Search - Pat Martino, Peter Block, Habib Khan :: Fire Dance

Tasty Indo-jazz

LGwriter | Astoria, N.Y. United States | 11/10/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As more and more jazz, folk, and rock musicians embrace the near-limitless possibilities of world music, it's gratifying to see one of the established masters of jazz guitar dive in as well.Martino has put together a great ensemble, among whom the most well-known is internationally renowned Zakir Hussain on tabla and percussion. Also included are Habib Khan on sitar, Russian Ilya Rayzman on violin, and Peter Block on flute. The absence of a bass instrument results in the atmosphere of the material being light, playful, at times serene. But that by no means detracts from the quality of the music.One of the tracks, Sacred River, is based on an old Indian folk tune; the remainder were all composed by Habib Khan and Peter Block. The rhythmic foundation supplied by Hussain is a brilliant underpinning for the flavors of the other instruments whose solos, when they occur, are just the right length.An excellent addition to anyone's library of world jazz."

Nice international blend

kartik_raghupathi | pittsburgh, pa | 04/02/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"FireDance presents a pleasing and well balanced blend of international starts who are masters of their own respective instruments, including the well known jazz name of Pat Martino and the tabla superstar, none other than Ustad Zakir Hussain.. Block on the flute is quite noteworthy as well.. the tracks present themselves as frolicking, fanciful light pieces with each instrumentalist taking his turn on the improvisational wheel, amidst the constant rhythmic wizardry of Zakir, who is the highlight of the disc as far as this listner is concerned.. if you are looking for the intense, hard core improvisational jams of Shakti, you will not really find them here - this cd is less intense (improvisationally) and caters to the listener whose ear is perhaps not accustomed to an international blend.. however, an essential piece for the indian classical music-jazz fusion collection."