drooly's Full Review: Scattering Stars Like Dust by Kayhan Kalhor
About a year ago I heard a show on NPR about a threesome of the best Indian and Iranian classical musicians, Ghazal, who decided to collaborate on an album. The pieces of music I heard were refreshing and raw - not at ALL overprocessed, which tends to be my complaint about a large portion of Eastern music sold in the U.S. I immediately went to a cd store down the street and couldn't find the album and was instead directed to Kayhan Kalhor's album, Scattering Stars Like Dust.
Kayhan Kalhor, one of the three musicians from Ghazal, is a master of the kamancheh or the Iranian spiked fiddle, a four stringed instrument that sounds something like an Eastern version of a violin. Actually, I was corrected by a friend and told that the kamancheh is a predecessor of the violin. Like the violin, the kamancheh has a lonely high pitched sound with a great deal of timbre and delicateness to it.
There are three tracks, all instrumental, on Scattering Stars Like Dust and Kalhor performs both solo and with tombak player Pejman Hadadi. All three tracks are beautiful and intricate, but Improvisation, Kalhor's extended solo improvisation piece, is truly one of the most haunting pieces of music I've ever heard.
Kalhor plays emotionally and with a great deal of craft - there is NO doubt that he has great ability. The music transitions in journey fashion from slow and erotic at times to spirited and energetic and is, honestly, just plain sexy. The recording quality is phenomenal, you can hear his hands and bow moving across the strings, and the liner notes are extensive.
I have no complaints about this album, even after a year of wearing my cd player out with it. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys classical music, Eastern music or improvisation. You won't be disappointed.
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