A quick look at Sharon Isbin’s discography makes it clear that she embraces her instrument in all of its historical, cultural, and geographical guises. From baroque classical on to contemporary classical, from jazz to folk and troubadour traditions. She has had over 80 works written for her and has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and musical styles.

For this release, Isbin has chosen to follow the route originally pioneered by Yehudi Menuhin in exploring and collaborating with South Asian musicians. Menuhin helped introduce music from other cultures (we now call it “world music”) to the western world. His recordings with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Alla Rahka were revelatory and instructive to thousands of listeners (this writer included). Now comes another generation reaping the joy of collaboration inserting her western instrument in a context with musicians from another culture. The end result enhances both cultures.

Her collaborators span seven generations of familial musical traditions in India. Here we have master sarod player, Amjad Ali Khan and his very accomplished sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash. They are dazzlingly accompanied by tabla player Amit Kavthekar. All the music was written by Amjad Ali Khan and arranged for Sharon Isbin. And so she joins people like Menuhin and Ry Cooder in establishing a new generation of collaborative music making.

There are four compositions here lasting about 15 minutes (the second track is shorter at about 4 minutes) each based on a raga (a stale of notes) and named for that scale. Each piece is also given a more poetic title as well giving us: By the Moon-Raga Behag, Love Avalanche-Raga Mishra Bhairav, Romancing Earth-Raga Pilu, and Sacred Evening-Raga Yaman. All are world premiere recordings.

The recording was done in New York following a successful concert tour in India. It is lucid and a joy to the ears. There are doubtless multiple meanings hidden here in the kaleidoscopic world of Indian musical traditions and in the minds of the performers but the music has a joyous directness that comes from performers who have mastered their craft.