Ustad Vilayat Khan - Raga Bhairavi (1991) {India Archive Music} **[RE-UP]**

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Ustad Vilayat Khan - Raga Bhairavi (1991) {India Archive Music} **[RE-UP]**

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Here's something you don't see everyday: a CD purely comprised of alap. I've seen Ali Akbar Khan do it, and I think that's about it. Nikhil Banjerjee had a two disc raga where the first disc was alap…but I can't think of others. Truth be known, not many performers could carry a purely alap performance and make it interesting for the length of a CD. This rendition of "Bhairavi" by Vilayat Khan is interesting to say the least. He gets sounds out of the sitar I've never heard before. There's one part where it sounds like he's slapping the strings like an acoustic guitarist. I once read an interview with Khan where he said he wanted to really stretch the boundaries on some recordings and that he chose the India Archive sessions to do it. Every Vilayat Khan CD in their catalogue I've heard (about 5-6) truly stands apart from the rest of his work, much less that of other performers. That's not to say that his work for other labels isn't terrific (it is), it's just these performances are "different." This is a sober raga and Khan wrings plenty of emotion out of it. It's about a 50 minute disc, split half and half between pure alap and jor (alap with a pulse.) This certainly isn't for everyone, as it is pretty "advanced listening." I love the CD and listen to it all the time, but I wouldn't recommend this disc as a starting place. Like others have said, his music (and that of Nikhil Banerjee) prove that there's definitely more than one person that could be considered greatest sitarist of the 20th century.

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Ustad Vilayat Khan - Raga Bhairavi (1991) {India Archive Music} **[RE-UP]**

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