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A full list of Shakti’s rhythm cycles, concisely broken down for ease of counting along. In memoriam Zakir Hussain.

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—Rhythms by Album—

First phase: Shakti with John McLaughlin (1976) • A Handful of Beauty (1977) • Natural Elements (1977) | Second phase: Remember Shakti (1999) • The Believer (2000) • Saturday Night in Bombay (2001) | Third phase: Is That So? (2020) • This Moment (2023) | Bootlegs & more

[more]

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—Shakti with John McLaughlin (1976)—

John McLaughlin (guitar), Zakir Hussain (tabla), L. Shankar (violin), Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam/kanjira), Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam)

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• Joy: 4 (the melody is highly syncopated, but the groove is steady: often felt as a ‘fast 8’ 3-3-2 during instrumental solos)

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• Lotus Feet: 6 (as 3-3; introduced after an alap just as the track fades out: also see dadra taal)

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• What Need Have I for This…?: 4 (various grooves; preceded by a long unpulsed intro section)

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—A Handful of Beauty (1976)—

John McLaughlin, L. Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram

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• La Danse Du Bonheur:

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• Lady L:

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• India:

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• Kriti:

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• Isis:

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• Two Sisters:

—Natural Elements (1977)—

John McLaughlin, L. Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram

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• Mind Ecology: 4 (or a ‘fast 16’ divided 4-4-2-2-4)

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• Face to Face: 15 (first 4-4-4-3; then 3-3-3-3-3, then 4-4-4-3 again)

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• Come on Baby Dance with Me: 4 (various subdivisions: also see keherwa taal)

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• The Daffodil and the Eagle: 6 (mostly as 3-3)

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• Happiness is Being Together: 4 (with hints of a fast 3-3-2)

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• Bridge of Sighs: 11 (as 4-3-4; or a ‘fast 22’ as 3-3-2-3-3-3-3-2)

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• Get Down and Sruti: 8 (various, often 3-3-2)

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• Peace of Mind: 24 (generally 3 blocks of 3-3-2)

—Remember Shakti (1999)—

John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram, Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri)

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• Chandrakauns:

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• The Wish:

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• Lotus Feet:

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• Mukti:

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• Zakir:

—The Believer (2000)—

John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh (ghatam/kanjira/mridangam), U. Srinivas (mandolin)

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• 5 in the Morning, 6 in the Afternoon:

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• Ma No Pa:

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• Lotus Feet:

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• Maya:

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• Anna:

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• Finding the Way:

—Saturday Night in Bombay (2001)—

John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh, U. Srinivas, Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), Debashish Bhattacharya (chaturangi), Shankar Mahadevan (vocals)

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• Luki:

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• Shringar:

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• Giriraj Sudha:

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• Bell’alla:

—Is That So? (2020)—

John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan (n.b. not actually an ‘official’ Shakti record)

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• Kabir:

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• Sakhi:

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• The Search:

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• Tara:

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• The Guru:

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• The Beloved:

—This Moment (2023)—

John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Ganesh Rajagopalan (violin)

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• Shrini’s Dream:

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• Bending the Rules:

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• Karuna:

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• Mohanam:

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• Giriraj Sudha:

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• Las Palmas:

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• Changay Naino:

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• Sono Mama:

—Bootlegs & More—

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• Live at Montreux (1976):
• Live at Montreux (1977):
• BBC Rock Hour (1977):
• Untitled Bootleg (1977):
• Live in New York (1997):
• Live at Montreux (1999):
• Leverkusener Jazztage (2000):
• Live at the UN (2009):
• Jazz a Vienne (2004):
• NPR Tiny Desk (2024):

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NEXT: Let me know which Shakti tracks you like to play, which grooves I’ve missed, etc. And if you’re looking to expand your six-string imagination, hit me up for Zoom lessons!

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