MP3 Black Mama Dharma Band - One Body

This is truly world music. From Middle Eastern trances to jams that would have made Sun Ra ecstatic. All the more remarkable is that three children are the cornerstones of the band, playing drums, bass & didgeridoo. Testament for adventure...

8 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Psychedelic, WORLD: World Fusion



Details:
Dimitri Gusev, Russia's leading blues harp exponent and doyen of the Russian underground music movement formed the Black Mama Dharma Band in St.Petersburg in 1988. After a serious of outspoken public concerts that climaxed in the military putsch of 1991, the Dharma Band fled the Soviet Union (searching for new music discoveries). Gusev and partner Gulnora Normatova travelled to New York where there musically gifted children now form the powerhouse of the band. Rock, R&B, Delta Blues, Indian Raga and the sounds of the Australian aboriginal didgeridoo are combined in a natural and original flow that celebrates the universal power of music.

Dimitri's fiery blues harmonica music was one of the elements of the internationally known group Aquarium - the underground rock band credited with helping to bring the communist regime down. He earned the sobriquet "Red Haired Devil" by Soviet officials while his partner, Gulnora Normatova, an avant-garde jazz trumpeter, literally walked past KGB security to spontaneously jam with Dizzy Gillespie at the jazz legend's only Russian concert.

Black Mama Dharma Band--One Body
This is truly world music. Fusing their Russian & Gypsy roots onto a bedrock of American blues, jazz & psychedelia, this traveling family plays it's heart out on their first widely distributed disc. Their extended workouts on "Don't DO It" & "Tradas" two of the albums most lengthiest & most experimental tracks, veer from Middle Eastern trances to jams that would have made Sun Ra ecstatic. Throughout the disc, the plying is both purposeful & light-hearted, creating sinewy melodies & funky rhtyhms that leap out of the speakers. All the more remarkable is that 3 children - you know, small people often referred to as minors - are cornerstones of the band, playing drums, bass & didgeridoo. Their unusual accomplishments aside, 'One Body' is a satisfying experience for anyone wondering how the vast migration of the late 20th century is producing new sounds as borders are crossed and cultures are blended. Black mama Dharma is testament to the adventurousness that can occur and the promise such efforts hold for the future. by, Ed Silverman, - American Independent Music

WHO'S NEXT?
At this year's CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, the music was a classic study in contrasts. But is there a new star in the wings?

The scene stealers, though, were the magical Black Mama Dharma Band, who have just released "One Body". Originally from St.Petersburg, Russia, the band was first recognized while playing in New York's subway stations by day and making the club rounds at night. The real surprise was that three members of the band are children. Their parents-and founders of the band, Dimitri Gusev, known as Russian King of harmonica, and Gulnora Normatova-have deep musical roots in Russia. Don't be fooled by the kids' ages; they are all fine musicians and they charmed the audience. (Real People, Margaret R. Saraco) CMJ '97

*kalo

Call from space
with sounds full
of silence lay
on the black
silk of dark
mother
night until
sunrise
when
instruments
laugh as the
players lay
sleeping.


*tradas

Try I explain
Gypsy
Blues...move
around,
own no homes,
share,
play music,
hit the road,
never stop
listening.