Gift box

The audience for Indian sitar music in the West was limited until Harrison and the Beatles began recording songs like "Within You Without You" in the 1960s. While that pop appropriation of the 13th-century stringed instrument led to endless dabbling by trendy psychedelic rock bands, it more vitally led to Harrison's music teacher, Ravi Shankar, becoming a star on American turf. His appearance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and a proliferation of various albums on US labels made his name virtually synonymous with India's traditional music.

Apart from Harrison's endorsement, it's understandable why sitar music could eventually reach American ears. At the heart of this music -- realized through highly disciplined improvisations and microtonal melodic touches and unique rhythmic cycles -- is a deep call for meditation and reflection. The desire for spiritual ease through reflective music marks much American musical taste, from Charles Ives's Concord Sonata to George Winston. Shankar's music spoke to the deepest spiritual longings of the '60s and addresses them still today. Accessibility was also aided by Shankar's mastery of the sitar, the metallic-twangy 17-string instrument that listeners familiar with mandolins, banjos, and guitars could at least find approachable, however unfamiliar the repertoire.

This set smartly divides Shankar's recordings into four categories. The first disc ("Classical Sitar") consists of high points from Shankar's most traditional albums. These are extended ragas, melodic frameworks the sitarist improvises upon with dazzling speed and tonal invention in order to spark a particular psychological and spiritual state in listeners. Gems include "Bhatiyar," an 18-minute raga recorded at 4 a.m. during an all-night 1988 German concert, a tender poetic tribute to the spiritual promise a dawn can hold. And not to be missed is the sitar performance by Shankar's 14-year-old-daughter, Anoushka, where the proud dad is content simply to play producer to his talented offspring.

Anoushka's recording is one of many notable previously unreleased or out-of-print performances scattered through this set. One of those unreleased tracks is also the most rewarding performance on the second disc, "Orchestral and Ensembles," which veers from the traditional trio format. "V 7¹/2 " features Shamim Ahmad on a second sitar, along with jazz sax and flute man Bud Shank (who turns up elsewhere in this set complementing Shankar), and a variety of other Indian and Western musicians who create a little orchestral suite based on variations upon an odd time signature. This disc offers sparkling examples of Shankar's creativity in merging Western symphonic instrumental colors with traditional Indian sounds.

Disc three, "East-West Collaboration," places a particular focus on major Western classical performers. Shankar's duet with Yehudi Menuhin brings out the gypsy in both geniuses. He makes flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal sound devout in another inspired recording. And the unreleased gem on this disc is a mind-boggling "Indo-Japanese" fusion that modulates effortlessly between traditional Japanese folk and Indian classical melodies.

Slight reservations about these recordings set in during the final disc spotlighting vocal and "experimental" works. Harrison and Ringo Starr join Shankar's family and friends (Ravi wisely sits this out) on a Harrison-penned bit of Hindu-rock about Krishna. Thank the gods Shankar didn't perform on this bit of ersatz Indo-pop, limpid and weirdly unspirited. Far better are examples of Shankar playing with singers with deeper Indian vocal roots than Harrison's. And a musical experiment to cherish is Shankar's performance with various Russian classical and folk musicians, a sprawling example of harmonious musical diplomacy recorded inside the Kremlin.

This set arrives as Shankar celebrates his 75th birthday. Look at it as a gift to all of us who love Shankar's accomplishments in bringing India's musical gifts to the New World.