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Sample Track 1:
"Rabh da Roop" from Kiran Ahluwalia
Sample Track 2:
"Jhanjra" from Kiran Ahluwalia
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Kiran Ahluwalia
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Concert Review

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Washington Post, Concert Review >>

Indian-born Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia's performance Saturday at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage was about halfway traditional. That wasn't because the set was divided 50-50 between upbeat Punjabi folk songs and plaintive ghazals , ballads of longing from a millennium-old tradition. Ahluwalia and her three-man backing troupe revamped both styles, notably by interjecting Rez Abbasi's Latin-jazz guitar solos into the customary union of chattering tabla, droning harmonium and keening voice.

As usually performed in Iran, India and Pakistan, ghazals are venerable classics, sung exclusively by men. Living in Toronto, Ahluwalia doesn't heed such strictures. She began composing her own melodies for contemporary verse written in Urdu and Punjabi by Canadian poets of South Asian descent. As revealed by Ahluwalia's new self-titled album (her U.S. debut), the results are austerely lovely.

In concert, however, the folk tunes were more satisfying. Their rollicking melodies, close relations to Bollywood movie tunes, absorbed Abbasi's flashy guitar more readily than the ghazals did. They also suited Ahluwalia's stage manner, which was outgoing and exuberant. She explained what the Punjabi lyrics were about -- young women who want love or jewelry, mostly -- and led a simple but effective singalong on "Koka," a plea for a gold nose ring.

While ballads such as "Yeh Nahin" provided the best showcase for Ahluwalia's gliding soprano, such sprightly tunes as "Meri Gori Gori" (an appeal for yellow bangles) blended all four musicians more completely.

-- Mark Jenkins

 08/23/05 >> go there
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