Page 40 - Seniors Today - March Issue
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pandemic struck. Chaurasia on raag Chandrakauns,
The other kind of fans were people who Shivkumar Sharma on Kirwani or L Shankar
listened to jazz and jazz-rock fusion, and on the Carnatic raag Aberi.
admired acts like Miles Davis, Weather If my admiration of Hussain’s music
Report and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, began with classical concerts and Shakti, it
led by guitarist John McLaughlin. When expanded to many other territories. There
Hussain teamed up with McLaughlin, were numerous fusion albums to begin with,
violinist L Shankar and ghatam player Vikku including Making Music with McLaughlin,
Vinayakram on the Indo-jazz fusion group Chaurasia and saxophonist Jan Garbarek,
Shakti, these listeners naturally took a liking and percussionist Mickey Hart’s album
to their sound. Planet Drum, with drummers from around
My personal exposure came from a bit of the world. He provided music for films like
both areas. Staying in New Delhi, I would Heat And Dust and Saaz, and became a
see him at classical concerts and solo recitals household name with his Wah, Taj tea ads.
during season time in the early 1980s, though Having shifted to Mumbai in 1990, I would
local hero Ustad Shafaat Ahmed Khan was an see Hussain accompany thumri great
equal favourite. When Shakti played in 1984, Shobha Gurtu or Kathak legend Pandit
I became an instant fan, and soon bought Birju Maharaj, besides playing lengthy solo
their LPs Shakti, A Handful of Beauty and concerts or leading a seven-member ensemble
Natural Elements. Even today, I can listen to comprising percussionists from various parts
Shakti tracks like ‘Lotus Feet’, ‘Two Sisters’, of India. While accompanying sarod maestro
‘Face To Face’ and ‘Bridge Of Sighs’ endlessly, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan at the Tata Theatre,
just as much as I can hear him accompanying Mumbai, his style was simple and straight.
Ustad Zakir Hussain has amazing rapport across generations - here, performing with Rakesh Chaurasia
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