Listen to the Music /
See Tour Schedule:
www.myspace.com/barakamoon
"Baraka" is the Sufi word for
"blessing". BARAKA MOON, founded on the night of an eclipse
of the Full Moon in 2008 is a trio featuring virtuoso musicians from 3
distinct cultures and parts of the world - The USA, Pakistan and Great
Britain - playing original music with roots based based in Qawaali Sufi
Trance Songs, Indian, Middle Eastern and African Drums and Percussion
and the Australian Aboriginal Didgeridoo all mixed together in one gloriously
expressive and positive whole that transcends boundaries and unites us
all in our common humanity! LEAP into the fire of this Magic Music! SEASON
your soul, OPEN your heart, DANCE, SING and absorb the PASSION of an emerging
UNIVERSAL and ECSTATIC SOUND full of LOVE and RESPECT for ALL peoples
of the world!
Sukhawat Ali Khan - Vocals, Harmonium
Geoffrey Gordon - Drums, Percussion, Keyboards,
Bass, Guitar (7), Vocals, Programming
Stephen Kent - Didjeridu, Shakers, Guitar (1)
1. Faslay
2. Juley Juley
3. Bismillah
4. Jai Radhe Shyam
5. Raga Bayragi
6. Allah Hoo
7. Ali Da
8. Sabir
All songs by Ali Khan, except 4 & 5 by Ali Khan, Gordon, Kent.
Produced by Geoffrey Gordon & Stephen Kent
Engineered by Geoffrey Gordon at Aina Studio,
Greenbrae CA & Greg Hagel at The Weaving Room, Oakland CA
Mixed & Mastered by Geoffrey Gordon.
Copyright Baraka Moon 2010. All Rights Reserved
Sukhawat Ali Khan represents
the family lineage of the 600-year-old Sham Chorasi traditional school
of music, which was established during the reign of Emperor Akbar of India.
His training in both classical raga and Sufi Qawwali singing began at
the age of seven under his father, legendary Pakistani/Indian vocalist
Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. A San Francisco Bay Area resident, Sukhawat teaches
this musical style and performs concerts for dance and world music lovers
everywhere.
Sukhawat's unique ability to draw from traditional and contemporary musical
forms has helped him develop collaborations that are truly cross-cultural,
such as the group Shabaz. Sukhawat has performed at the Montreal, Monterey
and Prospect Park jazz festivals, the Fillmore in San Francisco, the Getty
Museum in Los Angeles, and many other major venues and music festivals
throughout the U.S. and Europe. His vocal abilities have been used on
other recordings as well, including the Disney film, Hidalgo (2004). His
live shows feature Sukhawat's incredible vocal and virtuoso harmonium
skills along with his Shukriya Ensemble which includes Punjabi-style tabla,
dhol, backup vocals, electric bass and drum set. His latest solo CD, "Shukriya"
- which means "Thanks" - is music so alive that it jumps right
out at you. After many ensemble projects, "Shukriya" is Sukhawat's
first recording made on his own terms: dancing with rhythm, passionate
with feeling, and with a voice that comes straight from the heart.
Visit
Sukhawat Ali Khan's Website »
Stephen Kent is acknowledged as one of the
contemporary world's pioneer virtuosos on the Australian Aboriginal Didjeridu.
Since joining Australia's Circus Oz as Music Director in 1981 he has celebrated
the culture of "One Note" (Om) on this most ancient of instruments.
This journey has taken him to perform all over the world both solo and
in group projects including Trance Mission, Lights in a Fat City, of which
he was a founder member. Playing internationally renowned festivals from
Winnipeg Folk Festival, New York International Arts Festival and The World
Sacred Music Festival to Le Reve De L'Aborigene the Leipzig & Zurich
Jazz Festivals, and with a catalog of over 20 CD releases to date, Stephen
has redefined the way we view the "Didge". His collaborative
work both live and on record builds bridges between cultures and he has
played with Airto Moreira (Brazil), Zakir Hussain (India), Rahim Alhaj
(Iraq) Omar Sosa (Cuba), Leonard Eto (Japan), Terence McKenna (USA), Habib
Koite (Mali), Markus James/Mamadou Sidibe (USA, Mali), Chirgilchin (Tuva)
and Zap Mama (Belgium/Congo) among countless others. Recent projects include
an entry into the world of Indian music with 2 new trio projects, Australian
Bebop Ragas and Baraka Moon and he has also been working in the realm
of New Music premiering veteran Australian Composer, Peter Sculthorpe's
16th Quartet (for String Quartet and Didjeridu) in the Other Minds Festival
in San Francisco. He spent a memorable day opening solo for His Holiness
the Dalai Lama at Stanford University. He also works on radio producing
a weekly Music of the World show on Pacifica's KPFA (www.KPFA.org).
Visit Stephenkent's
Website »
Geoffrey Gordon worked on and off Broadway
and internationally with director Julie Taymor ('Across the Universe',
'Frida') and composer Elliot Goldenthal (Academy Award for Best Soundtrack).
Geoffrey has worked on several Cohen Brothers movie soundtracks with composer
Carter Burwell as well as on films with Elliot Goldenthal. In 1992 he
became the full time percussionist for Jai Uttal. He recorded and toured
for more than a dozen years with Jai Uttal in The Pagan Love Orchestra,
and for all kirtans and workshops. He's also toured and worked internationally
with Ram Dass at public talks and retreats as well as on recordings and
the film "Fierce Grace". Geoffrey produced CDs for Rita Coolidge
& Walela, Shiva Rea, Diana Rogers, Yuan Miao & Lama Norbu, and
Swami Vishwananda. He's performed and recorded with Robbie Robertson,
Coleman Barks, Krishna Das, Gabrielle Roth, Peter Kater, David Torn, Tulku
and many others. Throughout the eighties Geoffrey taught music on the
dance faculty of CCNY in Harlem and at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville,
NY. Geoffrey's composition 'Inanna' with Diane Wolkstein was performed
at Lincoln Center, The United Nations, and The British Museum. Geoffrey
was initiated into yogic practices in 1971 and studied Ashtanga Yoga and
Tantric meditation. He completed full time training and became a Hatha
yoga teacher and meditation instructor in 1972. He has been practicing
Buddhist meditation for 35 years beginning at Naropa University in 1974.
In 1976 he moved to New York City to perform world music, work in dance
and theater and to study tabla with Ustad Allarakha (Ravi Shankar's accompanist
for over 30 years). Geoffrey played tabla for public kirtans with Bhagavan
Das, Krishna Das and Jai Uttal beginning in 1975. He now fronts his own
Kirtan ensemble.
Visit Geoffrey Gordon's Website »
More info:
www.stephenkent.net
www.myspace.com/barakamoon
contact: Stephen Kent
familytree@stephenkent.net
PMB 125
4200 Park Blvd
Oakland, CA 94602