If I bought every piece of music I like, I would have drowned in crippling depth a long time ago. So I generally resist many temptations. There are some albums though which I don't even need to finish to know that there's no way around them ending in my collection. The wonderful latest contemporary Jazz Fusion work of Tarun Balani is such a case.
TARUN BALANI - ڪڏهن ملنداسين Kadahin Milandaasin (LP) (2025)
On paper Tarun Balani may be the drummer and composer (also contributing synths and some vocals) on this album, his main assignment however is what he utilizes all these skills for - being a convincing storyteller.
The story told on "Kadahin Milandasin" is tracing his Sindhi heritage through his grandfather's migration from Sindh to New Delhi. The voice telling it is a modern Jazz Fusion quartet whose biggest formal anomaly is the lack of a bass player, which is mostly compensated by the lower end of the piano and electronic means with very subtle lines keeping the compositions together. Balani himself shows the potential to drive the rhythm section into a much flashier, crazier direction, yet ultimately plays with little ego, lying back in favor of the bigger musical picture.
All seven songs are emotionally carried by either Sharik Hasan's piano or Olli Hirvonen's electric guitar, both rather expressing an achingly beautiful sense of longing and reflection, long before you even find yourself entertaining mundane questions like that of genre and style. The answer to that one however lies somewhere between smooth Fusion, Sindhi Folk music, maybe also some Arabisms and Classical influences. The relevance of the answer exists - yet beyond setting up the cultural backdrop it seems small in comparison to the sheer emotional power of this music.
And I didn't even mention Adam O'Farrill yet. If there is a star of the show on "Kadahin Milandasin", it must be his both introspective and expressive, yearning trumpet. What a wonderful elevating performance!
If you know my Jazz preferences and affection for Middle Eastern and Subcontinental musical flavors it's hard to miss the parallels to both Yazz Ahmed and Jaubi, from the interweaving of modern and traditional sounds, to the inherent cultural exchange and the story-driven nature of their compositions. Add to that that especially the guitar licks remind me of some of John Zorn's more laid back works several times, you end up with a package that's like catnip for me. Yes, if you love those artists too, it's hardly imaginable that you don't like Tarun Balani.
A phenomenal album, and a beautiful vinyl pressing, released by the German label Berthold Records.
The story told on "Kadahin Milandasin" is tracing his Sindhi heritage through his grandfather's migration from Sindh to New Delhi. The voice telling it is a modern Jazz Fusion quartet whose biggest formal anomaly is the lack of a bass player, which is mostly compensated by the lower end of the piano and electronic means with very subtle lines keeping the compositions together. Balani himself shows the potential to drive the rhythm section into a much flashier, crazier direction, yet ultimately plays with little ego, lying back in favor of the bigger musical picture.
All seven songs are emotionally carried by either Sharik Hasan's piano or Olli Hirvonen's electric guitar, both rather expressing an achingly beautiful sense of longing and reflection, long before you even find yourself entertaining mundane questions like that of genre and style. The answer to that one however lies somewhere between smooth Fusion, Sindhi Folk music, maybe also some Arabisms and Classical influences. The relevance of the answer exists - yet beyond setting up the cultural backdrop it seems small in comparison to the sheer emotional power of this music.
And I didn't even mention Adam O'Farrill yet. If there is a star of the show on "Kadahin Milandasin", it must be his both introspective and expressive, yearning trumpet. What a wonderful elevating performance!
If you know my Jazz preferences and affection for Middle Eastern and Subcontinental musical flavors it's hard to miss the parallels to both Yazz Ahmed and Jaubi, from the interweaving of modern and traditional sounds, to the inherent cultural exchange and the story-driven nature of their compositions. Add to that that especially the guitar licks remind me of some of John Zorn's more laid back works several times, you end up with a package that's like catnip for me. Yes, if you love those artists too, it's hardly imaginable that you don't like Tarun Balani.
A phenomenal album, and a beautiful vinyl pressing, released by the German label Berthold Records.
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