Perfectly Profound: Praful

Exotic... Enticing... Enigmatic... Have you heard of the German-born musician, Praful? (Pronounced Praw-fool.)  I often think that his CD “One Day Deep” (released in 2003) is perhaps the best musical purchase I’ve ever made.

This guy is a saxophonist and flutist extraordinaire and his music is very hard to categorize.  I first heard him on the local Smooth Jazz station with his song, “Sigh”.  I later heard a live interview with him on the same station where they played a few of the other songs off of the CD (the only other time they played anything but “Sigh”).  Music sometimes takes time to grow on me, but when I heard the other songs, I absolutely knew I’d be buying the CD.

Praful’s music is a jazz fusion explosion that embodies electronica-style beats with funky undertones on some tracks and a bright Brazilian flair on others; all underlined with a subtle signature.  Nothing else is quite comparable.

The chronic paradiddle and enticing flute throughout his “Morphic Resonance” piece absolutely weave themselves through you.  A similar feeling is evoked with the pressing bass and downright delirious sax heard on his “Let the Chips Fall” track.  “Inspiracao” is alive with a Brazilian beat and bright, clear vocals and flute—much like “Corpo Suado", only there with the sultry sax in place of the flute.  “Sinus Funktion” takes you through a full-bodied journey with exotic funk and lingering flute riffs.  “Sonhar” has an unrelenting bass and evocative, exotic lyrics; it'll continue to echo in your head long after hearing it.  “Teardrop Butterfly”, with its acoustic guitar riff and visceral vocals, whispers a delicious, sensual simplicity that will likely leave you feeling warm all over.

“Sigh” is a wonderfully unique song itself.  It has the unfortunate burden, however, of being the “popular” song off of the CD; the one the radio stations played over and over at the exclusion of the remaining treasure trove.  (Speaks volumes of the corporatization of our radio stations—a far cry from a DJ playing whatever *sounds good* within a particular genre.)  I’ve been lucky enough to come across a cable music station here that has been original enough to include these other gems among their vast play lists.

There is a strikingly exotic quality to Praful’s music that makes it so special, only partly due to the fact that much of it is sung in other languages (perhaps lending to the categorization of "World Music" by some).  This is the kind of music that, once you find it, you wish it could be replicated a thousand times over—only made different!—so that you could fill your musical library with more of these exceptionally rich and unique sounds.  If your musical taste buds are even remotely getting worked up over what I have described to you, just buy this CD!  You couldn’t possibly regret it.

You can check out some audio tracks here (thanks to Amazon): link  As sometimes happens, they offer some snippets of the music that don't always feature enough of the full flavor of a song to really give you a feel for it.  You can also listen to some of his music from this CD and others on his MySpace site: link  He has an additional web site with tour dates, biographies, etc: link