Benares Chronicles, Part 3 - The United Nations of Indian Classical Music

While I was in Benares, I had asked Shen if he had any performances coming up; unfortunately, he had none booked at the time. It would have been great to see him perform. Well, Shen had a surprise up his sleeve for me. He spoke with the folks at Kashika Music Ashram and organised a performance. He was to accompany Japanese sitarist, Yasuhiro Minamizawa... AND, to my surprise... I was to play tabla solo.

The final lineup was made up of Indian classical musicians from all around the world, and so Shen had the great idea to call this concert the United Nations of Indian Classical Music. Very appropriate, and I hope that this concept will continue in the years to come.

KASHIKA MUSIC ASHRAM

presents

United Nations of Indian Classical Music

Kashika Music Hall

Near R.B. Katra Post Office

Bengali Tola Lane

Monday, 21st December, 2009 at 7pm

ARTISTS:

Yuki Taniguchi (Japan - disciple of Pt. Ritwik Sannyal) - SANSKRIT MANTRA

Shawn Mativetsky (Canada - disciple of Pt. Sharda Sahai) - TABLA SOLO

with Aneesh Mishra (India - disciple of Pt. Kanhaiyalal Mishra) - SARANGI

Yasuhiro Minamizawa (Japan - disciple of Smt. Shrabani Biswas) - SITAR

with Shen Flindell (Australia - disciple of Pt. Ashutosh Bhattacharya) - TABLA

Australia, Canada, Japan, and India ... not a bad start for the United Nations of Indian Classical Music! A few days before the performance, we all met at Kashika Music House to give press interviews. Here we are (minus Aneesh), jamming for the cameras.

When the day of the performance came around, I really had no idea how many people would show up. The Kashika Music Hall is a small, intimate performance space. The musicians perform acoustically, with no amplification, and we are extremely close to the audience. The capacity of the space is maybe 40 people; the feeling is like a house concert. At around 6:50, the hall was quite empty, but by 7:00, it was completely full, and by 7:15 all the doors were opened and people were filling the street outside!

First to perform was Yuki, singing Sanskrit mantras. Her background is in yoga and dhrupad, and she has found a great way to combine the two, in the form of naad yoga. Her voice was very calm and composed, and set the mood for the other performances to come. The mantras allowed us to focus on the musical performance taking place, and leave behind the various sounds of the nearby lane.

Next, I performed tabla solo. Opening with a Ganesh vandana, I followed with vilambit and madhya teentaal. Aneesh played beautifully; there is really nothing quite like the sound of sarangi. The audience was very kind and appreciative, and I was surrounded by the now-familiar faces of Debabrata-ji, Shen, Yuki, Hiro, Rob, Jay, Nick (another person that I have known online for a long time, but had never met before), Ghirau (Amarnathjee's sitar-playing son, who I had the pleasure of practicing with) and guru-bhais Jeff and Anjan, and that really motivated me. After a few minutes of playing, Pt. Pooran Maharaj arrived. When Shen and I had visited him a few days prior (see previous blog post), we invited him to our performance and he promised to come; well, he did! Let's just say that I felt some additional pressure at this point (!!!), but he was so encouraging and kind to me during the performance, that I really felt great and highly motivated while I was playing. What an experience!

(A small note about the Benares tabla lineage: Pt. Pooran Maharaj, aside from being the son of the late Pt. Kishan Maharaj, is a disciple of Pt. Kanthe Maharaj, making him guru-bhai with Gurujee (Pt. Sharda Sahai). Shen's guru, Ashu Babu was also a disciple of Pt. Kanthe Maharaj.)

Last on the program was Hiro's sitar performance, accompanied by Shen. Finally, I would get to see Shen perform. I really enjoyed Hiro's alap - it was very sensitive and subtle, with lots of nuance in the meends. When Hiro introduced the alap, Shen played an uthaan that I would describe as being 'deep'. His time-feel is right on, and his baya playing is very smooth and melodic; a very sweet sound overall. It was obvious that Hiro and Shen enjoy playing together, as they would often play off each other, and I really enjoyed watching Hiro's tihai challenges. :)

The United Nations of Indian Classical Music, right after the performance.

A great experience, and a perfect ending to my trip to Benares. Many thanks to Shen for organizing this concert. He opened the concert by saying to everyone that he had put together this concert just for me. Wow! I hope that we can find other occasions to musically come together again.

You can read Shen's blog post on the same subject, at his blog, Tabla in Hand.

New Feature - Tabla Tracks

I have decided to start posting small blurbs about tabla-related albums that I am listening to, in an effort to promote this great music. I wouldn't necessarily call these CD reviews; I just want to share what I'm listening to! Tabla Tracks will be a regular feature of TablaMontreal. Look for new Tabla Tracks to appear on a regular basis. This first edition features two world-fusion albums.

The first CD is from Victoria-based guru-bhai, Niel Golden. Niel is a master tabla player, whose musical travels have literally taken him around the world. It's a Journey (released in 2008) is a fitting title for this album. The album is an eclectic world-fusion mix, combining influences from Indian, African, and Latin music with elements of blues and pop.

Tabla is heard in practically all of the tracks, but it doesn't always take centre stage; but don't fret, there are definitely some tabla solos in there! Niel's use of tabla is quite tasteful, and varies from tune to tune. Each track is in a completely different style, which shows both Niel's and the tabla's versatility in accompanying different types of music. For example: the tabla tarang-like use of tabla in Maliwood Drive, the Rolling Stone cover in Paint it Black, and the modulating tabla in Blu Z. Niel is a big fan of the Swiss instrument, the Hang, which is also featured in a few tunes. Of special note is a guest appearance by Harry Manx on Mohan veena.

Favourite tracks: Bergamot, Hari OM

It's a Journey can be ordered directly from Niel, via his website.

The next CD, is a more recent acquisition - Tibet2Timbuk2's Music is Life (released in 2009). Tibet2Timbuk2 is a project of longtime Internet friend and Benares gharana brother, Shen Flindell, who is based in Australia. Shen is a very talented tabla player, and aside from some online clips, this is the first full-length album of his that I have had the pleasure of listening to. Tibet2Timbuk2 is a trio that combines the musics of India, Tibet, and Africa. The result is a feel-good mix of upbeat world music. Honestly, every folk festival in Canada should book this band!

What really strikes me in Shen's playing on this album is his feel/groove, and above all, his truly exceptional baya playing. His baya's pitch is nicely tuned to the tonic (which surprisingly, not every tabla player does), and aside from that, he plays moving bass-lines with great accuracy. Who needs a bass player? :) The instrumentation of the trio allows each instrument to speak, with no one stepping on each other's toes.  The singer's "super-vibrato" is certainly different! Of special note is guest artist Taro Terahara on bansuri.

Favourite tracks: Beautiful Girl/Bhumo Zhema, Ama

Music is Life can be ordered through EthnoSuperLounge. Proceeds from the sale of this album go to support Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala, India.

That's all for now. Please let me know what YOU think of these albums!