Wow what an year 2013 !!!

Wow what an year 2013 !!!
Year 2013 was a fabulous year for music lovers in UAE. There were a number of concerts.
The ones that I attended are:

1. Nirvana-Zhakir Hussein (tabla) & others.
2. Sunidhi Chauhan & Shankar Ehsan Loy (Vocal)
3. Mysore brothers (violin)
4. Rajesh Vaidhya (veena)
5. L. Subramaniam and Ambi (Violin)
6. Monalisa Ghosh & Kundan Mukherjee (Odissi dance)
7. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Bansuri) & Gweneth Wentink (Harp)
8. Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) & Amman, Ayyan
9. Ustad Rashid Khan (vocal)
10. Chirag Katti (sitar)
11. Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor)
12. Bikram Ghosh (tabla)
13. Pandit Jasraj (vocal)

And then there were some that I could not attend viz:

1. Asha Bhosle (Vocal)
2. Shubha Mudgal (Vocal)
3. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Vocal)
4. Pankaj Udhas (Vocal)
5. Rajan-Sajan Mishra (Vocal)
6. Bal Murli Krishna (Vocal)
7. Rahul Sharma (Santoor)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU.

Pandit Jasraj (Vocal)

Mandar's concert report

Attended a concert of Pt Jasraj (vocal) assisted by Pt Ramkumar (tabla- he is grandson of legendary anokelal), Parthasarathi (pakhawaj), Mukund (sanvadini- he is disciple of Appasaheb Jalgaokar), Ratan Mohan Sharma ( tanpura & vocals- he is nephew of Jasraj) & Preeti (tanpura & vocals) at DUCTAC, Dubai on 21st December 2013 with Aditi, Thangaokar family, Banchhode family, Amit, Prakash, Ashok, Yashodhan and Raju.

Concert started with alap followed by 'Shyam murari' then 'Mata kali ma' then a Thumri 'kaun raag'  and finally bhajan 'Govindam'. Audience requested him to sing Darbari but he declined sighting shortage of time and making use of a bit of humor.

Panditji sung very well and demonstrated so many variations in lower, middle & upper octaves that the audience was left spellbound. It was as if he was peeling music layer by layer for the audience and showing the intricacies and beauty of each layer.

All the compositions presented by Panditji were devotional. His ability to control and hold his breath, even at the age of 83, is amazing. His kharja (खर्ज) was especially good. Age has not impacted his singing ability. His voice was not at its best at the start. I could sense slight noise in his voice. But then it improved with time and was back to normal by the time alap ended.

Panditji kept giving looks & instructions to Ratan giving impression that he was not singing to expectations. Sanvadini player sat in Vajrasan (वज्रासन) for the entire duration and played nimbly. Tabalji and Pakhwajiya were good and were applauded by audience frequently. Tabalji, especially, was too good.

An excellent concert. Rating 8.75/10

Zhakir Hussein (Tabla) Fusion

Attended 'Nirvana' a concert by Zhakir Hussein, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Rakesh Chaurasia & U Srinivas at World Trade Center Dubai on 14Feb13.

This concert was fusion music concert where Zhakir Hussein played tabla (obviously) accompanied by Edgar Meyer (Upright bass), Bela Fleck (Banjo), U Srinivas (Mandolin) and Rakesh Chaurasia (Bansuri).

Zakir, Edgar and Bela played full time and Srinivas and Rakesh joined for certain pieces. Upright bass played by Edgar was an instrument more than 100 years old.

This was my first time to listen live banjo and live mandolin & I enjoyed it. We were witness to some scintillating and enchanting music.

All the musicians were superb and concert was a delight but............

I felt there was not enough of Zakir Hussain in it !!!

Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy (Vocal)

Went for a concert of Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy on 8th March 2013 at World Trade Center in Dubai.

Seats in Zabeel Hall in world trade centre were on a flat surface rather than slope so visuals were bad. Sound was so loud that we had to use ear plugs to save the ears from decibel assault.

1st half was Sunidhi. The performance was at best mediocre with flashes of brilliance in a couple of songs like “Sheela”. Rather... than starting slow and building up the tempo, she started with fast songs, but audience did not warm up and every one started waiting for Shankar.

2nd half was Shankar-Ehsan-Loy. He started with Vishwavinayak and was a delight to ears all along. He was ably supported by Raman and Rasika as co-singers and of course Ehsan & Loy. He is a man with miraculous voice and sung for almost two hours effortlessly without halt. His breathless was breath taking and end with Senorita was very appropriate.

Shankar also lightened the mood by his witty commentary and by thinking on his feet.

Finally we left the auditorium thinking that it would have been better if the concert was only Shankar-Ehsan-Loy.

Mysore brothers (Violin duet)

Attended grand violin concert in Indian Embassy, Abu Dhabi by Mysore brothers. Mysore Sri Nagraj & Mysore Sri Manjunath on violin. Accompanied by Padma Vibhushan Umayalpuram Sri K. Sivaraman on Mridangam and Sri Giridhar Udupa on Ghatam.

It was first time I watched synchronized violin. Fabulous. Who says violin is not an Indian instrument?

K.Sivaraman and Giridhar Udupa played excellant solo mudangam and Ghatam pieces.Mridangam and Ghatam jugalbandi stole the show.

2.5 huors flew by.However the concert did not end with a creshendo.

All in all a very good one.

Dr. L. Subramaniam (Violin)

Attended Indian classical music concert of Dr. L. Subramaniam (VIOLIN- He needs no introduction) and his son Ambi (violin-like father like son) accompanied by TSR Murthy on mridangam, Radhakrishnan on ghatam &  Satyasai on morsing, in Dubai on 3rd May 2013 with Jayant, Amit & Kumar.

Mehfil started with Krithi of Tyagraja. Never heard such a sweet violin. Father & son had very good understanding.

As per tradition each purcussionist played solo and jugalbandi before intermission. Ghatam stole this section.

Suresh Wadkar attended 2nd half where they played ragam tanam pallavi, chandrapriya and ragamalika.

Mehfil ended with a bang.       
Overall it was an enchanting evening.

Rajhesh Vaidhya (Veena)

Attended Carnatic Veena Concert by Rajhesh Vaidhya (veena) accompanied by Mohanaraman & Sriganesh (mridangam), Paramasivan (kanjira) and Subramanian (ghatam) as part of Swara Raga Sudha in Abu Dhabi on 2nd May 2013 with Jayant.

This was the first time to see/hear live veena. Rajeshji uses electric and amplified strings, plays with  lightning speed and enjoys playing. He changed horizontal angle of veena to get different sound.

All purcussionists played excellent solo pieces. I felt one mridangam was bit too loud.

The ensamble played a number of western/fusion/light music compositions in 2nd half followed by medley and ended with a fantastic creshendo. 

A very satisfying mehfil.

Odissi Recital

Attended Odissi Recital (Dance performance) by Ms. Monalisa Ghosh and her student Shri Kundan Mukherjee (who also happens to be Mihika's kathak teacher) at Embassy of India, Abudhabi on 16th May 2013 with Aditi, Mihika, Sucheeta and Jayant.

Monalisa started with dance 'Namah Shivay' followed by  Pallavi in Raga Kirwani & Tal  Zula. Then she presented abhinay of Krishna-Yashoda on Surdas bhajan. This one was very good.

Kundan's students (6 small girls) presented Pallavi in Raga Basant & Tal Ektal.
            
Kundan Mukherjee presented Pallavi in Raga Shankara & Tal Ektal. He was a bijlee on stage.
Monalisa then presented Ardhansrishwar by Adi Shankaracharya.
              
Program ended with duet dance 'Moksha' of Monalisa & Kundan. This was the best dance of program.
            
Length of the program seemed longish otherwise liked it.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (Bansuri)

Attended 'SANGAM - A world music confluence', a concert by Hariprasad Chaurasia (Bansuri)  assisted by Mr. Sonar and Ms. Joshi, Gwyneth Wentink-A disciple of HPC (Harp), Subhankar Banarjee (Tabla) & Gino Banks (Western drums) at DUCTAC, Dubai on 17th May 2013 with Nandu, Jayant, Prakash & Amit.
 
Panditji started with Raag Madhuwanti in Rupak taal, with Subhankar, in  North Indian style followed by same in South Indian style. His age was telling with shaking hands and his sitting on a chair, but Bansuri was sublime. The give & take between Hariji and Shubhankarji was enjoyable.  

Gweneth played two solo compositions. Sonata by Czec composer Dusec followed by folk tune 'Carnival in Venice'. This was my first-time seeing/hearing harp which has 47 strings. How does she know which is 19th or 31st is a wonder. Harp is an amazing instrument. Gino Banks then joined her for an Indian-Western fusion composition. Gino is an excellent drummer. I came to know today that drums can be played softly.

Post interval all of them played Yaman. This was real sangam of all instruments. This one was too good and left the audience spell bound. Finally they played folk music from Holland. Alas it had to end and so it did. Needless to say that they got standing ovation. 

I thaught they should have taken folk before Yaman to end on a high note.

Overall our consensus rating 8 out of 10.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod)

Attended 'The Score - Master of Sarod', a concert by Amjad Ali Khan with Amman (Sarod) & Ayyan (Sarod) assisted by Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) & Anubrata Chatterjee (Tabla) at Madinat theater, Dubai on 28th May 2013 with Jayant, Prakash & Amit.

Concert was started by Amjad Ali Khan alone with tabaljees. He started with Zila Kafi. This was followed by Ekla chalo re, a beautiful folk tune, from Rabindra Sangeet. Then he played tarana in raag Bahar (His tribute to Hazrat Aamir Khusro, inventor of tarana) and finally a composition in Miya ki Malhar.                                     
2nd section was Amman-Ayyan duet. They played 2 compositions in night raag Bihag. Both of them played well but somehow I did not enjoy 1st part of this section. However end of this section was very good.
              
3rd & final section was Sarod trio. They performed raag Kirwani in south Indian system. Ustadji played with sons individually and togather. This was the best part and mesmerized the audience. At the end everyone wanted more. Felt unsatisfied. 
                                                  
All three carried Sarod with them for every entry and exit. This was something new for me. Both tablas were not 'kadak'. I would have preferred more gain for tabla mike. Audience was dull in the beginning but warmed up as the concert progressed.

I would have prefered longer 1st & 3rd section at the expense of 2nd.
A good concert.  7/10

Hasyadhara (हास्यधारा)

Attended a very good program called 'Hasyadhara' (हास्यधारा) on 14th June 2013, conducted by Prof. Milind Joshi and  performed by Ramdas Phutane and Fa.Mu.Shinde (who later became president of Marathi sahitya sammelan), organized by Maharashtra Mandal. This was not a concert as such.

This was a program of mainly poems (कविता) and watratikas. Both the stalwarts presented their new as well as old evergreen poems.

I heard 'cut piece' and 'Bharat kadhi kadhi maza desh ahe' of Phutane and 'Aai' of Shinde after my school days.

Program was appreciated by rasiks by continuous clapping and frequent wah wahs and ended with a black humor poem of Phutane titled ' don minute'.

It was a very good change, back to Marathi literature.

Ustad Rashid Khan (Vocal)

Attended 'Classics II', a concert by Ustad Rashid Khan (Vocal) assisted by Shubhankar Banerjee (Tabla), Murad Ali (Sarangi) & Jyoti Goho (Harmonium) at DUCTAC, Dubai on 13th Sept 2013 with Nandu, Jayant, Prakash, Raju, Ashok & Amit.

Concert started with raag Puriya. First half an hour was dull. Ustad looked much younger than the posters. On one occasion Ustad repraminded tabalji subtly.
Initially audience response was luke warm but soon the audience warmed up and started enjoying.

Ustad then presented raag Desh. This was really good. This was followed by his famous and evergreen thumri 'Yaad piya ki aye'. Ustad decided to end the mehfil at this point but public did not go and urged him to continue.

So he presented 'Aaoge jab tum......barsega sawan' on public demand as the last item.
                                 
Ustad has an excellent command over his voice.  Untill now I did not find sound of Sarangi, sweet. But this Sarangi sounded really sweet. Hats off to Murad Ali.

Knowledge level of audience appeared 'not upto mark'.  Temperature in the theater was 3-4 degrees more than what it normally is. New initiate Ashok enjoyed the mehfil and wants to attend more mehfils.

Gates opened 1 hr late. Program started 40 min late. Strangely the accompanying artists were never introduced to the audience. In short the event was unorganized.
 
A good concert but not a wow one.  Consensus  rating 7/10.

Chirag Katti (Sitar)

Attended a baithak of Chirag Katti (Sitar) assisted by Nandkishor Banchhode (Tabla), at Saeed Tower II, Dubai on 4th Oct 2013 with Jayant, Sucheeta, Pooja, Deepa,  Nachi, Raju, Amit, Ashok, Vijay & Gotimukul family.          

Chirag started with rag Marwa (alap jod zhala) followed by gat in jhaptal and trital. It was followed by dhun in Mishra Khamaj & dhun in Dadra.

After interval he played rag Wachaspati alap and then 2 compositions in vilambit and drut teental. Finale was reached with Ragmala.
 
Chirag has a peculiar habit of banging his front foot on ground when coming on sum (sumewar yene). Chirag displayed some fine Sitar playing and showed minute & intricate details with finess.He seems to be on the path of becoming future great. His alaps of both ragas were the best.

Nandu is a talented amature tabla player but needs more match practice at professional level. I always feel that his talent should get correct platform.

The hall was small. Audience  of about 70, but dardi. Sound system was not of a very good quality. Lighting on stage was not adequate. (You can make it out from the photographs)

A very satisfactory concert. Rating 9/10.

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (Santoor)

Attended a concert of Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor) assisted by Bhavani Shankar (pakhawaj), Ramkumar Mishra (tabla), and Dilip Kale, Panditji's Sr deciple,  (tanpura) at DUCTAC, Dubai on 25th Oct 2013 with Kumar family, Thangaokar family, Banchhode family, Amit, Ashok, Prakash, little Gauri and for the first time Aditi.

First half was pure classical, raag Vachaspsti. He played aalap solo, jod with pakhawaj and jhala with tabla. This was a treat to ears.

In second half he played light classical raag Pahadi. This included his most famous pahadi dhun. Also included were a number of variations and improvisations. Audience enjoyed this section very much.

Panditji peppered the program with his humerous narrative and light hearted comments, which the audience adored.

This was the first time I saw pakhawaj being played live and it was worth it. Bhavani Shankar plays very well. Tabalji was promising but needs to elevate his performance one level, if he has to accompany masters. Tanpura used for the program was a miniature version of the one we are used to seeing and was played by holding it horizontally.

The duration of the program, though, seemed inadequate. This was due to combination of short time of 1.5 hr and absolutely mesmerizing music. A memorable concert.

Rahul Sharma's name was announced but  he did not come. No explanation was given either. Program started almost on time. My seat was close to speakers hence was able to pick up all the minute notes and variations. Temperature of the hall was more than usual but still comfortable.

A very good concert. Rating 9/10. It would have been full marks but for the duration.

Bickram Ghosh (Tabla)

Attended "Sufusion" a concert of Bickram Ghosh (tabla) assisted by Arun Kumar (drums), Pulit Sarkar (keyboard), Abhishek Malik (electric sitar), Amrish Das (vocal), Parvati Kumari (vocal), Biswanath Majumdar (purcussions) and  Tarun Chaktavarty (Dholak) at DUCTAC, Dubai on 8th Nov 2013 with Kumar, Thangaokar family, Banchhode family, Kunte family and for the first time Siddhant & Mihika.

Bickram, son of Pt. Shankar Ghosh, was the principal accompanist of Pt. Ravi Shankar for 10 years and is winner of Grammy award.

Concert started with 'Dance of Shiva' in raag Jog. This was not a Sufi piece, but it set the mood of concert on high.

Sufi part started with 2 kalams of Bulle Shah 'Are logon' & 'Ghoohat mein'. It was followed by Patiala gharana thumri 'Yaad piya ki awe'. Next came 'Gangotri' in raag Mishra Bhairavi. This followed by solo purcussion pieces. Every one played very well but the drummer stole this section.

Then there was a section of non instrumental percussion (by mouth) where the performance dipped slightly. Bickram then involved audience by asking them to play, whatever he plays, by clapping. Audience stood up to the occasion by repeating correctly.

Penultimate number was 'e ri sakhi' by Amir Khusro in raag Desh, in Sufi and Thumri style. Grand finale was 'damadam mast kalandar'. Satariya was too good here. Concert ended on a high note.

This was a rare concert where the principal artist did not always grab the center stage. Communication and understanding between Bickram and drummer was excellent.

Electric sitar was a novelty but sounded artificial, probably because we are used to conventional sitar. Parvati's uninhabited voice was a good change. She has excellent upper range. Amrish, though sang very very well, was not able to erase influence of Hindustani style while singing Sufi. Dholak was the weak link today. Also there was nothing in lower octaves in this concert.

Sound system was a little too loud. Drums (mike) should have been toned down. Vocals were muffled sometimes.

An excellent concert. Rating 9.5/10.
Fod dala!