DREAM SEQUENCE

Out of all the projects that have been lumped into the Indo-raga camp from the period of the late 60s to the early 70s, none displayed a more authentic and diversified approach as did Amancio D'Silva with John Mayer on their incredible project COSMIC EYE which not only took their jazz-rock fusion sensibilities to task but applied them to cross-pollinating possibilities of the then popular fusionist approaches in full regalia. While born in Goa, India, D'Silva eschewed his Indian origins and high-tailed into the world of Western jazz music however it's never quite possible to totally leave behind one's roots as they have a way of creeping their way into every possible fertile reawakening as is the case with D'Silva.

By 1969 the cross-cultural musical experience was pretty much mainstream with a legion of artists creating bridges between cultural differences. By 1972, the Indo-raga scene was in its highest potential with bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra taking the east-west paradigm to ridiculous extremes. The sitar was virtual just another rock instrument in some circles at this time so D'Silva decided to revisit his origins, having, of course, a legit connection to the both worlds at this point in his career. The project COSMIC EYE was the answer to this calling and on the one and only album DREAM SEQUENCE, he more than met the challenge in an effortless jazz meets Indo-raga exploration that takes two long tracks that equal an album into hitherto unexplored regions of this ensemble of ten musicians tackling an impressive range of musical terrain.

While segmented into two tracks for bookkeeping's sake, this is really an album of passages where each idea cedes into the next with only the cosmic journey into the unknown seems to dominate. While many Indo-raga bands of the day were content with mere jam sessions that consisted of just a few players, COSMIC EYE is more like an orchestra in its sheer scope of ten musicians that included the instruments of guitar, sitar, violin, flute, alto flute, bass flute, saxophone, bass, tabla and other drums. The result is a rich tapestry of what i would envision as bona fide Raga rock from the ages. While others disappoint, COSMIC EYE takes the listener on the real journey, one that really enters that timeless transcendental journey into the universe in a meditative state without a doubt that the pilot is incapable of the flight plan.

While the Mahavishnu Orchestra was probably one of the most successful and convincing bands to integrate the Eastern paradigm into a rock context, COSMIC EYE could possibly be the opposite as they successfully integrate a Western perspective into an Eastern dominant position. Granted that jazz is the Western genre of choice on this one however the juxtaposition between the jazz moments and the raga elements is beautifully performed with all ten musicians seamlessly lending their support to create an experience above and beyond the call of duty. While some bands were clearly stuck in the 60s at this point, COSMIC EYE channeled all of what was expected of the 60s and took them into the higher realms of musical development of the 70s. This is a brilliant jazz meets Indian music album that displays respect to both sides of the globe while creating interesting interplay that cedes into logical evolutionary steps. If you are seeking one of those authentic east meets west experiences of the era without the bombast or a lopsided dominance of one side over the other then COSMIC EYE is what you're looking for.