for track listing and accompanists.

Equipment used in transfer:

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water
Turntable: Audio-technica AT-LP-1240
Cartridge: Shure M97xE
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct.

  

downloads:

24bit, 96kHz FLAC files (1.06 GB)

highest resolution files I am capable of producing

16bit, 44.kHz FLAC files (313 MB)

after decoding to WAV files, these can be burned to CDR

320 kbps mp3 files (127 MB)

highest quality mp3 files possible