Stringed instruments are the thing on From the Ashes (Water Lily Acoustics 59; 45:07), bringing together violinist L. Subramanium and guitarist Larry Coryell, who sounds strong and sympathetic to the setting. The two have played together before, dating back a dozen years. But, whereas some of Subramanium’s earlier work has leaned too far into the western end of the fusion spectrum, this setting finds them more on Indian turf, exploring improvisational ideas over given modes, with Coryell’s probing chordal fragments and linear shards stating a case of muscular introspection. For Subramanium, the mournful-but not morose-cast of the four pieces has a personal resonance, his wife having passed away before the session. But this is replenishing music, music about continuum, in time, love and across musical borders.
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