Ken Zuckerman recalls his 37-year long association with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan passed away in San Francisco at 1000 am(IST) according to family friend Robin Pal in Kolkata.
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who passed away on Friday, was an inspiration in more ways than one for Derek Trucks, a rock guitar phenomenon with a growing, global fan following."When I heard the news [of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's death], it was like losing Ray Charles, or John Coltrane, or Charlie Parker," Trucks said.
One of Debashish Bhattacharya's most remarkable contributions is that he has taken the scope and foundation of the slide guitar, improvised it again and again, thereby designing and creating four entirely new guitars.
'The largest listenership for Vividh Bharati outside the country is in Spain.' 'The labourers who go there for the tomato-picking season feel cut off from their country and listen to Vividh Bharati to overcome their loneliness.'
He was a formidable musician but seemed utterly human, a Peter Pan who wore his genius with deceptive lightness. Sandip Roy remembers Ustad Zakir Hussain.
Eight years ago, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain had narrated how his father Alla Rakha had welcomed him into this world by putting the musical instrument's rhythms into his ears when asked to recite prayers.
Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain died at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said on Monday.
Guitar hero Derek Trucks on life, and playing in India
'When there was a match, he would be up all night watching it on his laptop with Kishori Amonkarji singing on the side.'
Have you ever met the maestro or experienced his magic?
All of a sudden, in the space of some weeks, the nation seems to be running up a deficit on its cultural capital.
Annapurna Devi was an Indian surbahar player of Hindustani classical music and she was the daughter and disciple of Allauddin Khan.
Versatile Hindustani musician Sharan Rani, popularly known as 'Sarod Rani', passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, a day before her 80th birthday.A disciple of great music maestros Ustad Allaudin Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, she belongs to the Maihar Senia gharana and was hailed by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as the 'Cultural Ambassador of India'.Rani, a Padma Bhushan awardee who created new ragas, she traveled abroad to record with major music companies.
'Guruji inspired and indeed, changed the lives of so many for the better in the United States, in India, and elsewhere.' 'If you knew him, ever saw him teach, saw him dance, you would have thought that if anyone would live forever, if anyone could defy the inevitability of mortality, it would have been Pandit Chitresh Dasji.' Hours after renowned Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, 70, died of acute aortic dissection in his home in California, tributes poured in honouring the great dancer, and an even greater human being. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
At some point, it became evident to the audience that a subtle musical duel was taking place. By the time the faster taans started, the notes had become sharp arrows shot with the intention to annihilate. A revealing excerpt from Namita Devidayal's The Sixth String Of Vilayat Khan.
'He was a legend, he changed kathak and brought it to a whole different level.' 'He held very high standards and his energy was beyond imagination. He was god-like to see; he expressed such positive vibes.' Amid dance and music, friends and family mourned the loss of Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, who passed away on January 4 of a heart ailment. Touching tributes were made for the great dancer. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports
'My chowkidar and the paanwala near my house have seen Mirzapur.' 'They may have missed Delhi Crime but they have seen Mirzapur.' ''Delhi Crime won Emmy, people know me from Mirzapur'Sometimes I feel I have done so much work, why do people know me only by this role?'
Pandit Ravi Shankar was George Harrison's link into the Vedic world.
'This has been an ongoing process,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former consul general in San Francisco, 'but I believe a Modi visit to the West Coast can be a force-multiplier.'
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