INDIA – Nikhil Banerjee – From the Concert Hall – Raga Sindhura & Raga Adana – His Master's Voice – ECSD 2600

INDIA – INDE
Nikhil Banerjee – From the Concert Hall – Raga Sindhura & Raga Adana – His Master's Voice – ECSD 2600, released 1979 (LP)

Nikhil Banerjee (1931–1986), a towering 20th-century sitar virtuoso and a leading exponent of the Maihar gharana, was born into a musical Bengali Hindu Brahmin family in Kolkata. He was introduced to the instrument at age five by his father and grandfather, both of whom were sitarists. He quickly emerged as a prodigy, winning the All-Bengal sitar competition at age nine and performing on All India Radio in Kolkata.

 

Around 1946–1947, the great vocalist Amir Khan (1912-1974) regularly visited the Banerjee household to teach his older sister. During these visits, the young Nikhil Banerjee absorbed the master’s vocal phrasing, style, and musical philosophy, sparking a lifelong reverence for the Hindustani vocal tradition that would deeply shape his own sitar playing.

 

Banerjee studied with several distinguished musicians, including Mushtaq Ali Khan (1911-1989) and Jnan Prakash Ghosh (1909-1997). The decisive turning point came in 1947 when he became a disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan (1881-1972), the legendary sarod maestro and founder of the Maihar gharana. The venerable guru’s son, the renowned sarod player Ali Akbar Khan (1922–2009), later continued Banerjee’s training.

 

This mellifluous From the Concert Hall live album released in 1979 (unspecified venue and recording date), featuring Kishen Maharaj (1923-2008) on tabla, exemplifies Banerjee's extraordinary mastery of melody and rhythm combined with free-flowing emotion, depth, nuance and vitality.

 

Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986), virtuose du sitar hors pair du XXe siècle et figure de proue du Maihar gharana, est né à Kolkata au sein d’une famille hindoue brahmane amateur de musique. Il découvre le sitar à l’âge de cinq ans grâce à son père et à son grand-père, qui étaient tous deux sitaristes. Il se révéla rapidement être un enfant prodige, remportant le concours du All-Bengal sitar à l’âge de neuf ans, et se produisant sur les ondes d’All India Radio à Calcutta dès son plus jeune âge.

 

Vers 1946-1947, le grand chanteur Amir Khan (1912-1974) se rendait régulièrement chez les Banerjee pour donner des cours à sa sœur aînée. Au cours de ces visites, le jeune Nikhil Banerjee s’imprégna du phrasé vocal, du style et de la philosophie musicale du maître, ce qui suscita en lui une admiration durable pour la tradition vocale d’Inde du nord qui allait profondément influencer son propre jeu de sitar.

 

Après avoir étudié auprès de plusieurs musiciens de renom, notamment Mushtaq Ali Khan (1911-1989) et Jnan Prakash Ghosh (1909-1997), un tournant décisif survint en 1947 lorsque Banerjee devint le disciple de Baba Allauddin Khan (1881-1972), le légendaire maître du sarod et fondateur du Maihar gharana. Le fils de ce dernier, le célèbre joueur de sarod Ali Akbar Khan (1922-2009), poursuivit par la suite sa formation.

 

Cet excellent album live publié en 1979 (lieu et date d’enregistrement non précisés), avec Kishen Maharaj (1923-2008) aux tablas, illustre parfaitement son extraordinaire maîtrise de la mélodie et du rythme, alliée à une émotion fluide, une profondeur subtile et une remarquable vitalité.

Download:

Flac

MP3

My other sitar music posts:

 

Nikhil Banerjee – HMV EASD 1342, 1969 here 

Nikhil Banerjee – HMV EASD 1377, 1972 here

Nikhil Banerjee – HMV EASD 1378, 1973 here

Vilayat Khan – HMV EALP 1259, 1961 here 

Vilayat Khan – Capitol Records ST 10514, 1969 here

Enayat Khan – Megaphone EJNG, 45 RPM, 1930s here 

Imrat Khan – HMV EASD 1345, 1969 here

Budhaditya Mukherjee – Melodiya C80-18043-4, 1979 here

The Great Tradition – Masters of Music – His Master's Voice – EALP 1453/1452, including Vilayat Khan and a Ravi Shankar–Ali Akbar Khan duet here

Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonch Wala – BM 30 L 2029 here

Instrumental Music of Pakistan feat. Mohammad Shareef Khan Poonchwala HMV LKDE 20018 here

Photograph below is from Cleveland Museum of Art: www.clevelandart.org/art/collection/search:

Yoga Narashimha, Vishnu in his Man-Lion Avatar, c. 1250 South India, late Chola period (900–1200s).

 

“Narasimha means “man-lion” in Sanskrit, and is the name of one of the ten main avatars, or incarnations, of the Hindu god Vishnu. For devotees, the man-lion form recalls a myth that describes his superhuman defeat of a seemingly invincible demonic foe. This rare iconic form also embodies royal power and yogic discipline.”

Please help me purchase important traditional records to 

pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog here below:

UNITED STATES – The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Father I Stretched My Hands To Thee / Lord Remember Me – Peacock Records – 5-1868

UNITED STATES

The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Father I Stretched My Hands To Thee / Lord Remember Me – Peacock Records – 5-1868, recorded in 1962 (Vinyl 7 inch, 45 RPM)

Shaped by such pioneers as Thomas A. Dorsey (1899–1993), Mahalia Jackson (1911–1972) and Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973), American gospel church music, born out of the African American religious experience in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stands as one of the most powerful bedrock influences in modern musical culture. Gospel, along with blues, has had a profound impact on soul, rock, pop, jazz, and other genres, including South African urban music.

 

I am particularly enthralled with vocal groups and ensembles from the 1940s and 1950s, especially the pioneers of what would become known as "hard gospel," a genre that includes groups like the Soul Stirrers and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, whom I feature here.

 

The singers formed the group in 1936 at the Piney Woods School for the Blind near Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating, they turned professional and eventually signed with Don Robey's Peacock Records in Houston in 1950. Their single "Our Father" (listen below) immediately became a Top Ten hit on the R&B charts, selling over half a million copies. This launched one of the most celebrated careers in Black sacred music.

 

At the heart of the Five Blind Boys' sound was vocalist extraordinaire Archie Brownlee. His tenor voice could start out relatively gentle and lyrical before suddenly erupting into a piercing falsetto, growl, moan, or agonizing scream. Brownlee could stretch a phrase almost beyond its breaking point before allowing it to collapse back into the rhythm. However, Brownlee’s life was tragically cut short when he died of pneumonia on February 8, 1960, at the age of 35. 

 

Following his death, Roscoe Robinson (1928–2026) took over as the group's lead singer. In this 1962 recording of "Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee," a hymn written by Charles Wesley in 1742, Robinson and the other members of the group — tenor Wilmer "Little Axe" Broadnax, baritone Lloyd Woodard, bass T. Clinkscales, and tenor Jimmy Carter — deliver a performance for the ages, accompanied by a Hammond organ and electric guitar that add a drone-like rhythmic pulse.  

 

Decades ago, listening to the stunning "Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee" (here on Side A) at full volume for the first time was a rare, frenzied, and blissful experience. I was blown away by its trance-like, fluid and sensuous collective intensity, as well as the group's amazing interlocking vocal call-and-response rhythms and harmonic tension.

 

"Lord Remember Me" (Side B), adapted from traditional prayer songs and spirituals on the themes of salvation and redemption, is a more classic and sprightlier gospel song; a humble plea for divine grace.

 

The recordings of hard gospel luminaries such as Archie Brownlee, Roscoe Robinson, and Julius Cheeks (1929-1981) from The Sensational Nightingales, greatly inspired the likes of secular R&B, soul, and rock and roll icons such as Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Little Richard.

Façonnée par des pionniers tels que Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) et Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), la musique gospel américaine, née de l’expérience religieuse afro-américaine de la fin du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle, compte parmi les influences les plus importantes de la culture musicale moderne. À l'instar du blues, le gospel a profondément influencé la soul, le rock, la pop, le jazz et bien d’autres genres, notamment la musique urbaine sud-africaine.

 

Je suis particulièrement fasciné par les groupes vocaux et les ensembles des années 1940 et 1950, notamment les pionniers de ce qui allait devenir le « hard gospel », comme les Soul Stirrers et les Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, que je vous présente ici.

 

Le groupe a été formé en 1936 à la Piney Woods School for the Blind, près de Jackson, dans le Mississippi. Après le lycée, ils ont entamé une carrière professionnelle avant de signer, en 1950, avec Peacock Records, le label de Don Robey basé à Houston. Leur single « Our Father » (à écouter ci-dessous) s’est immédiatement classé dans le top 10 des classements R&B et s'est vendu à plus d'un demi-million d'exemplaires. Cela a marqué le début de l’une des formations les plus célèbres de la musique sacrée noire américaine.

 

Au cœur du groupe des Five Blind Boys se trouvait Archie Brownlee, un chanteur d’exception. Sa voix de ténor pouvait partir de notes relativement douces et lyriques, puis se transformer brusquement en un falsetto perçant, un grognement, un gémissement ou un cri déchirant. Brownlee savait étirer un phrasé jusqu’au point de rupture avant de le laisser retomber dans le rythme. Sa vie fut cependant tragiquement interrompue lorsqu’il mourut d’une pneumonie, le 8 février 1960, à l’âge de 35 ans.

 

Roscoe Robinson (1928-2026) prit alors la relève en tant que chanteur principal du groupe. Dans cet enregistrement de 1962 de « Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee », un hymne composé par Charles Wesley en 1742, Robinson et les autres membres du groupe — le ténor Wilmer « Little Axe » Broadnax, le baryton Lloyd Woodard, le basse T. Clinkscales et le ténor Jimmy Carter — livrent une interprétation inoubliable, accompagnés d’un orgue Hammond et d’une guitare électrique qui ajoutent une pulsation rythmique semblable à un bourdon.

 

Il y a plusieurs décennies, découvrir pour la première fois, à plein volume, le magnifique « Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee », placé ici en face A, fut pour moi une expérience rare et véritablement extatique. J’ai été subjugué par son intensité collective, fluide et sensuelle, proche de la transe, ainsi que par les incroyables rythmes vocaux entrelacés en appel-réponse et par les tensions harmoniques du groupe.

 

« Lord Remember Me », sur la face B, est un gospel plus classique et enjoué, adapté de chants de prière traditionnels et de spirituals autour des thèmes du salut et de la rédemption. Ce morceau prend la forme d’une humble supplication adressée à Dieu pour implorer sa grâce.

 

Les enregistrements de figures emblématiques du « hard gospel » telles qu’Archie Brownlee, Roscoe Robinson et Julius Cheeks (1929-1981) des Sensational Nightingales, ont profondément marqué des icônes du R&B, de la soul et du rock’n’roll, comme Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett et Little Richard.

Download:

Flac

MP3

My other American music post:
Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians TLP 1007 here

Early 1960s photograph of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi:

(from left to right, top to bottom) Bobby Jackson, Lloyd Woodard, 

Lawrence Abrams, Wilmer Broadnax, JT Clinkscales, 

and lead vocalist Roscoe Robinson :

Note that the Five Blind Boys’ membership actually fluctuated 

between four and six.

The Five Blind Boys on the 1950 recording of Our Father, 

their first hit single on Peacock Records:

Lead vocalist Archie Brownlee, Lawrence Abrams, 

Lloyd Woodard, Joseph Ford, and Rev. Percell Perkins.

Here’s Double Trouble by bluesman Otis Rush (1934 –2018) from 

his terrific 1956-1958 Cobra recordings.

Before moving to Chicago, Rush grew up in Neshoba County, Mississippi, where he sang in local gospel choirs. This song exemplifies the influence of hard gospel on Rush’s vocal screams, shouts, and falsettos as well 

as his guitar phrasing. Along with Buddy Guy (b. 1936) and Magic Sam 

(1937-1969), Rush’s modern, intense, and dynamic style of Chicago 

West Side blues influenced Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), who 

transformed blues vocabulary into psychedelic rock.

Better Git It in Your Soul from Charles Mingus’ 1959

masterpiece, Ah Hum, on Columbia Records. 

The album celebrates and revisits various jazz influences, from Jelly Roll Morton to Duke Ellington, Lester Young and Charlie Parker. 

Mingus who grew up in Holiness and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches, where shouting and possession were commonplace, reenacts the trance-like, sanctified church experience in the album's opening track, 
"Better Git It in Your Soul." The piece features hand-clapping and hollering, as well as five horns improvising freely and overlapping in call and response to mimic the participation of the entire congregation. Booker Ervin's tenor saxophone playing is particularly brilliant here.

This band features bandleader Charles Mingus on bass,

John Handy on alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet, 
Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, Shafi Hadi on alto and 
tenor saxophone, Willie Dennis and Jimmy Knepper on trombone, 

Horace Parlan on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums:

Please help me purchase important traditional records here below
to pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog:

INDONESIA – Suara Parahianga – Sabilulungan – Degung Instrumental – SP Records

INDONESIA – INDONÉSIE
Suara Parahianga ensemble led by Ujang Survana 

– Sabilulungan – Degung Instrumental – SP Records, recorded in Bandung, released in 1989 (Cassette)

Sundanese musical form Gamelan Degung was developed in West Java in the late 18th century under the patronage of Sundanese bupati regents. Originally created as instrumental court music for the nobility, it evolved in the 20th century to accompany festivals, dances and weddings.

 

This refined and hauntingly beautiful art form contrasts with other Javanese and Balinese gamelan traditions, its smaller ensembles and softer dynamics convey a more intimate expressiveness.

 

The Suara Parahiangan ensemble, directed by suling master Ujang Suryana (1948-2012), comprises a four-holed suling bamboo flute, a bonang with fourteen small bulbous bronze gongs, saron and panerus bronze metallophones, a jengglong with six suspended bulbous kettle gongs, a large goong ageung hanging gong and a kendang double-headed barrel drum.

 

The suling’s delicate, contemplative flights, interweaving with poised, ethereal gongs and percussion, generate a deep, soft, and poetic tension that lingers on.

Né à la fin du XVIIIᵉ siècle sous le patronage des régents bupati de Java occidental, le gamelan degung est un genre musical sundanais. D'abord réservé aux cours de la noblesse sous une forme exclusivement instrumentale, il s'est ouvert au XXᵉ siècle à des usages plus populaires, accompagnant désormais festivals, danses et mariages.

 

Cet art raffiné, d'une beauté envoûtante, contraste avec les autres traditions de gamelan javanais et balinais. Ses ensembles plus réduits et ses nuances plus douces lui apportent une expressivité plus intime.

 

Dirigé par le maître du suling Ujang Suryana (1948-2012), l’ensemble Suara Parahiangan réunit un ensemble d’instruments traditionnels comprenant une flûte suling en bambou à quatre trous, un bonang et ses quatorze petits gongs en bronze, des métallophones saron et panerus, les six gongs suspendus du jengglong, un grand gong goong ageung et un tambour à double tête kendang.

 

Les envolées délicates et contemplatives du suling qui s’entremêlent aux gongs et aux percussions solennels et éthérés créent une tension douce, profonde et poétique qui reste comme suspendue dans l’air.

A1 – Sabilulungan 

A2 – Karedok Leunca

A3 – Colenak

A4 – Dikantun

A5 – Ayun Ambing

B1 – Ngantosan

B2 – Karatagan Pahlawan

B3 – Bandung

B4 – Pemuda Indonesia

B5 – Mojang Desa

Download:

Flac

MP3

My other Sundanese music posts:

Sunda – Gamelan Degung – Galloway Records here

Java – Pays Sounda – Musique et Chants Traditionnels – Disques Alvarès LD 110 here

Sulaeman – Kacapi Suling - Sundanese Flute & Zither – Universitas Nasional here

Sulaeman – Flute & Gamelan of West Java – Tangent Records TGS 137 here

This vintage postcard depicts a Sundanese Wayang Wong dance drama without masks. Female dancers often portray epic figures from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as noble female court roles 

(Menak). Photographed in Garut in the Parahyangan highlands 

of West Java, early 20th century:

This vintage postcard shows a Sundanese Wayang Golek puppet theater 

in West Java. Unlike Wayang Kulit, which uses flat leather puppets that 

cast shadows on a backlit screen, Wayang Golek uses three-dimensional wooden rod puppets. The theater features noble or royal characters in 

the center and comical Punakawan clown-servant characters on the outer edges. Two large Gunungan in the shape of leaves or mountains are positioned on the left and right sides of the puppets. These sacred ornaments represent the cosmic mountain (Meru), the tree of life, 

the forest, the boundary between worlds, and the beginning and 

end 

of the performance:

Please help me purchase important traditional records to 

pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog here below:

NIGERIA – Obodo Uka Mba & His Igele Group Obiaruku – Ekimogun – EKLP 057

NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA

Obodo Uka Mba & His Igele Group Obiaruku – Ekimogun – EKLP 057, 1979 (LP)

I am thrilled to present music from the Ukwuani (Ndokwa) people of Delta State in southern Nigeria. The Ukwuani are a subgroup of the Igbo people and share their region and cultural landscape with neighboring Urhobo, Ijaw, Isoko, Edo, Ika and Enuani communities.

Bandleader Obodo Uka Mba, from Obiaruku in Delta State, launched his musical career in the early 1960s, eventually becoming one of the region’s most prominent artists. Celebrated for his pioneering work and unique style of Ukwuani traditional music, Mba toured extensively and released a string of popular albums between the 1970s and the 1990s.

The seven-man ensemble, Obodo Uka Mba & His Igele Group, features Mba’s lead vocals alongside backing vocals and a small, whimsical, high-pitched ceremonial horn that acts as both a musical thread and a ritual signal. The group rounds out its sound with rich polyrhythmic percussion, including a large Igele frame drum, a wooden slit drum, an udu clay pot drum, and handclapping.

I was immediately struck by the album’s cover art, which shows Mba standing with his right fist raised in the unmistakable posture of ritual authority. Observed closely, however, this clenched gesture reveals a carved wooden hand. A parallel symbol appears in the photograph below of an Igbo Agbo-Maw masquerade, where the performers' human hands are entirely concealed. In Igbo lore, hidden, absent or rigid wooden hands signify a non-human, supernatural identity—indicating a direct communion with divine entities. In his left hand, Mba carries objects of power, including a ceremonial staff draped with a white cloth. White is the sacred color of ancestors, denoting spiritual purity and communication with the spirit world. Along with his beaded necklace and a woven cap, these elements together establish Mba’s personal spiritual authority and command over both the music and the ceremonial space. 

Recognized as a defender and pioneer of Ukwuani traditional music, Mba’s enduring legacy continues to inspire artists and listeners to this day.

Je suis ravi de vous présenter la musique du peuple Ukwuani (ou Ndokwa) de l'État du Delta, dans le sud du Nigéria. Les Ukwuani sont un sous-groupe du peuple Igbo et partagent leur région et leur paysage culturel avec les communautés Urhobo, Ijaw, Isoko, Edo, Ika et Enuani voisines.

 

Originaire d'Obiaruku dans l'État du Delta, le maître de musique Obodo Uka Mba a lancé sa carrière musicale au début des années 1960 pour devenir l'un des artistes les plus éminents de la région. Célèbre pour son œuvre novatrice et son style unique de musique traditionnelle ukwuani, Mba a beaucoup tourné et a sorti une série d'albums qui ont connu un franc succès entre les années 1970 et 1990.

 

L'ensemble de sept musiciens, Obodo Uka Mba & His Igele Group, associe le chant principal de Mba à des chœurs et à un petit cor de cérémonie, qui tient à la fois le rôle de fil conducteur musical et de signal rituel. Le groupe complète sa riche palette sonore par des percussions polyrythmiques, notamment un grand tambour igele sur cadre, un tambour à fente en bois, un tambour udu en terre cuite et des battements de mains.

 

J'ai immédiatement été frappé par la pochette de l'album, sur laquelle Mba est représenté debout, le poing droit levé, dans une posture d'autorité rituelle. En l'observant de plus près, cependant, ce geste fermé révèle une main en bois sculpté. Un symbole parallèle apparaît sur la photographie ci-dessous d'une mascarade Igbo Agbo-Maw, où les mains humaines des danseurs sont entièrement dissimulées. Dans la tradition igbo, les mains cachées, absentes ou rigides en bois signifient une identité non humaine et surnaturelle, indiquant une communion directe avec des entités divines. Mba tient dans sa main gauche des objets de pouvoir, notamment un bâton de cérémonie drapé d'un tissu blanc. Le blanc est la couleur sacrée des ancêtres, symbolisant la pureté spirituelle et la communication avec le monde des esprits. Associés à son collier et à son bonnet tissé, ces éléments attestent de l'autorité spirituelle personnelle de Mba ainsi que de sa maîtrise de la musique et de l'espace rituel.

 

Reconnu comme un défenseur et un pionnier de la musique traditionnelle ukwuani, l'héritage durable de Mba continue d'inspirer les artistes et les ukwuani jusqu'à aujourd'hui.

A1 – Mmgboto School 

A2 – Obodo Uka Jeni Record

A3 – Over Bulum Kaje

B1 – Uwe Enyashi

B2 – Okolobie Di Ule

B3 – Onye Nwenego Yaka Uche

Download:

Flac

MP3

Many thanks to our friend João for sharing this fascinating rarity!

My other traditional and modern Igbo, and Urhobo music posts:

Nigeria III - Igbo Music– BM 30 L 2311 here

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe – People's Club Special – Polydor POLP 070 here

Johnson Adjan and his Opiri Group of Orhokpo – MELP 006 here

****

The Ukwuani people boast a rich musical heritage, having produced legendary artists such as Charles Iwegbue (?-1975), Sir Kendo, King Ubulu (1949-2004), Prince Smart Williams Achugbue (1969-2005), Issac Rogana Ottah (?-2006), Sir Daddy Kris, Agu Lato, and Franco Lee Elute (1949-2013); 

 

Listen to Okibo, a terrific fast-tempo 1962 hit from the Golden Age of Nigerian Highlife performed by lead vocalist and trumpeter Charles Iwegbue & His Archibogs:

Photographs below are from Masques d’Afrique by William Fagg, Fernand Nathan/L.E.P., 1980, and Arts du Nigéria dans les Collections Privées Françaises by Toyin Falola, Hélène Joubert and Alain Lebas, 5 Continents, 2012:

Agbo-Maw (Maiden Spirits) masquerade. Two men, representing the idealized spirits of two young women, are guided by an attendant through the traditional Igbo Nkpu initiation. This initiation includes a seclusion period during which elder women teach the young women about womanhood. The masqueraders perform intense, theatrical, trance-like dances as manifestations of ancestral spirits visiting the earthly plane. Photographed by George Thomas Basden (1873-1944) in 1938:

Igbo Mmwo mask from the Ni Awka Region.

This dance mask represents the female spirits from the invisible world: 

Please help me purchase important traditional records to 

pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog here below: