A musically reimagined version of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ’60s-era protest song, “Little Wheel Spin and Spin,” opens Sameer Gupta’s new album on an urgently dire note. The New York-based drummer-tabla player’s own compositions, which fill most of A Circle Has No Beginning, are in the fusion vein, continuing in Weather Report’s trajectory with echoes of ’70s Herbie Hancock and Jean-Luc Ponty. Oriental modes, celestial vibes and muted funk are heard. Not surprisingly, percussion is integral.
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