Archive for 2013
Ustad Imrat Khan (Sitar)
USTAD
IMRAT KHAN (born
17 November 1935) is a leading sitar and surbahar player.
He is the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan.
Imrat was born in Calcutta into a
family of musicians tracing its pedigree back for several generations, to the
court musicians of the Mughal rulers. His father was Enayat
Khan (1895–1938), recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his
time, as had been his grandfather, Imdad Khan (1848–1920), before
him. His father died when Imrat was a child, so he was raised by his mother,
Bashiran Begum and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan. In 1944, the family
moved with rising star Vilayat Khan, Imrat's elder brother,
to Bombay where both the brothers learned extensively from
uncle Wahid Khan, Enayat Khan's brother. Wahid Khan was one of
the greatest surbahar players of his generation and a top-level sitar player,
and taught Imrat on the instruments in the family style, known as the
Imdadkhani gharana (school), or Etawah Gharana, after a village
outside Agra where Imdad Khan lived.
In 1952 Vilayat and Imrat moved in together
in Calcutta. They performed together for many years. From the 1960s
onwards, Imrat has performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and
surbahar.
For decades, Imrat has recorded extensively on
both his instruments. His full performance practice starts with a surbahar alap
in dhrupad ang (embellished with more romantic touches),
followed by a shorter alap on the sitar leading into gat in traditional
Imdadkhani style. (Sitar players such as Ravi Shankar and Nikhil
Banerjee added bass strings to their sitars to achieve at least some of
the surbahar's lower range on a single instrument).
He has toured in Europe, the Americas,
and East and Southeast Asia. Surbahar players are rare today,
and Imrat is the main living exponent.
Imrat has five
sons, Nishat, Irshad, Wajahat and Shafaatullah,and
Azmat Khan , now only eight; the first four sons are all classical musicians:
Nishat plays the sitar, Wajahat concentrates on thesarod and Shafaatullah
is accomplished on sitar, tabla, and surbahar. The surbahar
tradition is largely upheld by Irshad (also a sitar player), who has made some
very traditional solo recordings.
Imrat Khan currently spends a portion of each
year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students
at Washington University in Saint Louis. In addition to his
sons, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones and George
Harrison of The Beatles (who also studied under Ravi Shankar)
have been some of his famous students.
Nishat Khan (Sitar)
NISHAT KHAN is
an Indian sitar player and son of surbahar player Imrat
Khan.
Khan was born in the mid-1960s in Kolkata. He performed
with musicians of the genres jazz, Gregorian chant, flamenco and Western
classical music. In August 2002, Khan performed for the Diet of Japan in
Tokyo and played in 2004 at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. Khan is
based in Beverly Hills, California, and works as a visiting professor at
the University of California, Los Angeles.
Lady Gaga
STEFANI JOANNE ANGELINA GERMANOTTA (born
March 28, 1986), known by her stage name LADY GAGA, is an American
singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, businesswoman, fashion designer
and actress. Born and raised in New York City, where she lives, Lady
Gaga primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly
attended New York University's Tisch School of the Artsbefore
withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She soon began performing in the
rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side. By the end of 2007,
record executive and producer Vincent Herbert signed her to his label
Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. Initially working as
a songwriter at Interscope Records, her vocal abilities captured the attention
of recording artist Akon, who also signed her to Kon Live
Distribution, his own label under Interscope.
In 2008, Lady Gaga came to prominence with her debut studio
album, The Fame, which was a critical and commercial success. The
record included the international number-one tracks "Just Dance" and
"Poker Face". In 2009, her extended play, The Fame
Monster, was released to a similar reception, and produced the hit singles
"Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro". Its
accompanying Monster Ball Tour became one of thehighest-grossing
concert tours of all time. Lady Gaga's second album, Born This Way (2011),
topped albums charts in most major markets and generated chart-topping songs
"Born This Way", "Judas", and "The Edge of Glory".
Her third album, Artpop, is planned for release on November 11th,
2013.
Influenced by David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna,
and Queen, Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and outré
contributions to the music industry through her fashion, performances and music
videos. As of October 2011, she had sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64
million singles worldwide and her singles are some of the best-selling
worldwide. Her achievements include five Grammy Awards and
13 MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard magazine's
Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth inVH1's
list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is the fourth best selling digital singles
artist in US according to RIAA, is regularly placed on lists composed
by Forbes magazine, including The World's 100 Most
Powerful Women from 2010 to 2013, and was named one of the most
influential people in the world by Time magazine. Besides
her musical career, she involves herself with humanitarian causes
and LGBT activism.
Continually experimenting with new musical ideas and images,
Gaga's musical and performance style is the subject of much analysis and
scrutiny from critics. She professes that she is "liberating" herself
by constantly reinventing her sound and image, insisting that she has been
drawn to such a practice since her childhood. Vocally, Gaga possesses the
range of a contralto and exhibits "overwhelming expression,
instinctive vocal phrasing, '80s rock reminiscent chest belts and animalistic
vocal ticks" while being able to move through 2.7 octaves. Refusing
to lip sync, Gaga – whose range is frequently compared to those of Madonna
and Gwen Stefani – has manipulated her vocal style over the course of
her career yet considers Born This Way (2011) "much more
vocally up to par with what I've always been capable of." In
summation of her voice, Entertainment Weekly wrote,
"There's an immense emotional intelligence behind the way she uses her
voice. Almost never does she overwhelm a song with her vocal ability,
recognizing instead that artistry is to be found in nuance rather than lung
power."
The structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. Her
debut album The Fame (2008) provoked The Sunday Times to
assert "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Gaga evokes
Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or
Grace Jones right now" and a critic from The Boston Globe to
comment that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen
Stefani... in her girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Music
critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came
from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just
ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded
with R&B-ish beats." The follow-up The Fame Monster (2009),
saw Gaga's taste for pastiche, drawing on "Seventies arena glam,
perky ABBA disco and sugary throwbacks like Stacey Q"
while Born This Way (2011) also draws on the records of her childhood
and still has the "electro-sleaze beats and Eurodisco chorus chants"
of its predecessor but includes genres as diverse as opera, heavy metal, disco,
and rock and roll. "There isn't a subtle moment on the album,
but even at its nuttiest, the music is full of wide-awake emotional
details," wrote Rolling Stone, who concluded: "The more
excessive Gaga gets, the more honest she sounds."Although her early lyrics
have been criticized for lacking intellectual stimulation, "Gaga does
manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." She
admits that her songwriting has been misinterpreted; her friend and
blogger Perez Hilton articulated her message in a clearer way:
"you write really deep intelligent lyrics with shallow concepts."
Gaga opined, "Perez is very intelligent and clearly listened to my record
from beginning to end, and he is correct." "I love songwriting.
It's so funny – I will just jam around in my underwear or I could be washing my
dishes. I wrote several songs just at the piano," she confesses. Gaga
believes that "all good music can be played at a piano and still sound
like a hit." She has covered a wide variety of topics in her songs:
while The Fame (2008) meditates on the lust for stardom, The
Fame Monster (2009) expresses fame's dark side through monster
metaphors. Born This Way (2011) is sung in English, French,
German and Spanish and includes common themes in Gaga's controversial
songwriting like love, sex, religion, money, drugs, identity, liberation,
sexuality, freedom and individualism.
Tag :
Singers
Anup Jalota
ANOOP JALOTA,
also ANUP JALOTA, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer
and musician, best known for his performances in the Hindu devotional
music bhajan and the Urdu form of poetry, ghazal.
He is popularly known as the "Bhajan Samraat" (Emperor
of Bhajans). Padma
Shri for 2012 has been conferred upon him in the field of Art-Indian
Classical Music- Vocal by Government of India.
Anup Jalota was born in Nainital, Uttarakhand to
Purushottam Das Jalota, a renowned exponent of bhajan and hails from
the Sham Chowrasi Gharana of Punjab. He was educated in Lucknow. Anup's
brother, Ajay Jalota, currently lives in California. He has one elder
brother Anil Jalota and two sisters Anjali Dhir and Anita Mehra.
Jalota started his musical career as a chorus singer in All
India Radio. He is usually backed by a santoor player, dholak player, sarod player, sarangiplayer, violinist, sitar player, tabla player
and guitarist. Some of his popular bhajans include: Aisi Lagi Lagan, Main
Nahi Makhan Khayo, Rang De Chunariya, Jag Me Sundar Hai Do Naam, and Chadariya
Jhini Re Jhini. He was also the presenter of the program Dharam Aur Hum,
telecast in Star Plus during 2002 - 05 period.
He met Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in Mumbai and
agreed to release several CDs of his compositions. In 2008 he recorded the
title song "Golden Memorable Yaadein" for the CD "Noorani
Chehra" produced by Shaukat (Sam) Kassam to commemorate the Golden Jubilee
of HH the Aga Khan.
Anup Jalota's first two marriages ended in divorce. One of his
marriages was with Sunali Rathod, wife of Roop Kumar Rathod
Currently, Anup Jalota is married to Medha Jalota, niece of former
Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral. They have a son Aryamann (born in
1996), who is studying in Mumbai.
Tag :
Singers
Alka Yagnik
ALKA YAGNIK (born 20 March 1966 in Kolkata, West Bengal,
India) is amongst the best-known playback singers of Hindi cinema
with a career spanning three decades. She is a record seven-time winner
from a record of 35 nominations of the Filmfare Award for Best Female
Playback Singer, a two-time recipient of the National Film Award as
well as several other music awards listed below. Further, as many as 20 of her
tracks feature in BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time"
review.
Alka Yagnik was
born in Kolkata on 20 March 1966 in a Brahmin family. Her
mother Shubha Yagnik was a singer of Indian classical music. She received
her school education from Modern High School for Girls. In 1972 at the age
of 6, she started singing for Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta. At
age 10, her mother brought her to Mumbai as a child singer. She was
advised to wait until her voice matured, but her mother remained determined. On
a subsequent visit, Alka got a letter of introduction to Raj Kapoor from
his Kolkata distributor. Kapoor heard the girl and sent her with a letter to
noted music director Laxmikant. Impressed, Laxmikant gave her two
alternatives – an immediate start as a dubbing artist or a later break as a
singer;they settled for the latter.
Alka Yagnik is classically trained. She began singing bhajans for
Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta. at the age of six. Her first song
was for the film Payal Ki Jhankaar in (1980), followed byLaawaris (1981)
with the song "Mere Angane Mein", followed by the film Hamari
Bahu Alka (1982). She got her big break with the song "Ek Do
Teen" from the film Tezaab (1988). The song won her
a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award.
She has sung in many languages other than Hindi,
including Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese, Manipuri, Nepali, Rajasthani, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, English and Malayalam.
She has worked with Indian composers such as Kalyanji-Anandji, Rahul
Dev Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin
Lalit, Anu Malik, A. R. Rahman, Anand-Milind,Himesh Reshammiya, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Ismail
Darbar, Aadesh Shrivastava, Viju Shah, M. M. Keeravani, Sajid-Wajid, Bappi
Lahiri, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sandesh Shandilya and many
others.
She has sung maximum duets with Udit Narayan & Kumar
Sanu. She has also sung many duets with Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Vinod
Rathod, Sonu Nigam & Shaan.
She has also sung in many albums such as "Tum Yaad
Aaye", as well as "Tum Aaye" and "Shairana" in which
she worked in close collaboration with award-winning lyricist Javed Akhtar and
singer Hariharan. She has also rendered the Hanuman Chalisa and various
devotional songs.
Alka shares the title with Asha Bhosle for the greatest
number of Filmfare Awards won (7) by a single female playback
singer. Alka has also been the judge of various Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
Challenge shows, and Star Voice of India, both singing
competition shows, in which children or adults of various age groups compete
with one another to win the award for best vocals. In addition to this, her
song "Chamma Chamma" from China Gate was featured in
the song "Hindi Sad Diamonds" from the soundtrack of the film Moulin
Rouge!. She has also been performing in live concerts around the world.
In 2012 she along with Sonu Nigam sang a song 'Shiksha
Ka Suraj' as part of National Literacy Mission of India for which she was
felicitated by Union Minister For Human Resource DevelopmentKapil Sibal. Further
in 2012, on occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema, her song "Taal Se Taal
Mila" from the movie Taal was voted as the best song of
the century in a poll conducted by DesiMartini, Hindustan Times and Fever
104. Also her song "Choli Ke Peeche" from the movie Khalnayak was
voted as the hottest song of the century in a poll conducted by Sanona. [
She has also been involved in various projects pertaining to
empowerment of the girl child.
Tag :
Singers
Udit Narayan
UDIT NARAYAN JHA popularly known as Udit Narayan, is a Nepali playback
singer singing Bollywood in commercial. He has sung in around 32
language including Hindi, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Urdu,
Garhwali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Oriya, Assamese,Maithili and Bengali language
cinema. He has won three National Film Awards and five Filmfare
Awards. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government
of India and also awarded the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu by the
late King of Nepal 'Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev' .
Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December 1955 in a village
called Bhardaha in the Saptari district, Nepal. His
father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.
Narayan studied at P.B. School, Rajbiraj, where he passed
his S.L.C. (class 10) and later obtained his intermediate from Ratna
Rajya Laxmi Campus, mostly known as RR campus Kathmandu.
Udit Narayan began his career in Nepal singing for Radio
Nepal as a staff artist for Maithili and Nepali folk
songs. He sang many popular Nepali folk, modern songs on Radio Nepal. His
first film playback singing was for Nepali film Sindur. It was
a comedy song for famous Nepali comedians GopalRaj Mainali (Chankhe) and
Basundhara Bhushal (Nakkali). It was a duet song with Sushma Shrestha —
now known as Poornima in Hindi films. After eight years in that role, the
Indian embassy offered him the chance to study classical music at a prestigious
school in Bombay, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, on a music scholarship. He moved to
Bombay in 1978.
Udit Narayan has sung more than 25,000 songs in more than 34
languages. He is one of the most acclaimed singers of the present generation.
He got his first break in 1980, when noted music director (composer) Rajesh
Roshan asked him to playback for the Hindi film Unees Bees and
was given the opportunity to sing with the veteran Mohammed Rafi. He
provided playback for a number of films, the most notable being Sannata (1981), Bade
Dil Wala (1983) and Tan-Badan (1986). The success
story of his career began in 1988 when Anand-Milind gave him the
opportunity to sing all the songs for the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat
Se Qayamat Tak, earning him a Filmfare Award. The film also
brought actor Aamir Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and playback
singer Alka Yagnik to stardom. After the success of Qayamat
Se Qayamat Tak, he became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian
film industry.
Narayan is a resident of Mumbai. He has married twice: to
Ranjana Narayan Jha and Deepa Narayan Jha. His second wife, Deepa Narayan, whom
he married in 1985, is a singer. The two recorded an album together
titled Dil Deewana. They have son, Aditya Narayan, who is a
former child actor, singer and television presenter. Aditya Narayan started his
singing for child artists in Nepali film with his father before starting his
singing career in Hindi movies in the 1990s and also acted in a few films.
Tag :
Singers
Atif Aslam
ATIF ASLAM (born in Wazirabad, Punjab, Pakistan as Muhammad
Atif Aslam) is a Pakistani pop singer and film actor,
and makes cameo appearances in Bollywood (Indian) films. His debut as
an actor was in the 2011 film Pakistani movie Bol. He has generated
numerous chart-topping songs, and is known for his vocal belting technique. Atif
is a recipient for the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's highest
civilian decorations.
Atif was born
into a Muslim family in Wazirabad, Punjab, Pakistan. He
began his education in kindergarten at Kimberley Hall School, Larkana.
In 1991 he then moved to Rawalpindi where he continued his studies in
St. Paul's Cambridge School, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi. Atif returned
to Lahore in 1995 where he continued his studies in Divisional
Public School, Lahore. He continued onwards to his FSC in PAF Inter
College Lahore. Atif eventually graduated with a Bachelor's degree.
Even though Atif always admired Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida
Parveen. his first love was for cricket and he dreamed of representing his
nation as a cricketer. He was a fast bowler and his passion for the sport saw
him being selected for the national Under 19 cricket team trials. At one stage
Atif was training to represent his country in the U-19 World Cup. However destiny
had other plans.
Spurred on by his friends he began to sing in public during his
days in college and recorded his first single "Aadat" with his pocket
money. Within a matter of weeks "Aadat" went viral online and soon he
became a household name on the basis of just that one song. On 17 July 2004 the
first album titled Jal Pari. by Atif Aslam was released. On
the outset, the album stood on the success of “Aadat” but as the weeks progressed,
everyone began to recognize that Atif was blessed with incredible talent and
was not merely a one hit wonder.
Blessed with prodigious raw talent and a passion for music, Atif's
decision to pursue music as a career was certainly a brave one as he had no
formal musical training nor did he come from a musical family. Despite his
positive outlook, music and lyrics his massive success and popularity with the
massess was hard for many to fathom. He faced his fair share of critical
commentaries and judgements, however he used all these factors to his advantage
and was courageous enough to continue singing in his own style without giving
an ear to his detractors. In an industry where releasing independent albums
were not the norm, the courage and passion he displayed in his first album
became a solid foundation for his future success.Several songs from his debut
album such as “Bheegi Yaadein”, “Ehsaas”, “Mahi Ve”, “Ankhon Sey” along with
the title track “Jalpari” went on to become major hits and charted across
countries in the subcontinent. Atif Aslam with his dynamic presence and
powerful voice presented his own unique sound. A true original artist, there
was no reference point to his sound at the time. His ability to connect to the
hearts of his listeners backed up with vocal capabilities and memorable
melodies swiftly elevated him to stardom across Pakistan and won him millions
of hearts across India. Many believe this album to be a youth anthem of Pakistan,
encouraging the youth to pursue their dreams and represent their nation in a
positive light.
Following the massive success of Jal Pari, he released
two more solo albums, "Doorie" & "Meri Kahani". Both
albums were massive successes. According to Tips music his solo albums have
sold more than 9 million units globally.
Even as Atif continued to record solo albums he soon found huge
appreciation and acceptance for his talent in India. Within a span of 3 years
he went on to record over two dozen chartbusters for top Bollywood films and
for his work on the movie Race, was nominated for the prestigious Filmfare
Award. He continues to work on top productions and his growing popularity has
seen filmmakers create special music videos to promote their films with his
songs.
Constantly developing as an artist, Atif soon evolved himself into
an exciting concert performer. Following sold out concerts and electrifying
performances throughout his country the demand to watch Atif Aslam perform live
grew across the world with legions of loyal fans growing across nations. People
were amazed to experience the dynamic vocal range Atif was able to deliver in a
live performance. His energy on stage, with charming charisma and a natural
ability to work the crowd swiftly made him the most sought after live performer
in Pakistan and numerous countries across Asia. The artist started performing
to sellout crowds on a regular basis. Fans came to recognize a true artist. The
energy level never reduced but the crowd kept on increasing.
Tag :
Singers
Suresh Wadkar
SURESH ISHWAR WADKAR (born 7 August 1954) is an
Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films.He
has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films and in Konkani.
Back in 1968, when Suresh Wadkar was barely 13, Acharya
Jialal Vasant entrusted him with a student to initiate in Tory to teach
before you appear for your graduation in music through Prayag Sangit Samiti,
because there “Prabhakar” certificate is equivalent to B. Ed. and it authorizes
you to teach professionally. Guruji made every child studying for Senior
Diploma, to sit in the class of 1st year with an experienced teacher and learn
the process of “teaching”. Suresh successfully completed his “Prabhakar” and
joined “Arya Vidya Mandir, Mumbai as a music teacher. A lot of famous “stars”
of today had the opportunity to learn from him.
Acharya Jialal Vasant, announced during his felicitation function
organized by his students on May 1985. He said, “We continuously talk about the
benefits one enjoys when one is blessed with a good Guru. But let me tell you,
that every Guru looks for at least one student, who can take his torch forward.
I have been, I must say, very fortunate to get ‘the’ student; I have always
looked for in Suresh. I am fully confident that he will leave no stone unturned
to accomplish what I desire the most – to attain excellence both as a singer
& a teacher. I feel that my mission is fulfilled.”
He has a music school in Mumbai, India (www.ajivasan.com) and New
Jersey/New York, USA (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com) where methodical training is
given to students.
Suresh Wadkar added a new chapter in his Music life when he
started the First Online Music teaching school "SWAMA" (Suresh Wadkar
Ajivasan Music Academy) under Ace Open University.
Though groomed for Indian classical music, he entered the
Sur-Singar competition in 1976. Wadkar won the competition which was judged by
composers from the Indian film industry includingJaidev. Jaidev later offered
him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" in the film Gaman (released
in 1978). He also performed in the film Paheli (released
1977).
At the time, Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with his
voice that she strongly recommended him to film personalities including Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
Khayyam and Kalyanji-Anandji. Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
impressed with his voice, soon recorded a duet with Lata "Chal Chameli
Bagh Mein" for Krodhi (released in 1981). Soon after, he
was given the opportunity to perform for songs in Hum Paanch, Pyaasa
Sawan ("Megha re Megha Re") and above all, his turning point
in films - Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog (released in 1982).after
that Wadkar Sang many songs under R.K. Banner and he offenly gave his voice for
Rishi Kapoor for Heena, Prem granth, and Rajeev Kapoor for Ram teri Ganga Maili
he used to sing specialy for Rishi kapoor in Numerous film Bol Radha Bol,
Vijay, and other song
Wadkar also produced the film Tanman.com. He was a judge on the
Indian TV singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs International and
at the 2005 Sanjeet Awards.
Suresh Wadkar has for the first time sung a song in the upcoming
Tamil film Kanden Kadhalai. This film is an adaptation of the Hindi
Blockbuster Jab We Met. The song is a ghazal type song called
"Naan Mozhi Arindhaen".
He has sung numerous devotional songs in various languages.
In 1996, Wadkar sang Channeache Rati among several other
songs in Rajendra Talak's Konkani album Daryachya Deger with Asha
Bhosle.
Wadkar is married to classical singer Padma. He has
two daughters, Ananya and Gia.
Vijaylakshmy Subramaniam (Carnatic Vocal)
VIJAYALAKSHMY SUBRAMANIAM is
an eminent Carnatic music vocalist. As a student and performer of
classical music for over three decades, she has performed extensively in India
and abroad since the age of twelve. She has conducted numerous workshops and
lecture demonstrations on the various aspects of Carnatic Music. She has
presented papers at international conferences in many countries over the last
decade. She is a serious researcher of music. In June 2007, she brought out a
book “Apoorva Kriti Manjari” – a collection of twenty rare compositions of
the Trinity of Carnatic Music. The book has notations in English and Tamil
by noted musicologist S. Balachander and the audio has been rendered by
Vijayalakshmy. A doctorate in music, Vijayalakshmy was awarded the prestigious
Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Fellowship in 2010. As part of the programme, she
taught the subject ‘An Introduction to Indian Music’ at the Duke University,
North Carolina, USA, as a visiting Fulbright fellow (Aug – Nov 2010).
Vijayalakshmy Subramaniam started her training in Carnatic
Music at the age of five under K. Padmanabhan, a disciple of Harikesanallur
Muthiah Bhagavathar from the Swati Tirunal Academy,Trivandrum.
She learnt detailed aspects of manodharma sangita or
improvisation under the guidance of guru Sangeeta Bhushanam K Krishnaswamy
of Annamalai University. Her gurus also include Vidwans S.Rajam, T. R.
Subramaniam and V. R. Krishnan.
Tag :
Vocalists
Vani Sateesh (Carnatic Vocal)
VANI SATEESH is a Carnatic vocalist.
Vani Sateesh was
born in Bangalore, Karnataka. She hails from a family of Carnatic
musicians going back many generations. Her Great Grandfather Mundarigi
Narasimhachar 1855-1940 (belonged to Haridasa Parampara of Vijaya
Dasaru, a prominent Haridasa of Karnataka. Her Grand Father Mundarigi
Raghavendrachar (1896-1944) was a musician well versed in many disciplines of
music and was a professor of music at Queen Mary college in Chennai (contemporary
of Prof P. Sambamurthy). Her father, Sangeetha Kala Ratna (awarded by Bangalore
Gayana Samaja) Bellary. M. Venkateshachar is a carnatic classical vocalist and
her uncle Bellary M Sheshagiri Achar was a Vaggeyakara (composer of
lyrics and music). Her uncle and father were known as 'Bellary Brothers' and
performed in most parts in India during 1950's and 1960s. The recent lineage of
five generations popularly known as 'Vishesha Parampara' spans over 130 years. Every
generation has been actively involved in teaching, performing, composing and
spreading fine arts knowledge in many remote parts of Karnataka. Thousands of
students have come in contact with this family and many of them have put
themselves into fine arts service in their own way. It is impossible to fathom
and estimate the impact created by this family over the last century in
promoting carnatic music.
Vani Sateesh
initial training was under the tutelage of her uncle Bellary M. Sheshagiri
Achar. She later learnt from her father Sangeetha Ratna (conferred by Bangalore
Gayana Samaja) Bellary M. Venkateshachar and then from her brother Bellary
M Raghavendra. She is currently under the tutelage of Padmabhushana Sri
P.S.Narayanaswamy, direct disciple of Sangeetha KalanidhiSemmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer.
Vani started
performing at a young age. Her first concert was at the age of 10; since then
she has gone on to give numerous concerts in reputed Sabhas both in India and
abroad. As a performer, she concentrates on all aspects of performances
including intonations, stage presence, building rapport with accompanying
artists, connecting with audiences etc. In her earlier days, she gave numerous
tala vadya concerts. She has also performed many jugalbandi with
known Hindustani Classical musicians. Vani Sateesh is an
"A" grade artist of All India Radio and a "B
High" Graded Composer of All India Radio. She has completed her
Master in Music from University of Mysore and also has received Indian
Government Scholarship for Young Artists.
Tag :
Vocalists
Anupama Bhagwat (Sitar)
ANUPAMA BHAGWAT (born 1974) is an Indian sitar player.
Bhagwat was born in Bhilai, India. She was
introduced to playing sitar at the age of nine by her uncle. Bhagwat
trained under R. N. Verma of theMaihar gharana and traveled to Bhilai at
the age of 13 to train under Bimalendu Mukherjee of the Imdadkhani
gharana. She performed for All India Radio beginning in 1994 and
was awarded a national scholarship by the Indian Ministry of Human
Resource Development.
Bhagwat performed in India and the United States. She
is based in the United States, and married. Bhagwat continues to
train as a sitarist and listens to Indian classical singers to improve her technique.
Palani Subramaniam (Mridangam & Kanjira)
PALANI SUBRAMANIAM PILLAI (1908–1962) was a well known Carnatic
music percussionist. He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira.
He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Palani Muthaiah
Pillai (his father).
Subramaniam
Pillai was born on April 20, 1908. He was born to his mother, Unnamulai Ammal,
and his father, Muthaiah Pillai who was also a mridangist. He learned mridangam
under the tutelage of his father and also had the friendship of ‘Thavil
Panchami’ Malikkottai Panchapakesa Pillai. He was also influenced by a renowned
mridangist at the time, Dakshinamurthy Pillai. Pillai in return showered great
love and affection on young Palani, whom he looked upon as his own son. Before
he turned twenty, Palani had the good fortune to accompany stalwarts like
Kanchipuram Nayana Pillai, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Mudicondon
Venkatarama Iyer. In the next decade others who preferred his accompaniment
were Chittoor Subramanya Pillai and importantly Alathur Brothers whose
Guru (father of Alathur Subbier), Alathur Venkatesa Iyer was a great
admirer of Palani. It was because of Palani that the brothers shifted base
from Trichy to Madras and they made a great team. Palani is credited with composing a larger number of
major pallavis for the brothers including their tempo and nadai
variations. Later the team broke up (due to personal misunderstandings) much to
the grief of a large number of listeners and especially Venkatesa Iyer. Iyer managed to effect a
reconciliation after a decade of extensive effort and Palani did team up with
the brothers but the old camaraderie was gone.
As Palani's playing in the early part of his career was robust and
laya-oriented with extensive calculations, many vocalists of the time did not
feel comfortable with him except for the few mentioned earlier. It was one of
the most popular among the doyens of yesteryears, Chembai Vaidyanatha
Bhagavathar (earlier responsible in advancing the careers of Mysore
T.Chowdiah andPalghat Mani Iyer) who took to promoting Palani. There were
numerous concerts in which he gave Palani opportunities to play three of four
"Thanis" or solos in a concert. It is said that in a concert in
Shanmukhananda Sabha in Bombay he asked Palani to play in each of the
five nadais, Chatusram, Tisram, Misram, Kandam and Sankeernam. It was he who
also persuaded Palani to tone down on the laya intricacies and increased the
"sowkya" or aesthetic content in his playing. Palani, probably with
considerable regret in having to shed his specialization and scholarship abided
by his mentor's suggestion, not only because of the practicality but also
because of his great respect for Chembai who was his elder by several years.
Bhavagathar's advice stood Palani in good stead.
Eminently popular vidwans G. N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai
Mani Iyer, and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer clamored to have him
accompany him in their concerts. Of course senior vidwans of that era
like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer,
Chembai and Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu ( Violin Solo ) had him as
accompanist in many concerts. In turn Palani encouraged a number of younger
vocal and instrumental artists including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Ramnad
Krishnan, M. D. Ramanathan, K. V. Narayanaswamy, Tiruvarur
Namasivayam, Thanjavur Thyagarajan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Palghat
R. Raghu. While playing for younger artists he was never condescending but was
always supportive and never tried to show off or intimidate. In fact although
he possessed talents of gigantic proportions, he never indulged in
exhibitionism and his only aim was to enhance the total appeal of the concert.
Madurai Mani Iyer used to call him "THYAGI"- one who would efface
himself so that the overall effect was sparkling rather focus on himself.
While Palani would highlight the different parts of the song such
as "Eduppus" of Pallavi, Anupallavi, and Charanam with
sufficient emphasis, he would rather follow the mood and trend of the song
rather play the "Prayogas" of the songs themselves. This mode of
playing gave a wholesomeness to the song renderings rather than the
"Starts and stops" that would otherwise have arisen. His Sarvalaghu
was the spontaneous flow of "Nadais", "Sollus", and
"Sollukkatus" rather than any patternised formats. The Sarvalaghu
used to be "Amorphous" rather than "Crystalline".
Occasionally when certain arithmetic combinations arose, they too were spontaneous
and blended seamlessly into the scheme of things. He specialized in
"Vallinam" and "Mellinam" strokes in even the smallest
passages. In layman's language these are Hard and Soft Strokes. His playing
gave the effect of his indulging in a musical conversation with the main artist
throughout the tenure of the concert. In his Solo interludes-"Thani
Avarthanams"- he displayed both intellectual and aesthetic aspects in
equal measure which pleased all sections of the audience but he never played to
the gallery. The vocalist had to remain very alert during the
"Thanis" to ensure that he did not miss out on the "Thala";
such were the complex patterns he played! When Palani was present in a
gathering there was no levity or frivolousness exhibited. According to Vidwans
who shared the platform with him in concerts both his demeanor and playing was
the epitome of "Gauravam" (Dignity).
His lifestyle in the 40's and 50's was the envy of other
musicians. Always dressed in white muslin shirts and snow white Khadi Dhoti -
carefully and painstakingly groomed - he was among the handsomest among
musicians (others being GNB and Mayavaram Govindaraja Pillai ). Unlike many
other musicians, he lived in a spacious Bungalow and owned the latest model in
cars (he changed them every two years ). He himself drove the car and did not
allow anyone else to drive his car.
Palani's partner in life was Rajammal (who along with her sister
constituted a popular singing duo called 'Kolar Sisters' in her younger days).
The pair had a daughter named Vimala. She married Srinivasan and they had five
daughters named Banu, Malathi, Meera, Geetha and Vasanthi. They were brought up
by Rajammal after the death of Srinivasan.
At any given time at least three to four students resided in
Palani's house undergoing Gurukula system; with passage of time there were
day-scholars also. Among the earliest disciple of Palani were T.Ranganathan
(brother of T.Balasarswathi) along with Ramanathapuram M.N.Kandaswami, Poovalur
Venkataraman, Dandamudi Rammohan Rao, Pallathur C.T.Lakshmanan, Udumalai
T.Mayilswamy among others. Perhaps the most famous of his disciples is Trichy
Sankaran who lives in Toronto, Canada and teaches in York University as a
Professor in the Music Department. Palani took him under his wings when he was
a child; Even at the tender of twelve Palani enabled him to play with him
(double mridangam) in concerts of Ariyakudi, GNB, Madurai Mani Iyer and others.
Among his later disciples were Erode Gururajan, Madirimangalam Swaminathan,
K.S.Kalidas, Cuddapah Krishnamoorthy, A.V.Ragguprasad, T.V.Gurumoorthy and many
others. In turn, his disciples have trained many others and the Palani School
is now well represented in India and abroad.
The founder of the 'Pudukkottai School of Percussion', Mamundia
Pillai introduced Kanjira as an instrument in concerts; His disciples
Dakshinamoorthy Pillai and Muthiah Pillai could play a large number of
instruments like Mridangam, Kanjira, Thavil, and Ghatam. In their steps, Palani
was also a GREAT Kanjira vidwan besides being a master of Mridangam. He has
played with vidwans like Palghat Mani Iyer and Ramanathapuram
C.S.Murugabhoopathy. His Khanjira performances were fewer(compared to
Mridangam) and listeners thronged to these concerts whenever they occurred.
Compared to the double headed Mridangam with its rich tonal quality, the single
headed Kanjira with its limited tonal quality is more difficult to handle but
Palani equaled or even excelled in duets with the best mridangists. Some of
Palani's disciples have emerged as vidwans proficient with both instruments (
among them M.N.Kandaswamy and Palattur Lakshmanan).
At the behest of his father Palani erected a shrine on the Samathi
of Mamundia Pillai at Pudukkottai in 1945. Till he died in 1962, Palani
performed Gurupooja each year at this Samadhi on Mamundia Pillai's death
anniversary. This is the day preceding the Aradhana of Saint Thyagaraja (which
falls on Bagulapanchami day). After Palani's death his disciples took this over
and also initiated the Gurupooja for Palani across different places in Tamil
Nadu (M.N.Kandaswamy in Chennai, Udumalai T.Mayilswamy in Coimbatore,
etc.).
In Kerala Palani ‘s disciples are Mavelikara Krishnan
Kutty Nair and Mavelikara S. R. Raju. Palani always cared his deciples like his
own children and had a special care for Krishnankutty Nair. Mavelikara Raju
after retirement from All India Radio lives in Trivandrum and
teaches many students.
Anoushka Shankar (Sitar)
ANOUSHKA SHANKAR (born 9 June1981) is an Indian sitar player
and composer, and daughter of Ravi Shankar.
Anoushka
Shankar was born in London into a Bengali-Tamil Hindu family, and her childhood
was divided between London and Delhi. She is a daughter of Indian sitar
player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar. She is also the paternal
half-sister of American singer Norah Jones, andShubhendra
"Shubho" Shankar, who died in 1992.
As
a teenager, she lived in Encinitas, California and attended San
Dieguito Academy. A 1999 honors graduate, Shankar then decided to pursue a
career in music rather than attend college.
Anoushka
Shankar began training on the sitar with her father as a child, with practice
consisting of just a couple of sessions a week at the age of ten. Shankar gave
her first public performance at the age of 13 at Siri Fort in New
Delhi. By the age of fourteen, she was accompanying her father at concerts
around the world, and signed her first record contract, with Angel Records (EMI)
at 16.
She
released her first album, Anoushka, in 1998, followed by Anourag in
2000. Both Shankar and Norah Jones were nominated for Grammy awards
in 2003 when Anoushka became the youngest-ever and first woman nominee in the
World Music category for her third album, Live at Carnegie Hall.
2005
brought the release of her fourth album RISE, earning her
another Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary World Music category.
In February 2006 she became the first Indian to play at the Grammy Awards.
Shankar,
in collaboration with Karsh Kale, released Breathing Under Water on
28 August 2007. It is a mix of classical sitar and electronica beats
and melodies. Notable guest vocals included her paternal half-sister Norah
Jones, Sting, and her father, who performed a sitar duet with her.
Shankar
has made many guest appearances on recordings by other artists, among
them Sting, Lenny Kravitz and Thievery Corporation.
Duetting with violinist Joshua Bell, in a sitar-cello duet with Mstislav
Rostropovich, and with flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, playing both sitar and
piano. Most recently Shankar has collaborated with Herbie Hancock on
his latest record The Imagine Project.
Shankar
has given soloist performances of her father's 1st Concerto for Sitar and
Orchestra worldwide. In January 2009 she was the sitar soloist alongside
the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the series of concerts premièring
her father’s 3rd Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra, and in July 2010 she
premiered Ravi Shankar's first symphony for sitar and orchestra with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Barbican Hall.
Shankar
has also ventured into acting (Dance Like a Man, (2004)) and writing.
She wrote a biography of her father, Bapi: The Love of My Life, in
2002 and has contributed chapters to various books. As a columnist she wrote
monthly columns for India's First City Magazine for three
years, and spent one year as a weekly columnist for India's largest newspaper,
the Hindustan Times.
Shankar
recorded her following album in Madrid, Spain. Released in autumn
2011, Traveller is an exploration of the commonalities and
differences between classical Indian music and Spanishflamenco, and
features Shubha Mudgal, Tanmoy Bose, Pepe Habichuela, Sandra
Carrasco and Duquende among others.
On
29 November 2002, Anoushka Shankar was the opening act at the Concert for
George, a posthumous tribute to the life and music of George Harrison,
held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She was the principal
performer in the entire first set or "Indian portion" of the concert.
She opened the show by playing a solo sitar instrumental titled "Your
Eyes". Also on the sitar, she performed George Harrison's "The
Inner Light" with Jeff Lynne (vocals and guitar). Lastly, she
conducted a new composition, Arpan, written by her father. The
composition featured Eric Claptonplaying acoustic guitar. The concert was
modelled after Ravi Shankar's benefit concert with Harrison, the 1971 Concert
for Bangladesh.
Anoushka
Shankar was invited by Richard Gere and Philip Glass to
perform in a concert at the Avery Fisher Hall in 2003 in aid of
the Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation. Shankar
and Jethro Tull postponed a concert scheduled for 29 November 2008 in
Mumbai after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. They reorganised the performance
as A Billion Hands Concert, a benefit performance for victims of the
attacks, and held it on 5 December 2008. Shankar commented on this decision
stating that: "As a musician, this is how I speak, how I express the anger
within me our entire tour has been changed by these events and even though the
structure of the concert may remain the same, emotionally perhaps we are saying
a lot more."
Shankar
lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is married
to British director Joe Wright and their first child, Zubin Shankar
Wright, was born on 22 February 2011.
Srirangam Kannan (Morsing)
SRIRANGAM
KANNAN is
an Indian musician and artist, known for playing the morsing. He has a degree in
mathematics.
Vidwan Srirangam S. Kannan was born on 5 May 1952 in Srirangam to K Sathyamurthy and Kamalam. Growing up, he had little
experience withcarnatic music.
When he was 19 years old he heard a concert where Sri Pudukkotai S. Mahadevan played the morsing. Shortly afterwards, he became Mahadevan's disciple. He also
learned more about laya from Kanadukathan Rajaraman, a kanjeera and mridangam artist and a
friend of Mahadevan. By age 23, Srirangam Kannan had started his career as a
full-fledged morsing artist.
After graduating from university with a degree in mathematics, he
joined Indian Bank, where he worked for 30 years before retiring
in 2000 after having become manager.
He continues to play in concerts across India. He also
performs regularly for AIR
Chennai.
Srirangam Kannan has been the recipient of many awards and
recognitions, listed here.
·
Awarded Mannargudi
Natesa Pillai Award, instituted by Sri Raagam Fine Arts, Chennai, presented by
Dr. M Balamuralikrishna in 1996.
·
Kalaimamani Award by the
Government of Tamil Nadu in 1998
·
Best Upapakkavadhyam
Award from the Music Academy, instituted by Dr. Ramamurthy, in 1998 & 2001.
·
Honoured as the Asthana
Vidwan of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in the year 2000.
·
Best Upapakkavadhyam
Award from Narada Gana Sabha, instituted by Obul Reddy, in 2003.
·
Lifetime Achievement
Award in the field of Carnatic Music from the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 2003.
·
A Top Graded artiste in
All India Radio
·
Meritorious Award for
achievement in Carnatic Music, instituted by the Maharajapuram Santhanam
Foundation, Chennai in 2005.
·
Vani Kala Sudhakara
award for the most proficient morsing vidwan, instituted by Sri Thyaga Bhrama
Gana Sabha, Chennai in 2005.
·
Lifetime Achievement
Award in the field of Carnatic Music from Sri Sachidananda Swamy of Datta
Peetam, Mysore in 2006
·
Nada Vidya Bhupathi,
instituted by Nada Dweepam Trust, Chennai in 2009.
.jpg)
