North India: Sangeet Trio in Concert

This live recording of ‘Raga Jog’, made in Paris in 1995, brought together for the first time three fascinating representatives of Hindustani music: Tarun Bhattachary. On santoor (zither), Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on his own reinvented slide guitar and Ronu Majumdar on bansuri (flute). The experience was a great success and they now often perform together as the Sangeet Trio. Interestingly, all three instruments have at one time inhabited a rather marginal place in the musical tradition, unlike, say, the sitar, but wer brought to prominence by exceptional performers. Perhaps it is this slight sense of difference that gives this performance the space for invention and interplay, which is evident in the way the three play off each other; this i especially noticeable during the alap (slow introduction) – there is no following jor or jhala here – but this approach informs the whole recording.

The delicate nature of the instruments, plus their contrasting sounds, plucked and hit strings plus the blown flute, make the ensemble particularly successful. It is also arguable that the choice of the pentatonic ‘Raga Jog’ adds to the charm of the recording but, as ever, it is what the musicians do with the material that's important - here their mastery of their instruments and the music is abundantly evident.