Edward Powell - Bluesand (2004)Ragtime Records

A Canadian multiinstrumentalist started to play the violincello at the age of six, then he switched over a guitar, bass guitar and learned many various genres - blues, jazz, folk, progressive rock and classical music. He is a virtuoso of a few instruments: sitar, oud and fretless guitar. To make all details clear to you, Dear Readers, I'd like to explain that sitar is a stringed instrument of India, however oud is an ancient lute typical of the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa. His sitar teachers were Batuk Nath Mishra and Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee (both hailing from India) and oud instructors were Nouaman Lahlou (Morocco) and Necati Celik (Turkey). That's why you shouldn't be surprised that Powell's music is strongly influenced by the Indian and Persian music. Edward is also known for a band Fried Sitar and his cooperation with Patrick Feldner.

Aforesaid album was recorded in Prague, Vienna, Vancouver and Berlin between 2001 and 2004 in the following line-up: Edward Powell (voice, sitar, oud, fretless, Spanish, steelstring and electric guitars, gambribass, afrobasses), Pat Feldner (daf, riqq, tabla, darbuka, bendir, bodhran, shakers, gong, Tibetan bowl, jew's harp, goat nails, chimes, bells, kalimba, zarb, kanjira, frame drums, percussion), Scott White (contrabass) plus three guests - Mario Reithofer (rhodes), Karin Gelnarová (voice) and Friedemann Zintel (tabla).

I guess that majority of you hear some of these instruments for the first time, but I suggest you to follow the album's title and realize that so-called blue music has its roots in Africa, however Edward Powell and Co. have managed to shove in blues, jazz and a bit rock tones into "Bluesand". What do we get in return? We can be pleased with a strongly spiritual and tribal music. Actually, it is a patchwork of musical cultures with emphasis on the legacy of African music. Mr. Powell built a pyramid of unconventional ideas with the musicians who are horses for courses and unrivalled at their trade. Please, forget about predictability, and remember about reliability in Mr. Powell's case.

"Bluesand" offers us a tickling music with a resonant sound of instruments that is perfect to dip into meditating. I am not going to pack a punch and criticize Edward for thrusting many musical styles into one CD. It would be unfair to him. On the contrary, Mr. Powell is a musical taster and an ecclectic artist, so I have to praise his artistic bravery. Thanks to it, we are able to encounter different cultures we could have never met in one place.