Heaven On Earth Music 
Terracotta (UK,2003)*°°'
Both musicians have worked together in London for about 25 years. John Altman arranged music before from Bjork, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart and George Michael. Craig Pruess is an American with residence in UK, worked with the East African Conservatoire in Kenya, with MIT in US, and has arranged records for Cliff Richard, and for Bollywood director Anu Malik, arranged Indo-Fusion tracks for Massive Attack and Bond and played sitar with Manic Street Preachers, Gareth Gates, and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
A reason why they were able to work with such big names possibly, one suspects is at least in the realm of technical perfection, and perhaps to give a recognisable or predictable character to an original sound. Terracotta has such recognisable aspects and such an approach that a mainstream public would easily accept.
Although I’m highly sceptical about the use of keyboards, and to just anything that comes close to what sounds like sample-like effects, every element here is implied with such perfection in production, the few mainstream aspects are, within all variation, completely forgivable.
On the quietest first track, “Cantour”, the soprano sax and sitar with violin leads the melodic part. The rich sitar sound is performed with some echo and additional keyboards, which make this instrument sound more mellower as usual. In that way it makes the approach in this -still pleasant- track, closer to a more New Age Jazz Fusion style. But, as I mentioned before, this aspect that here and there is integrated into the complete music score, of such a more superficial mood inspiration, still is done in balance with all other aspects. There’s plenty of acoustic contribution that the whole score works pretty well, and might even becomes better with various listen.
It is especially after the second track, that the dynamic elements are building up. “Dance With Shiva” with some percussion in between Indian and North African, with the sarangi (an Indian violin-like instrument) and an Arab-like orchestra (conducted by D.P.Bannerjee, and played by the London Session Orchestra), combined with sitar and some soprano sax, is much more what I hoped to expect from a product which they themselves called “Indo African Jazz Fusion”, - a true original combination-. Also a track like “Massai Sonata” has African elements, greatly mixed in and produced, besides with sitar, with some African percussion & kalimba, and another good example of this fusion style. A couple of, mostly short, tracks in between are again closer to the more superficial synthesizer mood creations and inspirations, New Age documentary styled, with still good ideas, like on “Lover’s Kiss”, where we hear a good combination of keyboards with guitar keyboard, and with an attractive variety of percussion mixed in. These two tracks were used before for a film, released by channel 4 television, mastered by Keith Gould.
The filmic mood on the last series is slowly changed, from “Whispers”, into the final 16 minute track, showing the abilities of the duo to make their fusion style come another dynamic height, leaving the mainstream aspect in the background, with an Indian element (by Craig) as well as the jazz fusion element (by Altman) in its rightful place, combined with Indian Fusion violin and vocals (by Nawazish Ali Khan) and very dynamic percussion (by Khuljit Bhamra).
A good CD with good production, and with enough complexity making it possible that repeated listens are even more rewarding.
