''The Sounds of India'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

which introduces and explains

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

to Western audiences. Released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1957, it was influenced by

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

's ''The Sounds of India'', and recorded and produced by

George Avakian George Mesrop Avakian (; russian: Геворк Авакян; March 15, 1919 – November 22, 2017) was an American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive. Best known for his work from 1939 to the early 1960s at Decca Re ...

in 1957 at Columbia's New York studio. It is regarded today as being of historical interest for showing both Shankar's musical skills and his interest in teaching the West about classical Indian music. It was

digitally remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

and released in CD format by

in 1989.

Recording

The album was recorded for Columbia Records in their New York studio in 1957, and produced by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

's producer

. It was influenced by and followed the style of

's ''The Sounds of India'' album, in which Khan introduces and explains the music he is playing.

Legacy

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Adam Greenberg feels that ''The Genius of Ravi Shankar'' (1990) is a better choice for listening to Shankar's earlier music, though regards this album as a useful historical document for both "Shankar's amazing abilities" and his love for teaching Western listeners about Hindustani classical music by using short lessons before each performance. Yoshi Kato, in ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

'', feels that as Shankar was already familiar to Western audiences, particularly via the interest shown by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, he was "the perfect musical ambassador", and this album is an "excellent way" into Shankar's music. For Christian Larrède, writing in ''Music Story'', the album "reste une curiosité" (remains a curiosity), and the short lengths of the chosen music along with the spoken introductions "ne souffrent pas de l’entreprise ouvertement pédagogique" (do not ause the album tosuffer from the obvious educational enterprise).

Track listing

#"An Introduction to Indian Music" – 4:13 #"Dádrá" – 10:30 #"Máru-Bihág" – 11:44 #"Bhimpalási" – 12:13 #"Sindhi-Bhairavi" – 15:00

Personnel

–

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

Chatur Lal Chatur Lal (16 April 1925 – 14 October 1965) was an Indian tabla player. Career Chatur Lal was born on 16 April 1925 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He toured with Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Baba Allauddin Khan, Sharan Rani and Ali Akbar Khan in ...

–

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

* N.C. Mullick – tambura

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sounds Of India 1957 albums Ravi Shankar albums Albums produced by George Avakian Columbia Records albums