‘Melodies in Indian music are not too complex’

Legendary saxophonist Kenny G, who’s teamed up with santoor player Rahul Sharma, tells Roshni K Olivera that he’s looking forward to playing in India

Renowned saxophonist Kenny G loves India and he is looking forward to coming here again. At the moment he’s very happy having teamed up with well-known santoor player Rahul Sharma for his new album ‘Namaste India’, brought out by Times Music. The album also features a Kenny G and Rahul Sharma style rendition of a soundtrack from Big B’s film Silsila, with Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover from the original recording. Excerpts of an email interview with Kenny...
Tell us about your collaboration with santoor player Rahul Sharma...what got you interested in this project?
I met Rahul when I performed in India and we got along right away. He sent me, via email, some of his music and said he wanted me to play on some of the songs. I loved his sound and thought it would really be fun to join him and see where the music would take us. I’m very happy with the results.
Are you aware of how popular the Silsila song is in India and about its lyrics?
I am aware because Rahul has told me. I loved the arrangement that Rahul put together.
Has Indian cinema (Bollywood as it's called) ever caught your fancy?
Of course! I think it will be fun to do some music for Indian films someday!
And what do you think about Indian music?
Generally I like Indian music because the melodies are usually not too complex which is how I like music and that’s the way I write music. So I’m naturally attracted to this sound.
Any memories you have of your concert and stay in India in 2008?
Yes... the people. So friendly and helpful. I was really impressed with all the wonderful people I met, including Rahul of course.
Will you be performing here anytime soon?
There are no plans at the moment, but I’m hoping very much that I will be able to come back to India as soon as possible. Perhaps with this collaboration with Rahul, we can perform these songs together live in India.
Rahul on Kenny
“I have a lot of respect for Kenny. The world knows him as a saxophone player. I have seen this amazing ability in him to improvise. You give him a melody and he works on it and adds to it. I have collaborated with international artistes earlier, but this collaboration is very special for me. I have composed and played in this album. Having Kenny play seven songs was very satisfying for me. We hope to take this association further now by performing together in India. We would like to have concerts in the near future.”

Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan

Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan , a resident of Rampur ,was exellent in Khayall singing. He used to sing Khayaal in a very disciplined mannar and it used to be very emotional. But he never let emotions dominate his well-organised singing. His songs were a reflection of his character and literary feelings.

Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan said that to get self-respect and the pride of singing, a singer should have feelings like self discipline and self-sacrifice, Similarly, he said a self reliant singer is always an emotional man to the core and encroachment of emotions in music is entirely wrong. He always used to sing his songs based on popular ragas.

Born in 1880, he was very fortunate that he was taught by a knowledgeable teacher like Inayat Khan. In 1924-25, he participated in the All India Musical Conference. He also worked at the India Art Centre.

Banarasi flavour

Sangeet Samagam Trust’s annual musical fest will see the prima donnas of Kathak, Sitara Devi and Keka Sinha, perform to the audience’s delight

The annual festival of music hosted by 'Sangeet Samagam Trust' in memory of the late Rakhal Mishra, doyen of the Benaras gharana and late Kishen Maharaj, the tabla maestro has always drawn huge crowd of music and dance lovers. "This is the fourth year of the festival and each year we had a good mix of music and dance performances. This year, Sitara Devi, the prima donna of the Kathak who is well past 80 will astonish the music lovers with her performance. It is not difficult to find nonagenarian singers. But dancers of that age group are rare to come by," says tabla wizard Kalinath Mishra who will accompany Sitara Devi as well as Kathak danseuse Keka Sinha and sitarist Habib Khan. Sitara Devi will make an appearance on the stage after a long time. Ajay Pohankar, a well known exponent of the Khayal form will also perform in this festival with his khayal renditions. Pohankar was recently presented with the most prestigious Tansen Award instituted by the Govenment of Madhya Pradesh.This is his first major performance in the city after having bagged the award. Began as a child prodigy, he has a performing career spanning almost five decades. Pohankar sings in an exceptionally soft voice and has a delicate approach to the note.
"I have been asked to perform as a practitioner of the khayal form. 'Khayal' means thought. One is supposed to exercise one's own thought processes and link it to the emotion while singing. Only then does one's music become communicative," says Pohankar. “I have been influenced by the musical personalities of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan and Kumar Gandhrava. The way they explored the raga, manipulated the songtext has had an abiding impact on me," says Pohankar.
Pohankar values his own individuality too. “There is no point in merely imitating a successful singer. One’s originality as it is revealed in unfolding the raga or designing the note-patterns and the voice-throw helps to establish one's credentials as a khayal singer," he adds. Pohankar is adept at singing thumri in a style associated with the Patiala gharana. He has done fusion experiments with his son Abhijit who is a key board player and their project 'Piya Bawari', although it was scoffed at by hard boiled listeners, was a hit especially with the young generation of music lovers.
Keka Sinha is the leading Kathak exponent of the country. She belongs to the Lucknow gharana. She has trained under well-known Kathak dancers like Bandana Sen and Reba Bidyarthi. She has done a number of presentations together with Dhanashree Pandit at various colleges and cultural centres. "Interaction with a thumri singer has enabled me to understand the nuances of the thumri form better and I can incorporate them into my dance," says Keka Sinha who will enact a thumri in her performance at the festival. Pune based violinist Atul Upadhyay and Indore gharana sitarist based in the US Habib Khan will also perform at the festival. Kathak exponent Nandita Puri will compere the show.'

(Catch the festival at Sardar Patel
Sabhgruh, Bhavan's Complex,Andheri W on
12th and 13th March at 6.45 pm Entry is
free.Tel Contact 2632 0699/ 98200 79632)

Kuchipudi dancers at Elephanta festival

Two years after Mumbai's worst terror attacks, one of the biggest events on its cultural calendar — the 21-year-old Elephanta festival — is back.

Taking the stage soon after public works and tourism minister Chhagan Bhujbal had declared it open on Saturday were well-known Kuchipudi exponents Dr Raja and Radha Reddy whose invocation of the divine couple Shiva Paravti left the audience in raptures.

With both their daughters Yamini and Bhavana also performing even as Dr Reddy's second wife and Radha Reddy's sister Kaushalya conducted on the natuvangam, the entire family was on stage.

 

Elephanta Festival 2011

Elephanta Festival 2011 - Day 1

Event Date: Sat, 05/03/2011 (All day)

5th March 2011
Dr Raja and Radha Reddy - Kuchipudi Dance

Pandi Shivkumar Sharma - Santoor

6th March 2011
Geeta Chandran - Bharatnatyam

Devaki Pandit - Vocal

Venue - Elephanta Island 6.30 pm onwards
Tickets - 500/- (per day) includes to and fro journey by launch
Launches will leave gateway of india between 4.00 pm and 6.30 pm and will return from 9.30 pm onwards from elephanta island
travel time approx 1 hour 15 minutes

For Tickets
Reservation Division 022 22845678
Dadar(MTDC) 022 24143200
CST Railway Counter 022 22622859
Gateway of India 022 22841877
Rhythm House 43222701
Ravindra Natya Mandir 24312956/24365997

Elephanta Island (also called Gharapuri Island or place of caves) is one of a number of islands in Mumbai Harbour, east of Mumbai, India. This island is a popular tourist destination for a day trip because of the island's cave temples, the Elephanta Caves, that have been carved out of rock.

The present name Elephanta, was given by 17th century Portuguese explorers, after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture of an elephant found here near the entrance. They decided to take it home but ended up dropping it into the sea because their chains were not strong enough.

Uday Bhawalkar -

Uday Bhawalkar was born in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. He is the youngest of three siblings was born in Madhya Pradesh. He began training in Hindustani classical music from his elder sister. His love for the music soon led him to one of the most prolific figures in the ancient Dhrupad,[2] Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. He is a unique exponent of the art, pushing its boundaries with his inimitable creativity and the force of his dedication.


At the age of 15, he received scholarship at the Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal.[3] Here and subsequently in Mumbai, Uday was initiated into the carefully guarded Dhrupad legacy of the Dagar Family that has been transmitted orally for 19 generations, in the age old Guru Shishya Parampara, under the tutelage of Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, and later under his elder brother, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagarsahab.
In this time honoured tradition, the student lives with his Guru and other fellow students, dedicating the majority of time to rigorous riyaz and working for the well-being of the Gurukul. This training, the time spent with his Ustads and his own meditations on the art, made Uday appreciate the nuances and realize the vast depths of the music. During these years of deep reflection and devoted practice, he resolved to make music his life's purpose.

Career

In 1987, delighted by Uday's first public performance, Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (one of the elder Dagar Brothers) awarded him a gold medal. Since then he has performed widely in India and abroad, in concerts, workshops and lecture - demonstration sessions, playing an active role in inspiring an increasing interest in this ancient and meditative art.
Based in Pune, he regularly travels nationally and all over the world giving concerts, demonstrations and teaching. Additionally, he has contributed to the soundtracks of International Art films including Mani Kaul's Cloud Door, Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer and Amol Palekar's Anahat. Several recordings of Uday Bhawalkar's Dhrupad performances are available on CD in India and abroad.[4] He performs on National TV and radio in India regularly.

Teaching
At the age of 20, Uday began teaching any and all who show a sincere wish to learn. He now lives in Pune and his own house is a Gurukul of sorts with students coming and practicing at any time of the day. He was also a Visiting Artist in Residence at the University of Washington in Seattle in the Dept. of Ethnomusicology,[5] a position held many years ago by his Guru, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagarsaheb.
Uday along with his wife Jyoti, have strived to create an environment in their home to foster freedom of expression and creativity through music, for his many students, some of whom have also at various times stayed with him and his family.


Raag Bhinna Shadja