Glow of Benares

Glow of Benares is a collaborative studio album released on November 24, 2017, under the Dacapo label. The project merges North Indian classical music with Western orchestral and jazz traditions. The album features a single extended composition titled Glow of Benares, lasting 11 minutes and 23 seconds. The work serves as the opening and sole track of the release.

The recording brings together tabla virtuoso Abhijit Banerjee, violinist Kala Ramnath, the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, the Randers Kammerorkester (Randers Chamber Orchestra), and Danish saxophonist-composer Lars Møller. Møller composed and arranged the piece, integrating Hindustani rhythmic and melodic elements with orchestral and improvisational jazz frameworks. The collaboration marks a documented intersection of Indian classical performance practices with European ensemble settings.

The album was issued exclusively in digital media format. Production details emphasize a live-recording approach, though the exact studio location and engineering personnel remain undocumented in available sources. The title Glow of Benares references Varanasi (Benares), a city central to Indian classical music heritage, though the composition does not explicitly depict programmatic themes tied to the location.

Critical reception and commercial performance data for the album are not widely published. The release aligns with Møller’s broader discography of cross-cultural jazz projects, while Banerjee and Ramnath contribute their respective expertise in tabla and Carnatic-Hindustani violin. The Aarhus Jazz Orchestra and Randers Kammerorkester provide orchestral depth, blending scored passages with improvised sections led by the soloists.

No subsequent live performances, alternate versions, or reissues of the work have been confirmed in public records. The album’s structure and participant roles suggest an experimental fusion framework, though specific compositional techniques or thematic development remain unanalyzed in accessible documentation.