Wardrobe and Van need home!!!

NB: As I've now gone overseas, these two items have been, in some way, dealt with.
Enquiries still received, however.

I have a nice old, very big wardrobe with a mirror, which needs a new home ASAP. (Sorry about the "crowded" pic, taken in-situ in its' current storage place.) It has been in storage since I first went to Japan in 2002. It's a lovely old thing, albeit with a few scratches here and there.

Dimensions
160 cm wide including cornices
187 cm high
51 cm deep incl cornices

I would like to find either a buyer (prices negotiable but I think around $200 is a bargain) or someone to take care of it semi-permanently (until I settle down in Brisbane again - who knows when...?)

Please contact me on 0415-106428 or email shen@ethnosuperlounge.com ASAP if you're interested in this.


ALSO... My luvverly old (1976 multicoloured Ford Transit) van Hilary will need a carer while I'm overseas from January to July 2007. I'd like someone to pay the registration for this period and take general care, at least moving her once a week to keep the battery charge up and the fuel lines clear. She'd be very useful for a marketeer or regular camper.

Meeting John Neptune in Ipswich

I had a very interesting day in Ipswich this Saturday. In the morning I attended the launch of Ipswich Multicultural Projects (IMP), and in the evening I took part (with a tabla solo) in a mega-bellydancing extravaganza, Dance of Colours.

But the highlight of the day was witnessing the rehearsal of Sawako Fukuhara (koto) and John Kaizan Neptune (shakuhachi) at the Ipswich Civic Centre - their only show in Australia. John Neptune plays not only traditional Japanese shakuhachi music but also jazz and his own world music compositions. He has lived in Japan for quite a while and I've been trying to meet him for a few years. He had this one concert in Australia - in Ipswich, on a day I already had 2 appointments there - and remembered me and dropped me a line! Who would have guessed it?

I had also heard of Sawako Fukuhara via stories of a music exchange trip to India (organised by other friends of mine). What an amazing koto player!!! Just beautiful. They played a great version of Take Five, as well as a lot of sublime Japanese music. With luck I'll be able to meet up with them again in Japan next year.

"Postcard from Japan"

Hi folks,

I wanted to write all about my trip to Japan in living colour detail, all about the onsens (see pic above), delicious cold soba and amazingly fresh sushi. But back in Brisbane now, I'm too rushed off my feet with work Monday to Friday and organising the December tour of bansuri player Taro Terahara.

So I'm just going to have to post this article I recently wrote for the BEMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre) Newsletter - "Postcard from Japan".

Postcard from Japan - Shen Flindell

"I'm going to Japan for a few months."
"Oh really, are you going to teach English?"
"Nooooo, I'm going to play Indian classical music."
"Oh really...?"

Back in June and July I had this conversation quite a number of times. I wonder why people are always so surprised to hear that Indian classical music and dance are thriving in Japan. When one thinks of traditional Japanese culture, what comes to mind? Elegance, stillness, attention to beauty and detail, respect for tradition, pursuit of excellence, appreciation of nature and deeply felt emotion. All very suited to the practise of Indian classical music. There are quite a few artists who have been practising Indian classical music and dance continously and devotedly for 15-20 or more years, and in recent years there has been an explosion of popularity among young people who travel to India every year.

Indian classical music (ICM), with its' balance of tradition and spontaneity, its' vast repertoire of ragas and talas within a relatively simple improvisational framework, offers, I believe, the widest opportunities for the expression of the artist's sentiment and character. Even presented with 2 musicians who have learnt from the same guru, playing the same raga, one will inevitably find that each musician's style shines distinctively. ICM is a precious jewel in not just India's, but the world's cultural heritage. And just as western classical music, jazz and popular music have so successfully spread around the world that no one blinks an eyelid at a Chinese classical pianist or a Danish jazz musician, I feel sure the time is coming when ICM will also blossom worldwide, as it is currently starting to do in a few places outside India such as San Francisco, London and Japan.

Several years ago I moved to Japan for a few years, during which time I managed to meet and play with just about every experienced ICM artist in the country. With that network of friends in place, this year I was able to fill out my 10 week trip with 15 concerts with 8 musicians. Here's a quick rundown of some of the venues:

Otoya-Kintoki ("Oto-Kin") is a dedicated world music venue in Tokyo. They have world music performances every night, and probably a quarter to a third of those are Indian classical or at least involving Indian instruments. I performed at Oto-Kin twice, firstly with sitar player Junichi Osako, secondly in a vocal duet performance with Taro Terahara (usually a bansuri player) and Taka Kurihara (usually sitar). The Oto-Kin audience often includes a good number of ICM students and performers and other regular India-goers, so there's a nice atmosphere of appreciation and knowledge of ICM.

I also performed with Taro Terahara and Taka Kurihara at the Bridgestone Museum auditorium (In our spare time we were able to go and check out the Monets, Manets, Renoirs, Picassos, etc upstairs). This was half instrumental performance, half lecture on Indian music, to a largely elderly audience.

Between these concerts, I went with Taro Terahara to the countryside prefecture of Niigata where we played two very well-attended concerts in traditional Japanese farmhouses. Taro is a leader in the ICM scene in Japan, playing absolutely lovely bansuri (bamboo flute) and combining an extensive knowledge of ragas and compositions with an excellent improvisational ability and sense of beauty and mood. He has recently made 2 CDs with top Indian tabla player Anindo Chatterjee and will be coming to the Brisbane region in December for a concert tour with yours truly (see below).

This concluded the Tokyo-side of my tour and so I moved over to Nagoya, Kyoto (my old home) and Osaka. In Nagoya I performed with Jimi Miyashita, a close disciple of the master of santoor, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, at Space-Ji, another space pretty much devoted to Indian music and dance. Nagoya is quite a centre for ICM in Japan as it is the home of sitar master Amit Roy, who has many many disciples (among them Taro Terahara).

In Osaka I performed twice with young sitar player Tadao Ishihama, who began his studies in sitar at the age of 14. The first concert was in the 120 year old Salon de Amanto, the second an interesting concert at an art gallery attached to a community health center - once again this concert brought a largely elderly audience who were absolutely enthralled.

Then Kyoto, the home of the spirit of Japanese culture. I played here with Jimi Miyashita in the beautiful Ei-Un-In temple. Having lived in Kyoto previously I've had a few opportunities to play in Ei-Un-In and some other temples, and I can tell you that Japanese temples are just about the best possible venue for ICM. In a tatami-floored room charged with centuries of meditation, with an exquisite Japanese garden of moss-covered rocks and lichen-encrusted trees as our backdrop, and the typically respectful Kyoto audience, this was an amazing experience. Jimi-san's alap in Raga Puriya Kalyan moved me to tears.

I also had a chance to play in the countryside town of Ayabe in north Kyoto, in a 193 year old house, once again loaded with atmosphere. Countryside ICM concerts in Japan have always proved to be very successful, bringing large audiences of often elderly people who generally have never heard Indian music before and who invariably leave very taken away by the whole experience.

Finally, following a small concert with Koki Yoshida in Nagoya's Garuva restaurant (which has spawned copies around the world including Brisbane), there was the all-night Sangeet Mela in countryside Gifu. This wonderful event is now in it's 9th year, organised by Jimi Miyashita and featuring musicians and dancers from around the country plus a few guests from India. It draws about 100 people who travel anything from 4 to 15 hours to get there and there is a genuine feeling of family and community among the participants. It's so special to be in the green room with so many great musicians, everyone with their own style and mood. This year's Mela featured 4 sitar players, 4 tabla players, bansuri, santoor, Dhrupad vocal, pakhawaj, violin as well as Kathak, Odissi and Bharat Natyam dance. I accompanied Tadao Ishihama (sitar) and Carlos Guerra (bansuri - yes that's right, an Australian and a Spaniard playing Indian music in Japan) - very nice for me as these two musicians have such diverse styles that I was able to show two very different sides of my own playing. The highlights for me were young sitar player Gopal Krishna Shah (who I realised I had practised with in Rishikesh 6 years ago) and Odissi dancer Sachiko Murakami, one of the most engaging and moving dancers I've ever witnessed.


Some interesting points:
: In 10 weeks I played 15 concerts with 8 musicians and practised with another 8, altogether covering every major Indian classical instrument;
: By playing with such a range of musicians, I learnt a great deal and expanded my own musical scope;
: Country concerts were particularly successful - something to note for Australia?;
: In many concerts, 50-80% of the audience were hearing ICM for the first time, with very positive responses;
: Elderly audiences were especially appreciative;
: Australia, with it's big spaces, tends to aim for large audiences to make budgets work, but in Japan I've found that ICM concerts (2 musicians) in small spaces can be just as financially lucrative, with less risk and more personal and therefore more absorbing atmosphere;
: Japanese ICM performers practise a lot, and visit India every year for further training and immersion, and so play with a lot of intensity, devotion, technical capability, improvisation and diverse repertoire - Could ICM performers in Australia please take note?


Taro Terahara & Shen Flindell's Tour Schedule

Fri 8 Dec: Toowoomba
Sat 9 Dec morning: Ipswich
Sat 9 Dec evening: Gold Coast
Sun 10 Dec: Ewingsdale (Byron Bay)
Thu 14 Dec: Maleny
Fri 15 Dec: Maroochydore
Sat 16 Dec: Brisbane

For full up-to-date info, please check ethnosuperlounge.blogspot.com or visit ethnosuperlounge.com and click on Events
Shen can be contacted by phone on 0415-106428 or by email at shen@ethnosuperlounge.com

Aug 9 - Sep 5: Greenhouse

I always enjoy staying at the Greenhouse with Chris Case. It's in a beautiful peaceful valley, Chris is one of the most interesting people I know, and the place is set up with a view to cultivating creativity. And on the practical level it's a convenient place for me to stay while in Kanto but without gigs, in exchange for some work gardening and helping out with events.

On this Japan trip I had only the one concert between Aug 8 and Sep 5, so apart from that one trip into ShimoKitazawa for a gig with Taro Terahara and sarod player Baku Hirakawa, I was out in the Greenhouse with Chris. While there we had a few events, firstly the O-Bon Week gathering, secondly a private party for a Bob Dylan lover called Joker and his eccentric circle, and thirdly my own tabla workshop. The Greenhouse is a great place for events, private parties, rehearsals, workshops and time out from Tokyo, and is becoming the home-base for EthnoSuperLounge in Japan.

Chris Case was born in 1943 in England, spent most of his childhood in Boston before returning to UK in the early 60s which was to bring him into contact with all many of amazing people. (I hope Chris doesn't mind me giving this potted life story, but I'm sure it's interesting to a lot of folks.) Among stories he's shared with me are: living with Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett, organising the art exhibition where John Lennon met Yoko Ono (hence being responsible for the break-up of the Beatles), hitch-hiking across Europe and Asia to India in 1969, coming to Japan in the early 1970s, introducing Kenji Sakasegawa (now the senior tabla player in Japan) to Indian music, being an antiques dealer, DJing in Bali, taking an early interest in computers and the internet, and eventually winding up in the Greenhouse, meeting various personalities along the way including William Burroughs, Timothy Leary and Terence McKenna. He's full of interesting stories, information, conspiracy theories and opinions yet at the same time happiest to step back and allow people to express their creativity in their own ways.

He organised a party during O-Bon Week (a Japanese festival week in honour of dead relatives), partly I think to take advantage of my arrival from Australia. I was supposed to bring other musicians to take part in the event, but unfortunately wasn't too successful in luring people away from Tokyo. Most of the time I was the only musician, jamming along with Chris' DJ sets. One jamming companion who turned up by luck after finding my website was Stefanko Iancu, half-Japanese, half-Romanian, recently based in New York and London. A great example of the multicultural times we live in, his project Dolomites Muzik brings together Gypsy music with Japanese Enka and pop melodies. He brought his accordion out and we had a nice jam with a keyboard player, Mumu.

Outside party times our daily routine would usually begin with a cup of coffee and an hour or two on the internet, followed in my case hopefully with a bit of tabla practice before we hit the garden (I weeded most of the property) or did some repair work in the old houses in the Greenhouse complex. After a hard day's work a visit to a local onsen (natural hot spring bath) was definitely in order, followed by dinner and some movie or documentary. Evening viewing included Terence McKenna speaking on "machine consciousness", Al Gore on global warming, and others on the "truth of 9-11" and the history behind privately-owned national reserve banks (those darned Rothschilds...).

We'd often be popping in and out of the office all day monitoring emails and blogs, and in my case finally getting around to restructuring my website. So during this month I did quite a bit of internet exploration. I set up my email program, Thunderbird to subscribe to the RSS feeds of some interesting blogs including Metafilter which brought up a lot of interesting stuff. Here are some of my highlights, all stuff which can be enjoyed in a minute or two (all via metafilter)

• Indexed: life lessons in chart and graph form.
  
• Visualizing the ten dimensions with the help of a clever flash animation.
• Escher's "Relativity" in Lego (original) [source]
• One of the coolest Flash animations I've ever seen - A crudely-drawn Flash stick figure comes to life and does battle with its creator.
• An obsessive compulsive cat flushes a toilet for three minutes.
  

Aug 4-9, Japan: Kuriharan-ji, J-san

日本語のバージョンがこちら。。。

Gonna try to make an effort to bring my blogging into the present by catching up on the last month or so...

Aug 4: Before coming to Japan I was hoping to stay with my friends Taro & Yuriko Terahara, who live near Narita Airport (comparatively speaking - Tokyo is a big place). However at the last minute things fell through and I was lucky enough to be welcomed by Taka & Kei Kurihara over on the other side of Tokyo in Hachioji.

Taka Kurihara (aka Takasitar aka Kuriharan) performs Indian classical music on sitar and vocal - I first met him at his vocal concert at Otoya-Kintoki two years ago and was impressed not only by his musical sense but by his sense of humour. Indian classical vocal can be very serious so it's really nice to see someone who takes the music very seriously but not themselves. Someone who dives with full devotion and heart into the potentially ridiculous possibilities (eg gamak) of Indian classical vocal, and not only takes you on a journey but puts a smile on your face.

I had been doubting my reasons for coming to Japan this time but one jam with Kuriharan-ji brought back all the joy, excitement and inspiration that Indian classical music has to offer, which keeps pulling me back here, where so many people are pursuing that mystical experience with such sincerity. This is what music is all about!

Not only is Taka-san a tasty Indian classical musician, he has also just produced a CD called "Jantar Night" under the name Takasitar. It features Indian instruments including sitar, harmonium, tabla and vocals, along with samples of Indian voices and sounds. Just like his singing, the music has a great balance of light and dark, both tasty and quirky. I can see a lot of potential for soundtrack work for this man, too.

On Aug 8 I got together with my old Benares buddy, Junichi Osako, another tasty sitar-player for a concert at Otoya-Kintoki, world music venue in Nishi-Ogikubo. OtoKin has world music, often Indian classical, every night and a lot of the audience know their stuff. There were quite a few sitar and tabla students and other Japanese friends from Benares there. There's a great "club" of Indian music devotees over here, everyone doing their best, improving year-by-year, playing with full energy and enjoyment. Unfortunately I can't say the same about Australia :-(

Junichi & I have a great connection in our music. Perhaps I can follow his playing more closely than any other player. J has a great rhythm sense and excellent use of dynamics too. Many of the audience commented that it was a very emotionally moving performance. Raga aficionados might like to know that the first set was Raag Jhinjhoti, gat in jhaptaal; the second set was Raag Kaunsi Kanada, gat in teentaal.

With no concerts in Tokyo for a few weeks, I headed off to my Kanto-country retreat-cum-EthnoSuperLounge basecamp, the Greenhouse...

India/Australia 2006 report

日本語のバージョンはこちら（パート１）とこちら（パート２）

My, my, I have been a slack journal-writer. It's been 4 months since I've sent any kind of diary out to the world and more than 7 months since I genuinely wrote something... I think it's because I've been having so many experiences I don't know where to begin... So I'm going to try and put something together with the aid of my weekly mini-journals, which are sent along with weekly concert news to friends in Japan and Australia.


VIPASSANA
9th Jan: "Well, while most of you lovely [Brisbane] people were partying on at Woodford or elsewhere over the New Year period, I was sitting up in Pomona practising Vipassana meditation 10 hours a day. At times it was hard, mostly for myself battling boredom, but in the end I feel it has changed my life. I feel very clear and a lot more resistant to various negative emotions, cravings and aversions. I recommend Vipassana to anyone who ever feels troubled by such things - and who doesn't? (See www.rasmi.dhamma.org for more info.)"

It certainly was life-changing. In the coming months, Vipassana was to have a big impact on my musical life, allowing me to focus much more on my practice and disregard the many distractions around the place. Unfortunately, once I got back to Australia I let it fall by the wayside. Pure Vipassana-meditating Shen seems quite distant...


KOLKATA - DOVER LANE MUSIC CONFERENCE
24th Jan: "Well here I am in Kolkata, enjoying long nights of Indian classical superstars at the 54th annual Dover Lane Music Conference. Highlights so far have included Shahid Parvez (sitar), Veena Sahasrabuddhe (vocal) and Rais Khan
(sitar). But the best is yet to come, with tonight's lineup including Ali Akbar Khan-saheb (sarod), Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor) and Parween Sultana (vocal). Tomorrow wraps up with Hari Prasad Chaurasia (bansuri) and Amjad Ali Khan (sarod) and more. Tabla superstars performing include Anindo Chatterjee, Swapan Choudhury, Sabir Khan and Shubhankar Banerjee. If you don't recognise these names then please go out and buy a CD by any of them and you'll understand just how fantastic this all is! Kya baat hai!!!"

Now more than 6 months later, I'd have to say that the main act which sticks in my mind was Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri - Indian bamboo flute) and especially the accompaniment given to him by rising tabla whiz Shubhankar Banerjee. It's amazing how despite the amazing quality of the music, it's still almost inevitable that one will tire of it after 5 long nights. All the Benares people couldn't wait to get out of Kolkata. Actually, there's quite a split between those who love Kolkata, and usually think little of provincial Benares, and those who adore Benares, and find Kolkata far too big-city flash. Lovers of Kolkata music claim that Benares music doesn't stimulate their minds; Benares-music devotees claim that Kolkata music doesn't touch their hearts.


VARANASI
2nd Feb: "Writing to you at last from Varanasi, where my days are filled with music - practise alone, practise with sitar, occasional concerts, etc etc. It's great to be back among my music-devotee classmates, seeing everyone's improvement year by year. We had a home concert at Guru-ji's place on Friday for Saraswati Puja (in honour of the goddess of music and learning). I accompanied sitar player Hiro Minamizawa, who played a very moody Raga Marwa and made a good impression on everyone. We will also play together at Guru-ji's memorial concert, March 17/18."

Yes, one of my biggest impressions at that time was the "classmate" feeling - kind of like being in university, and seeing one's fellow students again after the holidays, except that the campus is spread over most of Varanasi. Such camaraderie! Such bonhomie! :-)

The annual Saraswati Puja concert at Guru-ji's house is one of the most important events in my musical year. It has been running for at least 50 years, the only exceptions being 2 years ago when Guru-ji had just become fatally ill, and last year during the period of mourning following his passing. There is a very special devotional mood, with the focus of attention being the statue of Saraswati, before which the musicians sit facing Her with the "audience" behind and around them. Sri Debashish Dey, an excellent vocalist, still comments to me about the purity of Hiro Minamizawa's Raag Marwa that day - "It was Marwa from beginning to end!"

21st Feb: "Full-time musical life in Varanasi and I love it. Hindu festival observers might like to know that this Sunday 26th is Shivaratri - Shiva's night - one of the biggest events in Varanasi, the city of Shiva. Everyone here will be downing bhang lassis and getting into the festive mood, and there will be at least 2 big music festivals - one Dhrupad (ancient classical), one Khayal (modern classical). Please note the release of the Indian classical santoor CD "Rei-Mei" by Mr. Setsuo Miyashita ("Jimi-san"), with tabla accompaniment by yours truly."

I'd really like to recommend Jimi-san's CD (with my humble tabla accompaniment). Please check the following link for further info:

• CD Release: "Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak") - Santoor and Tabla

1st March: "Shivaratri (Shiva's night) on Sunday once again saw Varanasi filled with pilgrims, both Indian and foreign, the countless Shiva temples around town decorated with flowers and "Aum Namah Shivaya" blaring from numerous temporary sound systems. Lately I've had a student come from Nepal to study tabla - with me! So now I've become the teacher in Guru-ji's house. I've arranged a room for him here in Munna House in return for some cleaning work for Munna, plus he's helping me out a lot by cooking my lunch every day while I practise.16 days til our big memorial concert!"

Unfortunately my Nepali student Shambhu couldn't stay in Varanasi too long. After a couple of weeks his uncle fell ill and he had to return to Kathmandu.

9th March: "Thank you to all who have sent concerned messages following the bomb attacks in Varanasi on Tuesday. I'm OK, as are all my friends! One bomb went off in the Sankat Mochan temple, a few in the railway station, and a few more were found undetonated. It has obviously caused quite a shock in the city but the general vibe is that everyone wants life to remain undisturbed, both Hindu and Muslim."

The bombs were later found to be the responsibility of a Bangladeshi Jihadi organisation. As I said at the time, though, the very laudable result was the resilience that the people of Varanasi displayed, and the expressions of mutual support by leaders of both Hindu and Muslim communities. (READ MORE HERE)


THE ASHU-BABU MEMORIAL CONCERT
21st March: "The second annual Ashu Babu Memorial Concert was a great success. There were many comments that the overall atmosphere was really nice, devotional and music-focused (as opposed to spectacle-focused). Shujaat Husein Khan was absolutely brilliant and showed himself to be a complete master of sitar. Padma Shri (like "Sir") Madhup Mudgal was likewise wonderful - so devotional, such a pure voice. And my friend Hiro Minamizawa and I were privileged enough to play before both of them! Lots of positive feedback, and good press too..." (FULL REPORT HERE, PRESS COMMENTS HERE)

Yes, it was a great experience. I had an excellent build-up, practising 6-7 hours a day and maintaining a relatively pure heart with the help of Vipassana, and Hiro-san and I were elated when we finished! The main benefit I got from these couple of months was that I really learnt a lot about devotion and Indian classical music (and all music for that matter). When one plays music, one is opening one's heart for all to see. All positive emotions like devotion, joy, peace, and so on draw the listener in to the music; as Guru-ji used to say, they become "spellbound". And just like the opposite pole of a magnet, all negative emotions like pride, jealousy and fear ("I'm not good enough") will repel the listeners.


ANOTHER TWO CONCERTS, NAVARATRI + TRAVELS TO KOLKATA
Shortly after the Ashu-Babu Memorial, I organised a home concert for Jimi-san and some Japanese Kathak dance students at Munna House (my home in Varanasi). I wrote about it HERE, with special attention to the qualities of devotion and love which Jimi-san and the other musicians involved possess in abundance. If only more musicians and the wider public would follow their lead!

My last couple of weeks in India became, as usual, frantic, wrapping things up and trying to get in as much as possible. This year I completed Navaratri - the nine nights of the Goddess - for the third time. It basically involves practising all night, non-stop, from around 9pm until dawn each night for 9 nights. To minimise disturbance to others, I went to a dark room in the basement of Munna House, where I also slept until the early afternoon each day. (I ended up getting some jet-lag after that as my body-clock re-adjusted to the natural solar cycle.) The first time I performed this puja was 5 years ago, the second 2 years ago. I found this time much more matter-of-fact, much more like an exercise I knew I could complete, as long as I just passed the time. Not quite so mystical as the first time, but still very beneficial.

Before and after Navaratri I was also quite busy as a tabla merchant, ordering, checking, and sending tabla to customers in USA, Canada, Australia and Europe. This involved travelling to Kolkata to get cases, and kept me quite busy.

On my return from the Kolkata tabla-shipping trip, I was lucky enough to perform with sarod player Shuji Yamamoto, a student of the great Amjad Ali Khan. The concert was organised by my Guru-ji's son, Debabrata Bhattacharya, especially for my benefit. All due to Guru-ji's many blessings! I wrote about the concert, including some photos from the newspapers, HERE.

25th April: "On my last day in Kolkata I met Raka Mukherjee, a lovely Indian classical singer who is arriving [in Australia] tomorrow for concerts and workshops in Ipswich, Brisbane and Maroochydore over the next couple of weeks (tabla accompaniment by yours truly).

After meeting Raka-ji, I went to a concert in the nearby Bharatiyam arts centre. It was a very "artistic" event - firstly some healthy young men "dancing" in the foyer, then first act on stage was the Shakti and Vasantamala Dance Company from Tokyo, performing a modern dance piece based on "The Pillow Book". The main act was tabla player Bikram Ghosh in collaboration with the Mezcal Jazz Unit from France. I'll be writing more about this in my upcoming India-trip report..."

This being the much-belated India-trip report, I must write something about Mr. Ghosh and co here... Unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with this performance. I went to see a good tabla player taking part in a cross-genre fusion project, and hoped to get some good ideas from them, however I ended getting more ideas about things I don't like in such music. It's probably the only show I've ever seen where the bass was too quiet and the tabla too loud (it's usually the other way around). And our Bikram didn't seem to know when to stop playing. I would have liked to see him supporting the other musicians with some nice grooves, instead of the constant showmanship he was attempting. The Mezcal Jazz Unit, on the other hand, were excellent - very tight, very mutually supportive, constantly listening, and using very nice dynamics, breathing as a unit. If only Mr. Ghosh had caught the vibe...


BACK TO BRISBANE - RAKA MUKHERJEE, ROSECLIFFE ST, PADMA
9th May: "The tour with Raka Mukherjee is now complete and I can say that it was a great experience for all concerned. She really is a wonderful singer, as those who attended her concerts can attest. I have learnt a lot and also benefited from a lot of exposure to classical music lovers in the Indian community. I don't have anything in my diary in the coming weeks, so it's back to work to save money for plans later in the year..."

Raka-ji and I performed 8 concerts in 9 days in the Brisbane/Ipswich/Sunshine Coast region, for audiences ranging from yoga students to the Indian community. Thanks very much to Raka Mukherjee and her husband Kanchan for inviting me to join them on the Brisbane leg of their Australian tour, and to Sheri for all her hard work as tour manager. Raka-ji will be back in Australia next August and luckily for me I will once again be accompanying.

Following Raka-ji's tour I was lucky enough to secure a room in the beautiful riverside "treehouse" (well, it's surrounded by trees and clinging on to the hillside) at 45 Rosecliffe St. I posted some photos and a brief write-up HERE.

After all the adventures I've described above, the next couple of months seemed much more humdrum, although I suppose compared to Mr. & Mrs. Average it's still all pretty lively :-). I worked 5 days a week at Padma Imports, quite an enjoyable place to work. Padma imports incense and handicrafts from India and Bali and then ships the merchandise around Australia to various homeware, gift and new age shops. Hard days are when 1 or 2 containers come in and we have to unload tonnes of boxes of stock. Regular days are taken up with preparing consignments for various shops around the country. It is a very good job for me, in that (so far) I've been able to walk in and out of it at my convenience and can just about work whatever hours I like.

Outside work I've been teaching some tabla students - about 5 adults and 3 kids this time. I have some very good students now - very sincere and quite dedicated. I'd like to think that most of them will continue for at least a few years, and I'm very happy with their progress so far. It's very satisfying. I'm now reaching the stage where, if I decided to stay put in Brisbane for a while, I could make a basic living just teaching tabla.

Musically, after Raka-ji's tour things slowed down, but one project deserves special mention - Tibet2Timbuk2, featuring Tibetan singer Tenzin Choegyal, Persian multi-instrumentalist and singer Cieavash Arean, singer-guitarist Marcello Milani and myself. It is a really fun group with a lot of potential. Please visit our mini-webpage at www.ethnosuperlounge.com/tibet2timbuk2. I also had a really nice show just last week with mbira player Yeshe, with a band consisting of a bunch of old Brisbane world music buddies, something I think we'll be seeing much more of in the coming years. (It's the Classmate phenomenon again, but whereas in India and Japan it's the Indian music class, in Australia it's the world music fusion class.)


NOW... JAPAN
I've now just arrived in Japan for a 3 month trip. It's kind of a funny thing... I know I won't cover my expenses at all, but I'm happy to be here and have the opportunity to play some really good Indian classical music again. The contrast between my musical life in Australia and here is substantial. In Australia I can play lots of great world music fusion and have lots of good tabla students, and it's quite easy for me to make money there. However Indian classical music is not great there - there are a few Indian artists, but to be honest, the fire which comes from regular devoted practice is missing. In Japan, on the other hand, I feel like I'm part of a huge club of Indian music devotees. BUT, perhaps because of the plethora of musicians, it's harder for me to collect students and harder to make money from concerts. There's also the visa issue - without a full-time job (or a wife), I can't stay longer than 3 months. And due to linguistic and cultural issues I'm quite dependent on Japanese musicians for work. I'm not sure what will happen on this trip... I have some support but not as wide or as dependable as I need to really commit to life in Japan. But it's all an adventure!!! :-)

Info: Zimbabwean music sites

Here is info about two interesting sites my friend Ruthie found all about Zimbabwean music:

Zimbabwe's online digital download service!

Welcome to ZimAudio, the tool that enables you to research, purchase or gain the knowledge of Zimbabwean music. ZimAudio now opens its doors and enables you to purchase digital downloads of Zimbabwean Music. The beauty of it is you are able to purchase individual tracks from different artists and listen to the music as and when you please on any compliant player. ZimAudio's initiative is to create a new digital legal alternative to the unsatisfactory free file sharing and non-payment of royalties to Zimbabwean artists, so that these artists can be properly paid and make a living from their artform.

In 3 easy steps you can start downloading Zimbabwean Music
1. Research and select the songs/albums
2. Checkout and Pay
3. A unique link is sent to your e-mail address and you download the track(s)

See it's that simple!

ZimAudio.com's download service officially launches TODAY, Friday 11 August 2006.

Please forward this to anyone you feel could benefit from this service.

Best Regards,
The Team at ZimAudio.com
Email any queries you might have to info@zimaudio.com
Visit the website today www.zimaudio.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dandemutande Listserve distributes announcements about forthcoming events and available resources pertaining to Zimbabwean music and related cultural arts worldwide. Visit us at <http://dandemutande.org>. Send "subscribe," "unsubscribe," "customize," "distribute," and other messages to mailto:email@dandemutande.org

International Songwriting Competition 2006 (World music category)

Posted on behalf of International Songwriting Competition...

International Songwriting Competition (ISC) 2006 Judges Include High-Profile World Music Industry Executives
Enter Your Songs Now!
http://www.songwritingcompetition.com

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is now accepting entries and is pleased to announce some exciting new changes for this year. In addition to adding two new categories and many new judges, ISC has also increased the cash portion of its Grand Prize to $25,000 (US dollars), which makes it the largest cash Grand Prize in any songwriting competition.

ISC gives away over $150,000 in cash and prizes, including an Overall Grand Prize package of $25,000 (US) in cash and over $20,000 in merchandise, unmatched by any other songwriting competition. ISC winners benefit from extensive press and publicity, gaining exposure and recognition from an international music market of industry professionals and fans.

One of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the world, ISC welcomes original songs from musicians, artists, and songwriters at every level from amateur to professional.

ISC invites World Music artists from all countries to enter their traditional or contemporary songs. In addition to the World Music category, ISC offers 17 other categories, including: Country, AAA (Adult Album Alternative), Americana; Jazz, Pop/Top 40, Rock, Latin, R&B/Hip-Hop, Blues, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Gospel/Christian, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, Children's Music, Lyrics Only, Teen, and Performance. Entrants may submit as many songs as they wish in the same category or in multiple categories.

ISC provides the perfect opportunity for bands, artists, and songwriters to gain more exposure and have their songs heard by some of the most influential members of the music industry. "We've always been impressed with the talented songwriters who participate in the ISC. This is a great A&R source to find new artists," states Monte Lipman (President of Universal Records and 2006 ISC judge).

In addition to the great prizes and extensive exposure, ISC has been renowned for its prestigious judging panels throughout the history of the competition. Continuing in this tradition, the 2006 judging panel welcomes many new judges this year.

The complete 2006 ISC judging panel includes the following:

Recording Artists:
Tom Waits; Rosanne Cash; Frank Black (Pixies); Brian Wilson; John Mayall; Mark Chesnutt; Charlie Musselwhite; Amy Ray (Indigo Girls); Craig Morgan; Jerry Lee Lewis; MercyMe; Sean Paul; Blue Man Group; Robert Smith (The Cure); Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse); Medeski Martin & Wood; John Scofield; Cassandra Wilson; Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Macy Gray; Peter Hook (New Order); Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan); and Tiësto (Producer/Remixer/DJ).

Music Industry Executives:
Charlie Walk (President, Epic Records); Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Thomas Brooman (Co-Founder/Artistic Director, WOMAD); Angel Carrasco (President of 605 Discos and Sr. VP of A&R, Sony BMG Latin America); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami/Pioneer of Latin radio); Manolo Gonzalez (Sr VP of Regional Mexican A&R and National Promotion, Univision Records); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Steve Lillywhite (Sr. VP of A&R, Columbia Records/Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, and Peter Gabriel); Mona Scott-Young (President, Violator Records); Alexandra Patsavas (Owner, The Chop Shop Music Supervision - credits include The OC, Grey's Anatomy, Without A Trace, Carnivale, Rescue Me); Barbara Sedun (VP Creative, EMI Music Publishing Canada); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Danny Epstein (Music Supervisor, Sesame Street/Sesame Workshop); Tara Griggs-Magee (Executive VP of Gospel/Urban Music, Sony Records); Emily Wittmann (VP, Nick Records); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People); and Larry Willoughby (VP A&R, Capitol Records Nashville.

ISC 2006 Sponsors include: ASCAP, Epiphone, Berklee College Of Music, Fishman, Sam Ash, Shure, D'Addario, Hear Technologies, Cakewalk, Disc Makers, Sonicbids, Musician's Atlas, Sibelius, Karian Studios, Planetary Group, OnlineGigs, The Music Business Registry, Mediaguide, ArtistMonitor, Sleepless Media, Platinum Blue Music Intelligence, Alphabet Arm Design, Musician's Atlas, George Stein, Esq., and Taxi.

Enter ISC online or download an entry form to mail in your entry.
http://www.songwritingcompetition.com

Rosecliffe Street

Hi folks,

日本語のブロッグはここ。。。

I've just moved into a well-known Brisbane house - 45 Rosecliffe St - home of my old compadre Alicia who is currently teaching English in Oman. Above is a photo of the current Rosecliffe Crew - Melissa (artist, art-lover, and previous housemate in both Brisbane and Varanasi), Sean (poet and fellow Rosecliffe newcomer), Jayne (earth-woman and shanti viber), and myself. You can just see the Brisbane river in the background, behind the wild growth that is our back garden, full of scrub turkeys, possums, carpet snakes and other critters. I sit on this balcony every day after work, drink a cup of tea and come back to now.

Here's a photo of our dining room, complete with mural by afore-mentioned Alicia-chan.


Otherwise, life is pretty similar to last year - working weekdays doing some web design, teaching a few tabla students, rehearsing EthnoSuperLounge (the Tibeto-Persian reggae group with tabla), and trying to keep my own practice up. Planning ahead too, for a trip to Japan July-October, and the festival season in Australia October-January, before the return to Mother India.

Love to all
Shen
Aum Mani Padme Hum

Concert with Shuji Yamamoto in Varanasi

On Saturday April 15th I performed with sarod player Shuji Yamamoto at the Raj English School in Pahariya, Varanasi. Shuji-san has been studying sarod for the last 20 years and has spent 10 months a year for the last 2 years in Delhi, studying with the great Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Thanks to Bappa-da (Debabrata Bhattacharya) for organising this concert for us. Here are some newspaper clippings... The first headline reads "Foreign artists win children's hearts."

CD Release: "Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak") - Santoor and Tabla

"Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak")
Indian Classical Santoor and Tabla CD

Announcing the release of "Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak"), the 2nd CD of Setsuo "Jimi" Miyashita, a senior disciple of santoor's leading light, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Jimi-san is accompanied on this CD by tabla player Shen Flindell.

1) Raga Chandrakauns - "Ganges' Moon"
- Live recording in Varanasi, India

2) Raga Basant Mukhari - "Daybreak"
- Recorded at Shouda Gallery, Ena, Japan

Sound sample 1 Sound sample 2

To order "Rei-Mei", send an email to Mr. Setsuo Miyashita, or telephone +81-581-58-8262

Brissie folks please note: I will have 30 copies of Rei-Mei for sale when I return to Australia at the end of April.

Home concert with Jimi-san and Kathak friends

ヴァラナシは大変暑くなっています。この間、時々４０℃になった。疲れている！！！
It's really starting to get hot in Varanasi. A few days have been around 40, and it's hard to get much energy going for practice.

金曜日の夜に、ムンナハウスでコンサートをオルガナイズした。皆様は楽しかったらしい。最小はカタックダンスのトモミちゃんとカズミちゃん。伴奏者はタブラのナオトくん、シタールの鈴木さん、サラーンギのアツシくん、私。総出５０分だった。私はカタックの伴奏やったことがあるけど、その長い演奏は始めてだった。時々間違ったけど、笑ったらいつもよくなるね。
On Friday night I organised a concert here in Munna House, which was well received by all. First item was Kathak dance - Tomomi and Kazumi, who I've been practising with for the last couple of months, accompanied by myself, another tabla player Naoto, and lehera on sitar by Mr. Suzuki and sarangi by Atsushi-kun. It was my first performance with a full-length Kathak show, around 50 minutes all-up. Everyone said it was very enjoyable. We made a few mistakes, but a smile always fixes that.

二回目はサンツーアのいつもワンダフルな宮下節夫「ジミー」さん。今度も二人のタブラがあった　－　ナオトくんと私。　ジミーさんもナオトくんもとても心がいいで、自分のグルジーも楽器も音楽ものための純情があって、一緒に演奏でたらいいと思った。「変な日本語、ごめん！」　私は紹介者でしょう。。。セッションはとてもラブリーだった。ミュージシャンとお客様は皆、一緒になった。音楽を弾くと、心がはっきり見えるようになる。だから、ジミーさんとナオトくんみたいに誠心誠意がある方と一緒に音楽を弾くと、当たり前いい感じになる。それはインド古典音楽の心髄です。
Second item was the always-wonderful Setsuo "Jimi" Miyashita on santoor. I played with Jimi-san in last year's Ashu Babu Concert, and he released a CD this year featuring myself on tabla. I also invited Naoto-kun to accompany on tabla as well as myself. Both Jimi-san and Naoto-kun have such clear hearts and so much devotion to their Gurus, instruments and music, that I thought they should play together. Introducing people is an important role for me... It was a really lovely session; I think we created a very beautiful energy which everyone naturally tuned in on. When one plays music, it is like opening one's heart for all to see. So playing with such loving and devoted people as Jimi-san and Naoto-kun naturally created a very special atmosphere. That is the essence of Indian classical music.

３０日から、ナヴァラトリーという祭りです。ナヴァラトリーの意味は「九日の夜」。ヅールガという女真のためです。私はムンナハウスの一階の暗い部屋で、夜９時から、黎明まで、始終に練習する。大変でしょう。。。エネルギーを送ってくださいませんか？
Goddess-worshippers will like to know that Navaratri - the nine nights of the Goddess - begins on March 30th. I will be locking myself in a dark room in the basement of Munna House and practising non-stop from 9pm til dawn in front of pictures of Durga-maa and Guru-ji. It's going to be hard... Please send me some energy.

Concert report

グルジーコンサートは大成功でした！ たくさんの人は「雰囲気はとてもすてきで、純情可憐だ」と言いました。シュジャートフセーンカーンさんはとても輝かしくて、本当にシタールマスターなの事が見えました。マヅップムヅガールさんもすごく妙技でした。とても純情可憐で、声がピュアです。そういう方の前演奏できる事なので、南沢さんと私はとてもうんがよかったでしょう。新聞でいい言葉が書いてありました。一番いいコメントはサンマールグという新聞にあった：
The second annual Ashu Babu Memorial Concert was a great success. There were many comments that the overall atmosphere was really nice, devotional and music-focused (as opposed to spectacle-focused). Shujaat Husein Khan was absolutely brilliant and showed himself to be a complete master of sitar. Padma Shri (like "Sir") Madhup Mudgal was likewise wonderful - so devotional, such a pure voice. And my friend Hiro Minamizawa and I were privileged enough to play before both of them! Lots of positive feedback, and good press too. Here is the nicest quote, from Sanmarg newspaper:

Japanese artist Yasuhiro Minamizawa astounded everyone with his rendition of Raag Puriya Kalyan on sitar. In this raag, he firstly played alap, jor, jhala, and then with compositions (gatkaari) in Teentaal completed a successful programme. The purity of the notes was praiseworthy in his performance. With him, Australian artist Shen Flindell, giving close accompaniment (saath-sangat) on tabla with complete maturity, made the programme attractive to the ear.

他のコメントはここで読めます。イギリス人のシタールのニックさんの批評はここです。

It took me a few hours with my Hindi-English dictionary just to translate the parts about us, so unfortunately I can't share the whole reports with you, but anyway you can read the press about Hiro-san and I here. Also, English sitar player Nick posted a review on the chandrakantha.com Indian music forum here.

私のタブラについていいコメントが多かって、もちろん私は嬉しいですけど、一番満足していることはこれです。グルジーの家族は南沢さんのシタールがすごく好きでした。それと、南沢さんは「これは自分の生活の一番すごい経験だった！」と言いました。
Of course I'm very pleased with all the positive feedback on my playing, but most of all I'm happy that Guru-ji's family were so happy with Hiro-san's sitar playing, and that Hiro-san himself said "This was the greatest experience of my life!"

次は、ナヴァラトリーというプージャー。九日間の夜で練習するつもりです。３０日からだと思います。
Next big event for me is Navaratri - 9 nights' non-stop practice in honour of Goddess Durga-maa. I think it starts on March 30.

Post-concert press comments

Here are the comments in the Varanasi Hindi press about Minamizawa-san & my performance at the Ashu-Babu Memorial Concert. It took me a few hours with a Hindi-English dictionary just to do this... If any Hindi speakers can improve my translation, please help!

There is also a review by English sitar player Nick on the chandrakantha.com sitar forum.

SANMAARG

Japan ke kalaakaar Yasuhiro Minamizawa ne sitaar par Raag Puriya Kalyan ki avataaranaa kar sabko achamti kar diyaa. Inhone is raag men sarwapratham aalaap, jod, jhaalaa ke pashchaat teen taal nibaddh gatkaari se kaaryakram kaa saphal samaapan kiyaa. Aapke vaadan men swaron ki shuddhataa kaabile taarif rahi. Aapke saath Australia ke kalaakaar Shen Flindell ne table par poorna paripakvataa se saath sangat kar kaaryakram ko karn-priya banaaya.

Japanese artist Yasuhiro Minamizawa astounded everyone with his rendition of Raag Puriya Kalyan on sitar. In this raag, he firstly played alap, jor, jhala, and then with compositions (gatkaari) in Teentaal completed a successful programme. The purity of the notes was praiseworthy in his performance. With him, Australian artist Shen Flindell, giving close accompaniment (saath-sangat) on tabla with complete maturity, made the programme attractive to the ear.

AMAR UJAALAA

Dhrupad Tirth par sthaaniya srotaaon ki khachaakhach upasthiti ke bich kaaryakram ki shuruaat deshii kalaa ke videshii saadhakon ki shaastriya prastuti se hue. Japan ke Yasuhiro Minamizawa ne sitaar ke taar par anguliyaan pherin to tablaa par anguliyaan thirakaane ke lie Australia ke Shen Flindell unke saath the. Donon videshii kalaakaaron ki deshii kalaa men siddhahastaa dekh kuchh achraj kar rahe the to kucch aanand le rahe the.

At Dhrupad Tirth, amidst the burbling of local listeners taking their places, the programme began with a classical opening by foreign (videshi) devotees of Indian (desi) arts. Japan's Yasuhiro Minamizawa's fingers bent his sitar's strings and then Australia's Shen Flindell's fingers beat upon the tabla with him. Seeing both of the foreign (videshi) artists' great skill in Indian (desi) arts, we were quite astounded and received quite some enjoyment/bliss.

HINDUSTAN

Kaaryakram ki shuruaat Japan ke kalaakaar Yasuhiro Minamizawa ke sitaar vaadan se huaa. Unhone Raag Puriya Kalyan men sitaar ke taaron ko jhankrit kar sabhi ko bhaavavibhor kar diyaa. Unke saath table par Australia ke Shen Flindell sangat kar rahe the.

The programme began with the sitar playing of Japanese artist Yasuhiro Minamizawa. With his sitar's strings resounding in Raag Puriya Kalyan, he gave inspired emotions (?) to everyone. He was accompanied on tabla by Shen Flindell from Australia.

DAINIK JAAGRAN

Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya ("Ashu Babu") ki dwiteeya punyatithi par aayojit sangeet sandhyaa ka aagaaj Jaapaani kalaakaar Yasuhiro Minamizawa ke sitaar baadan se hua. Unhone Raag Puriya Dhanaashree ko sadhe andaaj men pesh kar logon ki jamkar vaahavaahee lootee. Iske baad Raag Puriya Kalyan ke saath guru vandanaa ki. Unke saath table par Australia ke kalaakaar Shen Flindell ne sandhe andaaj men sangat ki.

The second musical evening in the memory of Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya ("Ashu Babu") opened with a sitar performance by Japanese artist Yasuhiro Minamizawa. He presented Raag Puriya Dhanashree in perfected style (sadhe andaaj) as the gathering assembly delighted (in the music). After that he gave homage to the guru (guru vandaana) with Raag Puriya Kalyan. With him on tabla, Australian artist Shen Flindell gave accompaniment in united style (sandhe andaaj).

AAJ

Kaaryakramkaa sriganesh Japan se padhare Yasuhiro Minamizawa ke sitaar baadanse huaa. Unhone Raag Puriya Kalyan men sitaarke taanonko chhedaa. Unke saath tablepar Australia ke Shen Flindell sangat ki.

The programme was "opened in the name of Sri Ganesh" with the sitar playing of Yasuhiro Minamizawa from Japan. He tuned his sitar's strings in Raag Puriya Kalyan. He was accompanied on tabla by Shen Flindell from Australia.

After the bombs, pre-Holi

Hi folks,
　
ヴァラナシの生活は普通に行っています。先週のテロから、イスラムの方はたくさん手伝っています。U. Bismillah Khanのような有名な演奏者とコミュニティーリーダーはアタックを責めました。ヒンズーリーダーは「一緒に静かにいよう」と言っています。
Varanasi life goes on as normal. Since the bomb blasts last week, I've read so many stories of Muslim kids giving blood and helping victims in the hospital, famous musicians like Ustad Bismillah Khan and other community leaders condemning the attacks, and Hindu leaders calling for continuing communal harmony in this ancient spiritual city.

今夜ホーリカという祭りです。明日はホーリーという「色の祭り」です。皆はお酒とバーングを飲んで、中にいるゴリラがフリーします。でも私は静かに自分の部屋で練習すると思う。。。明日のお昼から、皆は新しい洋服を着て、親戚知己に会いに行きます。
Tonight is the Hindu festival of Holika. In the middle of every crossing, large and small, there is a small tree and goddess image. Tonight lots of people will be drinking alcohol and bhang and compared to the light-heartedness of Shivaratri there's a much more menacing tone. Tomorrow morning is Holi, festival of colours, and the city (and the whole country) will become a battle zone. Everyone will be letting their inner gorilla out and throwing coloured water with water pistols and water bombs. Personally, I prefer to stay quietly in my room... From the afternoon, everyone gets polished up, puts on new clothes and goes to visit all their family and friends.

遂に、金曜日と土曜日は私の今年の一番大切なイベントです。グルジーのMemorial Concert。最近毎日７－８時間の練習していて、タブラが大好きになって、とてもゲンキです。京都のシタールの南沢
さんと一緒によく練習していて、いい関係になりました。私たちのために祈ってくださいませんか？！
And of course on Friday and Saturday is the biggest event of my year - my Guru-ji's Memorial Concert. I'm fully psyched and full of energy, been practising about 7-8 hours a day for the last week or so and loving my tabla. My sitar buddy Hiro Minamizawa and I have been practising together lots too, and making a really good connection. Please pray for us!

Mar 17/18 Varanasi - Ashu Babu Memorial Concert

Please note the following concert in Varanasi featuring yours truly...

Late Pt. Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya "Ashu Babu" Memorial Concert

Memorial Classical Music Evening - FREE CONCERT

Fri/Sat March 17/18, 6.30pm

Dhrupad Tirth, Tulsi Ghat, Varanasi

Fri March 17:

1. Dr. Debabrata Bhattacharya - Tabla Solo - Varanasi

2. Sri Yasuhiro Minamizawa - Sitar - Japan

3. Smt. Shubhra Guha - Vocal - Kolkata

4. Pt. Deepak Choudhury - Sitar - Delhi

Sat March 18:

1. Pt. Deepak Maharaj - Kathak Dance - Delhi

2. Padma Shri Pt. Madhup Mudgal - Vocal - Delhi

3. U. Shujaat Husein Khan - Sitar - Delhi

Accompanying Artists:

Sri Parimal Bhattacharya - Tabla - Kolkata

Sri Govinda Chakraborty - Tabla - Delhi

Sri Pundlik Krishna Bhagwat - Tabla - Varanasi

Sri Vinod Lele - Tabla - Varanasi

Sri Arunanshu Choudhury - Tabla - Delhi

Sri Shankar Devanath - Tabla - Delhi

Sri Shen Flindell - Tabla - Australia

Sri Santosh Mishra - Sarangi - Varanasi

Sri Vinaya Mishra - Harmonium - Varanasi

Sri Jai Kishan Maharaj - Parhant & Pakhawaj - Delhi

Sri Indu Prakash - Vocal - Delhi

This event is dedicated to the memory of Late Pandit Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya ("Ashu Babu") and is organised by his sons, students, friends and relatives.

Book Release: Hindustani vocal compositions (Devashish Dey)

Posted on behalf of Devashish Dey...

SWATAH-SFURT SWARACHIT
Author Devashish Dey
Language: Hindi
Hardcover, 84 pages with two accompanying CDs
Copyright: Devashish Dey
Published by: Adinath Publication, Varanasi

Description:
A collection of khayal, tarana, thumri, Kajri, and
dadra compositions by Varanasi based vocalist
Devashish Dey, this volume is divided into four main
segments. The first segment contains khayal, tarana,
chaturang and ragamala compositions in traditional
ragas, while the second segment is devoted to
"swaraarth prabandh" or special and innovative
compositions where the song text is constructed from
the notes used in the composition. The third section
of the book focuses on thumri, dadra, jhoola and kajri
compositions, while the fourth and last segment of the
book features compositions in ragas created by the
author.

Ragas featured in the book range from Yaman,
Vachaspati, Shuddh Kalyan, Bihag, Hemant, Malkauns,
Kirvani, Kalavati, Bilaskhani Todi and Puriya, to the
author's creations such as Renuka, Natwar Malhar.
Nandini and Rajat Jayanti.

The two CDs that accompany this collection contain
renditions of the compositions by the author Devashish
Dey.
Book+2CDs
Indian Rupees: 450
US Dollars: 15

Subject: Newsletter - Underscore Records - February
08, 2006
Namaskar,
We would like to introduce you to young but
accomplished performer-composers whose work is now
available on www.UnderscoreRecords.com.
Hindustani vocalist Devashish Dey has added his book
of compositions titled "Swatah-Sfurt Swarachit" to the
print catalogue distributed by Underscore Records. Two
companion CDs with the author singing his compositions
complement the book, which offers khayal, tarana,
chaturang, ragamala, thumri, dadra, kajri and jhoola
compositions in several raags.
For more information on the artistes and their work,
visit www.UnderscoreRecords.com.
Greetings and regards from
Shubha Mudgal, Aneesh Pradhan and the team at
Underscore Records.

Devashish Dey
D31/46 Madanpura
Varanasi (U.P.) India 221001

Tel: 0091-542-2-450915, 450916
Mobile: 9839097503
Log on to www.underscorerecords.com