The Godfather of world music, Pandit Ravi Shankar was one of the most influential and prolific Indian sitar players. His extraordinary talent, enormous contribution to music has propelled him to stardom and till date he is regarded as the world’s most famous exponent of Indian classical music.
The sitar player was awarded the Bharat Ratna; He had won 5 Grammys, and was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Globally respected, this publisher of Indian and world music was a champion of the fusion genre that blended Eastern and Western styles. The sitar virtuoso and composer created a never-before-seen passion among Western audiences for the melody, the rhythms that resonate in the ragas of classical Indian music.
As we pay tribute to him, we present to you a compilation of the best of the legend’s creations:
Raga Kedara from Living Room Sessions, Part 1
The great sitar player had shown amazing power in his fingers while playing it at the age of 91. He recorded it at his home with tabla player Tanmay Bose, tanpura player Kenji Ota and Barry Phillips.
Live: Ravi Shankar at Monterey Pop Festival
It was a live album released in 1967 on World Pacific Records. The mesmerizing album includes part of Shankar’s awe-inspiring performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California. Part of the stunning set was included in the 1968 documentary film, Monterey Pop.
Concert in 1972 (Apple, 1972)
A very rare live performance by Ravi Shankar with Ali Akbar Khan and Alla Rakha. This spectacular musical was performed in concert at the Philharmonic Hall in New York. The album consists of 3 incredible pieces: Raga Hem Bihag, Raga Manj Khamaj, and Raga Sindhi Bhairavi.
Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 (Angel, 2001)
A live album was recorded at a concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where he was accompanied by daughter Anoushka. The album has 5 tracks, 2 ragas. It earned Panditji a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
Improvisation (World Pacific, 1962)
Described as a ‘visionary recording’, this Fusion album is dynamic. This includes Panditji’s ‘Fire Night’ with a jazz quartet that includes flautist Bud Shank and bassist Gary Peacock; Apart from ragas, Kirwani and Raageshree.
The extraordinary sitar drama gave Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apu Trilogy’ his extraordinary musical charm by composing the music for the film. The opening part of ‘Improvisation’ is based on the music of Shankar’s score for ‘Pather Panchali’.
Cooperation – I
It is a 4-disc compilation that is the result of Panditji’s association with George Harrison of The Beatles. It epitomizes the beauty of the important ‘cultural heritage’.
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