Tabula Rasa

 (12 customer reviews)

I began my journey with V.M. Bhatt with the Ry Cooder disc Meeting by the River. A VERY nice disc. However, to most musicians it will be immediatly clear that Bhatt and Cooder really did record this disc on one evening. They are NOT tight. Beautiful yes... tight no. This disc, on the other hand, is finely crafted. These musicians worked together, finely honed, and perfected together. I am most impressed by the cuts with the Erhu, an instrument I found somewhat irritating in the past. Here it sings. As I type this I am listening to a tune written by Fleck, the banjo player, called Jade Princess. It alone is worth the price of the disc twice over. I can't get anymore enthusiastic about a disc. Wonderful.

Waterlily Acoustic's custom recording gear (made by Esoteric Audio Research) shines on this elegant, rich recording of Fleck and his fellow musicians made in an old Santa Barbara church. The in-depth liner notes are a comprehensive companion to the music and the history surrounding it. They stuck to the basics for this one - single stereo pair of mics, pure 2-track analog w/no adulteration. It sparkles! The music is a joy to listen to, the various flavours of each musician's style mixed together to make for a colourful, melodic album. Definately a rare colaboration that shouldn't be missed!!

Bela Fleck has successfully (even prior to this recording) taken the banjo out of its bluegrass/hillbilly context and inserted it where it seemingly should not be welcome: jazz, classical. For this performance he has taken the "twang" out of the sound of the banjo and replaced it with a rich tonal quality that can only be described as the pure, untainted sound of the instrument itself. The Master of the Banjo plays with music masters of the far east and together they have created one of my favorite cd's. Tabula Rasa is stunningly beautiful.