Remember Shakti
It was quite an idyllic setting for the Remember Shakti concert on Jan 26th - a cool evening breeze at the onset of spring in Bangalore, the backdrop of the magnificient Bangalore Palace looking almost orange in the twilight hours, and a full moon rising behind the Palace also looking orangish in the evening. Unfortunately I didnt take my camera, only my binoculars.
The group was the usual Remember Shakti troupe - John McLaughlin, Mandolin Shrinivas, Shankar Mahadevan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram & Zakir Hussain. Thankfully, there was no compere/MC to cause any embarassment to art lovers. The artists introduced themselves - Zakir introducing Shakar, John & John introducing Zakir & Selvaganesh. This was good considering the last time I went to a Zakir Hussain concert (with Ustad Sultan Khan), the compere was SO BAD, I was appalled how someone could do such a bad job (she actually said - "please bear with us & join us for this evening's concert with Zakir Hussain & Ustad Sultan Khan"!). Anyways, it was interesting to hear John speak so much - the last 2-3 Remember Shakti concerts I went to, Zakir did most of the talking. He was reminiscent of the older times of Shakti, when John used to collaborate with the great Vikku Vinayakram, Zakir & L. Shankar, Vikku's son Selvaganesh was barely two years old. John also kept repeating how much he loved Bangalore in comparison to other Indian cities he has performed in.
They played some of my favourite Shakti numbers. They began with a number I didnt recognize, maybe it was new. It was followed by the famous Giriraja Sudha, then by Ma No Pa, a composition by Zakir. Soon to follow (there was no break/intermission) was Lotus Feet. This is one of the most sublime compositions I have heard, very slow & soft and absolutely quietening to the mind. Next were Maya, a composition of U. Shrinivas and brilliantly filled with the mandolin maestro's best pieces and Niyati, a riot of percussion duets between Zakir & Selvagesh that had so many instruments, it was mind boggling to follow them - tabla, drums & banjo by Zakir, mridangm, ghatam & kanjira by Selvagesh. Their hands & fingers were flying creating waves of rhythm faster than the mind could comprehend. Shankar soon came back and the last piece was based on a Hindustani classical music thumri called Sakhi.
It was quite an idyllic setting for the Remember Shakti concert on Jan 26th - a cool evening breeze at the onset of spring in Bangalore, the backdrop of the magnificient Bangalore Palace looking almost orange in the twilight hours, and a full moon rising behind the Palace also looking orangish in the evening. Unfortunately I didnt take my camera, only my binoculars.
The group was the usual Remember Shakti troupe - John McLaughlin, Mandolin Shrinivas, Shankar Mahadevan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram & Zakir Hussain. Thankfully, there was no compere/MC to cause any embarassment to art lovers. The artists introduced themselves - Zakir introducing Shakar, John & John introducing Zakir & Selvaganesh. This was good considering the last time I went to a Zakir Hussain concert (with Ustad Sultan Khan), the compere was SO BAD, I was appalled how someone could do such a bad job (she actually said - "please bear with us & join us for this evening's concert with Zakir Hussain & Ustad Sultan Khan"!). Anyways, it was interesting to hear John speak so much - the last 2-3 Remember Shakti concerts I went to, Zakir did most of the talking. He was reminiscent of the older times of Shakti, when John used to collaborate with the great Vikku Vinayakram, Zakir & L. Shankar, Vikku's son Selvaganesh was barely two years old. John also kept repeating how much he loved Bangalore in comparison to other Indian cities he has performed in.
They played some of my favourite Shakti numbers. They began with a number I didnt recognize, maybe it was new. It was followed by the famous Giriraja Sudha, then by Ma No Pa, a composition by Zakir. Soon to follow (there was no break/intermission) was Lotus Feet. This is one of the most sublime compositions I have heard, very slow & soft and absolutely quietening to the mind. Next were Maya, a composition of U. Shrinivas and brilliantly filled with the mandolin maestro's best pieces and Niyati, a riot of percussion duets between Zakir & Selvagesh that had so many instruments, it was mind boggling to follow them - tabla, drums & banjo by Zakir, mridangm, ghatam & kanjira by Selvagesh. Their hands & fingers were flying creating waves of rhythm faster than the mind could comprehend. Shankar soon came back and the last piece was based on a Hindustani classical music thumri called Sakhi.
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