Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove

Disc 1
1	Taaruf 16:07
2	Sacred Channel 7:28
3	Nafekeń 7:41
4	Ap Ke Baras 5:06
5	Magnetic Dub 15:36
Disc 2
1	Satellite (Show Me the Worth of the World) 8:48
2	Tala Matrix 9:20
3	Trajic 6:50
4	Mengedegna 14:27
5	Devotional Dub 9:47

Barnes & Noble

Cut up a couple of Mahavishnu Orchestra records and splice them together with the hyperactive noodling of electro auteurs such as Squarepusher, and the result comes close to the heady fusion of Bill Laswell's subcontinental supergroup, Tabla Beat Science. Helmed by the tabla master Zakir Hussain and worthy New York-based acolyte Karsh Kale, and joined by the bass mind Laswell, Ethiopian enchantress Gigi, and others, the incarnation of TBS heard on this double live gonzo set dazzles with a rhythmic attack rightly dubbed "hypercussion." The beats-per-minute rate on these sprawling, spacious tracks seems to stretch into the infinite, and the crowd eats it up, from the slow, alap-like duet between Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan's santoor to the all-hands jam that closes the final track on the second disc. When Kale switches to trap drums, a rush goes through the audience, and the science truly begins. In this jazz-fusion environment, anchored by Laswell's ocean-deep bass, the players emerge: Synthesists Midival Punditz and Fabian Alsultany pull growling tones from their decks, while on "Nafekeñ" Gigi steps into the spotlight to deliver searching vocals in her native tongue. It's hard to believe from the blizzard of notes on the 15-minute "Magnetic Dub," but TBS is just getting started. Disc 2 introduces the manic scratching of DJ Disk to the fray, on the title track to Tabla Beat Science's breakthrough Tala Matrix. With two more Gigi tunes, and concluding with the steppin' "Devotional Dub," it's impossible not to feel utterly exhausted by the sprawl, density, and intensity of Live in San Francisco. But then, true digital scientists will want to return to these texts again and again, anyway. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Imagine you were having a dinner party and invited six or seven of your closest friends, each of whom is considered a master in their respective field. Let's say that throughout the night you introduced topics of conversation you knew would be of mutual interest to everyone, and you recorded the interchanges between these great minds for posterity's sake. No offense, but the results couldn't possibly be any more intriguing than this two-CD set, which is essentially the result of just such an experiment. Only in this case, the host is legendary bassist/mega-producer Bill Laswell, his friends rank among the world's greatest musicians, and the dialogue comes in the form of largely improvised cross-cultural collaborations between them. Don't let "Taaruf," the transcendent opening epic featuring tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and vocalist/sarangi master Ustad Sultan Khan, scare you: though the song's 16-minute length might put off those with short attention spans, it's an excellent appetizer for the stylistic smorgasbord that awaits. The following track, "Sacred Channel," adds Karsh Kale's jazz-rock drumming and Laswell's dub-influenced basslines to the mix, while "Nafekefi" features dynamic vocalist Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw. By the end of the first CD, turntablist DJ Disk and electronic experimentalists MIDIval PunditZ and Fabian Alsultany have entered the fray, and the songs have covered ground ranging from Indian classical and Ethiopian pop to funk, hip-hop, and drum'n'bass. It's an eclectic sound, to be sure, but if genre-defying, boundary-breaking music is your bag, Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove does it better than any live album since Miles Davis' electric period. Bret Love