East-meets-West musical experiments have often been doomed to failure, foiled by good intentions gone haywire. Many a times, attempts at synthesizing Western music’s linear qualities with the more ethereal North Indian classical traditions can result in cultural collision rather than collusion. The lack of worthy precedents is partly what made A Meeting by the River such a remarkable and ear-opening piece of music making.
American composer, musicologist and guitar legend Ry Cooder teams up with North Indian classical musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, creator of the Mohan Veena (an Indian slide guitar), to create an exquisite musical blend, with both musicians playing exceptional slide guitar. Their collaboration evokes musical elements from many cultures and styles. The musical interplay between the two is nothing short of astounding, especially considering that they met for the first time only a few hours before the recording of this album.
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder – A Meeting by the River : 
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder – Longing :
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder – Ganges Delta Blues :
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Ry Cooder – Isa Lei :
They are accompanied by a pair of percussionists, Tabla player Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari and Ry Cooder’s own son, Joachim, on Dumbek (a Middle Eastern drum). This recording won a Grammy Award in 1994.
indianraga
kiwiyan said,
May 20, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Where you get all these gems! Thank you very much for sharing. Listening to this makes you so happy that you deserve to get a share of that atleast a in the form of feedback though very much limited in words.
Jeremy Standen said,
December 20, 2010 at 7:03 am
I have dearly loved this music since I first heard it on NPR many years ago. It struck me as amazing on the first hearing. I have since found greater and greater depth in this unique music. I have just had the joy of introducing a young friend of mine to it. He, I’m sure, will also grow to love it. Thank you Ry and you, Mr. Bhatt!
Jeremy Standen