Masters of Percussion!
The concert series will feature the traditional repertoire from both Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) classical traditions, Ustad Zakir Hussain’s masterful tabla solo, as well as excursions exploring the frontier between traditional and contemporary, folk and classical
Ustad Zakir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure in his own country, India, but have earned him worldwide fame. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study and till today, remains one of the most the favorite accompanist for many of India’s greatest classical musicians and dancers.
We really do not know where to begin telling our readers about Zakirji’s acheivements but thought this with a magical clip of Zakirji’s Masters of Percussion 2008 performance will do the trick!
A Little about the other Artists he will be performing with: (excerpts about artists from IMGArtists)
Taufiq Qureshi, an ace percussionist of India, is also an acclaimed composer. Being the son and disciple of the legendary tabla maestro Ustad Allarakha and younger brother of Zakir Hussain himself, Taufiq’s performances showcase the traditional flavor and intricacies of Indian rhythm and the sparkle of contemporary world percussion. Taufiq’s trademark style incorporates body and vocal percussion to create unique rhythmic motifs spanning across cultures. His sense of tone and his command over a wide variety of percussion instruments and styles is phenomenal. His albums have been released internationally and he has performed at prestigious music festivals all over the globe. Taufiq has been greatly influenced by his illustrious brother Zakir Hussain and is privileged to receive guidance from Ghatam Vidhwan Pandit “Vikku” Vinayakram. While the realm of studio music keeps him constantly engaged creatively, Taufiq is continuously evolving as a percussionist in the ever-inspiring world of live performance.
Ganesh & Kumaresh are best known for their scintillating and spirited duo violin recitals. Their music is laden with pure virtuosity and brims with novel surges of soul-stirring creativity soaked in classicism. Their concerts at home and abroad have engaged not only audiences of Indian origin but have captivated audiences across the world, keeping them spellbound and enthralled with electrifying energy. Trained by their father, Shri Rajagopalan, they were rubbing shoulders with veterans in Indian music at a very young age. Their deep-rooted strength in playing Carnatic music in the traditional way has made them a favorite with purists as well as with the uninitiated. Their ability to combine traditional Carnatic Music with other global musical forms has created a unique identity for them with audiences the world over.
Sabir Khan was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and belongs to the Sikar gharana (school or style) of music, a gharana which has introduced several stalwarts to Indian classical music. He is the ninth generation of his family to take up sarangi and is considered one of the beacons of the younger generation. With a technique displaying tonal, melodic and rhythmic prowess, Sabir is proving a worthy successor to his proud lineage.
Sridhar Parthasarathy has been studying the mridangam since the age of six as a disciple of Vidwan Shri. Karaikudi R. Chandramouli. During his career, he has accompanied leading Carnatic musicians such as Smt. D. K. Pattammal, Shri. Madurai G. S. Mani, Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna and Shri Ranganatha Sharma and has appeared in jugalbhandi (duet) with such illustrious musicians as Shankar Mahadevan, Rattan Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev Abhyankar and Nandkishor Muley. He regularly performs with rhythm ensembles headed by Ghatam Vidwan Shri. T.H. “Vikku” Vinayakaram, Louiz Banks, Ranjit Barot, Fazal Qureshi, Taufiq Qureshi and Niladri Kumar and recorded and performed for the Miles from India album produced by Bob Beldon in 2008.
Navin Sharma was born in the Ulhasnagar district of Maharashtra in 1975, to a musical family and started studying the dholak at a very young age. His first guru was Shyam Rughuram Sharma, his father, and through these studies was introduced to other local musicians who were actively composing scores for Bollywood films. After realizing Navin’s desire to study more Indian Classical music, his father insisted he learn from tabla master Ustad Allarakha, with whom he studied for several years. Navin has performed with many master musicians over his career, including jazz, fusion, pop, rock, ghazal and bhajan ensembles.
The Motilal Dhakis from Bengal are from the eastern part of the state of Bengal, the region dominated by Kolkata (Calcutta), India. They are keepers of a folk tradition which combines an active style of drumming with dance movements. The rhythms generally come from weddings and festival processions – the happy occasions of our lives. As they drum, they demonstrate the shapes of the rhythm patterns with dance movements. The stimulating combination of both visual and audible patterns makes for a highly exciting experience.
The Tour is as follows:
- When: March 3rd, 2010
Where: Moore Theatre (Seattle Theatre Group),Seattle - When: March 6th, 2010
Where: Paramount Theater, Austin, TX - When: March 7th, 2010
Where: Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO - When: March 9th, 2010
Where: Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, NM - When: March 10th, 2010
Where: SF Jazz Festival – Herbst Theater, San Francisco, CA - When: March 12th, 2010
Where: Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center (World Music Institute),NYC, NY - When: March 13th, 2010
Where: Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center (World Music Institute) NYC, NY - When: March 16th, 2010
Where: Slee Hall – Triveni at University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY - When: March 18th, 2010
Where: Ferguson Hall (Tampa Bay PAC), Tampa, FL - When: March 20th, 2010
Where: Rialto Center, Atlanta, GA - When: March 21st, 2010
Where: Orchestra Hall (Symphony Center), Chicago, IL - When: March 25th, 2010
Where: Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, KY - When: March 27th, 2010
Where: Concert Hall – UMass Amherst, Massachusetts, NE - When: March 28th, 2010
Where: Berklee Performance Center,Boston, MA - When: March 30th, 2010
Where: Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington, VT - When: April 1st, 2010
Where: Spaulding Auditorium (Dartmouth College Hopkins Center), Hanover, NH - When: April 3rd, 2010
Where: Bailey Hall, Ithaca, NY
But we ask a favor. We would really really apprecialte it if you could send us some tit bits of how the concert was. We’d love to hear from you. We’d want to put your review up for people to read!
i attended the percussion concert held in Buffalo, New York on March 16, 2010; to call it a concert is an insult to the word concert; it was nothing but a cacophony of noises; it is unfortunate that mr zakir husain has literally \prostituted\ the noble instrument of tabla in pursuit of the almighty dollar;
when old timers like myself come to attend a program that is titled as a zakir husain concert, we expect to hear him play the tabla in its pure classical version; it is disappointing that when we come to his concerts these days, all we hear is an assault on the ear drums under the guise of fusion music;