North India

This re-release is a recording of the first concert given by the now-forgotten sitar maestro Pramod Kumar. Trained in tabla, vocals and kathak – a classical dance form to which an in-depth understanding of rhythm is integral – Kumar became a sitar master under Ravi Shankar's tutelage before his premature death at just 45. In this recording, a 21-year-old Zakir Hussain accompanies him on two less common rhythms of Indian music – the ten-beat jhaptaal and the seven-beat rupak – and an exquisite semi-classical dhun.

Improvisational alap precede the extended pieces in the romantic ‘Raga Madhuvanti’ and ‘Kirwani’, and while the prologues are undoubtedly beautiful, it's with Hussain's accompanying tabla that Kumar's genius becomes evident. His personal style relies heavily on pauses and manipulation of the sitar's sympathetic strings to create tension, using drone strings (chikari) unusually sparingly. His kathak background is evident in his startling rendition of ‘Raga Kirwani’ in rupak – the first beat of the cycle is unstressed, its unexpected weakness used to accentuate the sense of desire and longing conveyed by the raga. From the first to the final note, this recording is entirely captivating; if the aim of this re-release is to finally give Kumar his due as a sitar pioneer, it's certainly accomplished its purpose.