Where Rivers Meet

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Where Rivers Meet
Studio album by
Zoe Rahman
Released22 September 2008 (2008-09-22)
Genre
Length52:32
Language
LabelManushi
Zoe Rahman chronology
Melting Pot
(2006) 		Where Rivers Meet
(2008) 		Zoe Rahman Trio: Live
(2009)
Idris Rahman chronology
Where Rivers Meet
(2008)

Where Rivers Meet is a studio album by English musicians Zoe and Idris Rahman, released on 22 September 2008 by Manushi Records.[1]

Background

Zoe and Idris Rahman discovered Bengali music in 2002, when their father, Mizan Rahman, was hospitalised and Zoe played 1950s Bengali music for him while he recovered.[2] Zoe became intrigued by the sounds and subsequent trips to Bangladesh allowed her to learn about her background through music.[3]

In April 2010, Zoe told Manchester Evening News, "We [Zoe and Idris Rahman] wanted to learn about our family heritage by delving into this rich musical source and hope that in the process the songs will be seen in a new light by those who already know them. Perhaps they will take others on a journey of discovery similar to the one we have experienced through making this album."[3]

Idris added: "This album represents a very personal journey that Zoe and I have taken into our own culture through music directly taught or recommended by our father, cousins and other close friends and musicians."[3]

Composition

Songs make up about a third of Where Rivers Meet,[4] with the remaining two thirds instrumental.[5] The tunes include three by Bengali Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore — "Invitation Missed", "Stream Of Joy" and "Do You Wish To Forget?"[2] The songs were also inspired by Abbasudddin and Hementa Kumar Mukerjee amongst others.[3]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian
All About Jazz
The List
Metro

John Fordham of The Guardian rated Where Rivers Meet 3/5 and called the album "...a distinctive, heartfelt and unusual world music venture."[6] John Lusk of BBC Music said "It's a slow grower, and a modest rather towering achievement, but give its gentle charms a chance and you may find yourself liking it a whole lot more than you'd expected."[5]

Chris May of All About Jazz rated the album 4.5/5 and said, "It's best described as chamber jazz hybridized with Bengali popular music, and is a vibrant affair packed with melodies—some joyful, others sad, all of them intensely pretty—and gorgeously lyrical improvisations."[2] Ian Mann of The Jazz Mann described it as "A thoroughly enjoyable musical journey. One of the most distinctive releases of the year."[7]

Kenny Mathieson of The List rated 3/5 and said, "The beguiling melodies and richly coloured harmonies combine to form a fascinating, lightly textured hybrid that is part chamber jazz and part Bengali folk-pop music... A distinctly different and always absorbing take on the world jazz phenomenon.[4] Metro rated the album 4/5 and said "...Zoe's [Rahman's] distinctive piano sounds more comfortable and freewheeling than ever before, rumbling away around the chord changes and providing wonderful texture throughout."[8]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."O Nodi Re" (O, River)4:02
2."Tumi Amay Dekechhile Chhutir Nimontrone" (Invitation Missed)5:49
3."Briddho Ashrom" (Sanctuary)4:49
4."Amar Har Kala Korlam Re" (Betrayed)6:23
5."Tumi Ele Onek Diner Pore" (You Came Like Welcome Rain)4:27
6."Amay Bhashaili Re" (Now You're Gone)2:48
7."Pother Klanti Bhule" (Pilgrim's Song)4:11
8."Koto Din Dekhini Tomai" (Mind's Eye)4:14
9."Anondo Dhara" (Stream of Joy)5:20
10."Abar Elo Je Sondhya" (Suddenly It's Dusk Again)5:30
11."Abar Hobe to Dekha" (We'll Surely Meet Again)4:29
12."Purano Sei" (Do You Wish to Forget?)3:08
Total length:52:32

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Where Rivers Meet". Jazzcds. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c May, Chris (27 September 2008). "Zoe & Idris Rahman: Where Rivers Meet (2008)". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Bengali music inspires Zoe Rahman's new album". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b Mathieson, Kenny (16 October 2008). "Zoe & Idris Rahman - Where Rivers Meet (3 stars)". The List. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b Lusk, John (22 September 2008). "Zoe & Idris Rahman Where Rivers Meet Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  6. ^ Fordham, John (26 September 2008). "Jazz review: Zoe & Idris Rahman, Where Rivers Meet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  7. ^ Mann, Ian (27 September 2008). "Where Rivers Meet". The Jazz Mann. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Zoe & Idris Rahman: Where Rivers Meet". Metro. 21 September 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Where_Rivers_Meet"