Ragas (Remastered)

The excellent Ragas contains two albums originally released as LPs, 1964’s The Master Musicians of India and 1965’s The Soul of Indian Music. The first two cuts, “Raga Palas Kafi” and “Raga Bilashkani Todi,” both from the earlier album, feature the sensitive interplay of Ravi Shankar on sitar and Ali Akbar Khan on sarod, two musicians who were instrumental in bringing Indian classical music to the American pubic. (Here they are accompanied by Kanall Dutta on tabla and the hypnotic drone of a tamboura). It’s a delight to follow the call and response of these masters. Shankar and Khan always complement each other, but at times their lines nicely contrast while at others they echo each other’s phrases — the sound of two artists coming together in deep ways. The tracks from the 1965 release, “Raga Ramdas Malhar” and “Raga Malika,” feature Khan backed by uncredited tabla and tamboura players, and it’s wonderful to hear the sarod player develop his melodic ideas at greater length. It must be noted that the sound quality of Ragas is of its time, but that in no way diminishes the high level of artistry on display.