TASA -
Urban Turban
2005
C.G. - bass on all tracks
Produced by JOHN GZOWSKI & RAVI NAIMPALLY
Blue - featuring KEVIN BREIT (dobro)
Ketu (fretless bass solo)
Hari Om (multi-track bass solo with effects)
Twilight - featuring STEVE ODA(sarod)
reviews
"This first-rate Canadian world music ensemble strives for Indian authenticity as it strides into some new and exciting musical territory with its third CD. Combining the sounds of Indian tabla, sarangi, sarod and bansuri with American electric guitars, saxophone
and drumset, Tasa has arrived at a fresh, post-Shakti hybrid of East meets West that recalls saxophonist George Brooks’s Indian fusion with his group Summit (featuring guitarist Fareed Haque, electric bassist, drummer Steve Smith and tabla master Zakir Hussain). World music aficionados and followers of creative instrumental music in general should definitely know about this dynamic band of musical renegades to the North.
While the prevailing vibe here may be in a world music
vein, Urban Turban is highly recommended to open-minded listeners and
devotees of groove everywhere. "
Bill Milkowski
"A distinctly Canadian take on the world of South Asian music comes to us courtesy of Tasa, a project led by tabla guru Ravi Naimpally, himself born in Kanpur in the Indian province of Uttar Pradesh, giving us an idea of where he’s coming from musically. The bonus on this disc comes from the array of guest vocalists lending their vocal chords to the mostly fusion-style songs, including Shahid Ali Khan, a disciple of mega-dude Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The musicianship is bang on, and the players’ resumés speak for themselves: John Zorn, Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, Celso Machado and Zakir Hussain."
Steve Guimond, Hour Community
"Urban Turban is the newest release from Tasa, one of the fixtures on the Toronto world music scene. The music is always shifting textures, changing moods and promises never to bore. One of the strongest tracks, "Zamanac,” grows out of a solid, funky groove and is a full bodied, infectiously moving thing with wailing solos by sax player Ernie Tollar. To complete the image of the title, "Tani” starts off with street sounds then moves into a fabulous interplay between Ravi Naimpally on tabla and Allan Hetherington on drums. Any band that has a multi-ethnic makeup usually ends up touting their music as the first step in saving the world, creating peace between cultures. Tasa make some allusions towards the multicultural nature of their music but in general, it’s refreshing to find a band that isn’t wrapped up in broad abstractions but rather just likes the music and does it for its own sake."
Claire Marie Blaustein, Exclaim Magazine
"World music heads looking for a little West mixed into their East, should check out the tabla touting fusion act Tasa. Centred around composer and percussionist Ravi Naimpally, the local quintet aren't shy when it comes to mixing traditional North Indian sounds of the sarangi, sarod and bansuri with a contemporary style using drums, sax and John Gzowksi's subtly placed electric guitar.
Bassist Chris Gartner and drummer Alan Hetherington keep a nice, light groove underneath Naimpally's percussive meditations, while Ernie Tollar does some cool call-and-response sax with authentic Hindustani vocals courtesy of Dhruba Ghosh. Singer Tanveer Alam gets into the mix on Chatting With God, but it's in the haunting wail of Shalid Ali Khan in opener Agni where Urban Turban peaks."
Jason Keller, Now Magazine
