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John
Wubbenhorst and Facing East: Facing Beloved
It has become somewhat common for Western musicians to draw on Eastern cultures for inspiration and musical influence. However, where such artists as Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, or Pearl Jam only dabble in such traditions by, say, adding a Pakistani Sufi vocalist such as Nusret Fateh Ali Khan to a song or two, John Wubbernhorst and Facing East do them one better. Wubbenhorst (flutes) and his Western cohorts Steve Zerlin (bass) and Jorge Zamorano (guitar) are devoted students of the rich Indian classical tradition, and they have the musical chops and cultural knowledge to indicate that Eastern influences are more than just a passing fad that they experiment with for an album. In fact, not only do they themselves study and perform the Indian classical style, on their new album Facing Beloved, they are joined by two of the virtuosos of South Indian percussion, Subash Chandran on ghatam (clay pot) and konnakoi (vocal percussion) and Ganesh Kumar on kanjira (South Indian frame drum). The result is a rich mlange of authentic Indian music with traditional Western musical theory. The result is interesting, because the musicians take an opposite tack than the expected instead of hearing Western musicians playing Eastern music from a Western perspective, one hears Western musicians re-approaching Western styles from an Eastern perspective. For instance, it is stunning to hear the flutes and South Indian percussion mimic a tin whistle and bodhran during Irish Prelude and Irish Raga. Chandran and Kumar shine throughout the album, but it is particularly fascinating to hear Chandran add vocal percussion to John Beyond. The dexterity and precision of his voice as he duels with Kumars frame drum is remarkable to Western ears previously unfamiliar with such vocal possibilities. The music is quite beautiful and easy for any listener to enjoy, but one who is familiar with the rudiments of basic musical theory and the differences between the Western and Eastern classical traditions will be especially intrigued by the players rapid tempo shifts, dynamic interplay, excellent feel, and vast knowledge. This, as well as the overall instrumental world-music-jazz vibe makes Facing Beloved very reminiscent of a Bela Fleck and the Flecktones record (and what do you know, Chandran and Kumar both play on the brand new Flecktones album, too). This album might be considered niche, but its adventurousness and rich cultural traditions should win it a place as background music at any number of future upscale dinner parties.
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