Beches Indian Brew

As a more globalised world emerged in the 1960s and 70s, the Swedish jazz drummer Bengt Berger (aka Beche) kept his ears open. As with George Harrison and John McLaughlin, it was India that first captured Berger's imagination. But his musical curiosity led him on to West Africa and, eventually, back home to explore Swedish folk.
This live album displays all of Berger's magpie-like musical sensibilities. His highly accomplished Swedish, Indian and Ghanaian collaborators embark on a madcap journey that ranges from lush Karnatic soundscapes to art-music experimentation, punctuated by the odd free-jazz freakout. Forging a great live album from a fantastic gig is tricky. One senses that some of the unique alchemy has been lost in translation. However, what may have been the least crowd-pleasing moments are among the album's highlights. The explosion of Reichian woodwind squawks that opens ‘Flabby Dick’ and the noise-music and violin duet on ‘Magma’ are unusual and exciting episodes. If Beches Indian Brew is a blueprint for a Euro-Indian musical fusion, it is roughly sketched, but there is plenty of excitement amid the uncertainty.