Trilok Gurtu - 1988 [2001] "Usfret"

Don Cherry, Jonas Hellborg, Ralph Towner and others together with Trilok Gurtu -- what an incredible mix! Shobha Gurtu adds the soul. Shobharock reaches those rare lofty realms of musical heaven that many other musicians in the genre strive for but don't quite attain. One of my favorite East meets West musicians...Trilok doesn't disappoint here. He always introduces me to something new. He's not only an amazing percussionist, he's an amazing musician.

Seriously, what a masterpiece this one is. Released wayback in 1987, this album still rocks. The lovely alaps(vocals), the unbeatable beats, the mesmerising compositions... aaah.. its simply too good. Featuring Shobha Gurtu (Trilok's mom), Don Cherry, Ralph Towner, Shankar, Daniel Goyne and more... this album is 'percussion music' redefined. This one happens to be Gurtu's first solo album, which apparently was way ahead of its time.

The album begins with Shobharock and by the end of this 7 1/2 min track, you get to know whats in store for you ahead. Phenomenal compositions that leave you breathless and moreover all the tracks are placed in an order, that lets you take a breather (or) two.

All in all, Usfret, a landmark album in itself, proved to be an inspiration to so many, that we can still see its poor imitations.

A must buy for all you music lovers. Welcome to the land of percussion music (where Trilok Gurtu rules the roost).

This is actually the album claimed to be the biggest influence to musicians at the London clubscene, such as; Asian dub foundation, Nitin sawhney and Talvin Singh.
Usfret has reasently been recognized as the first "drum and bass" album - ever made (in 1988!)- that's what I call ahead of his time.

Trilok Gurtu has been rewarded several times; Downbeats readers poll - 7 years (worlds greatest percussionist). BBC worldmusic award, Carlton television ect.
And where ever you go in musical invironments, you will hear people talk about Trilok with awe.
If your standards are high, and you only accept the best contemporary music; BUY THIS ALBUM!!! (it's already a classic)
The album is featuring Shobba Gurtu (mom), Ralf Towner, Don Cherry, Lars Danielson, Shankar ect.

Track listing:

1     Shobharock     7:35
2     Shangri La/Usfret     13:00
3     Om     7:09
4     Deep Tri     7:02
5     Goose Bumps     4:22
6     Milo     4:15
7     Inner Voice     1:40

Personnel:

    Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards – Ralph Towner (tracks: 5)
    Arranged By – Trilok Gurtu (tracks: 3, 4)
    Bass – Jonas Hellborg (tracks: 1, 4)
    Percussion, Drums, Tabla, Congas, Voice – Trilok Gurtu
    Piano, Keyboards – Daniel Goyone
    Tambura – Walter Quintus (tracks: 3)
    Trumpet – Don Cherry
    Violin – Shankar
    Voice – Shobha Gurtu
    Written-By – Traditional (tracks: 3, 4), Trilok Gurtu (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 6), Walter Quintus (tracks: 2)