Amjad Ali Khan: Romancing the Rains

I downloaded this album from eMusic on the recommendation of Ed Ward (http://berlinbites.blogspot.com/). I'm given to understand that it's classical Indian music. I haven't got the vocabulary to describe it. It seems to be wholly improvised, but that may just be my limited sense of what the plan for this kind of music normally is. There is a pitter-pat of percussion played with hands on small drums in the background; there are stringed instruments played with notes that slide like springs from one place to another on the scale, and sometimes they slide a long ways. All in all, it's drenched with atmosphere. I don't ever need to hear "The End" by The Doors again. This underpins that song, and certain Led Zeppelin tracks, and Cornershop, and some more things besides.