March 1999

Ghazal
As Night Falls on the Silk Road
Shanachie

By Josef Woodard

On the entrancing and soulful recording, Ghazal, As Night Falls on the Silk Road (Shanachie 66011; 72:36), the improvisational traditions of Persia and India meet. Kayhan Kalhor performs on the Persian kamancheh, with Shujat Husain Khan on sitar and vocals and various tabla players and percussionists (including tabla player Swapan Chadpuri on "My Eyes, My Heart"). Ghazal is a form of light classical music, in which aspects of folk and classical values combine. Likewise, on the emotional scale, we get a sense of a bridge between sensuality and spirituality, carried on the wind of improvised passions.