Various events June to August 2017

Continuing my retrospective on all the many wonderful artists I was lucky enough to accompany in 2017...

JUNE 2017

• Sat 3 Jun Gold Coast: Private event with Darshil Shah (bansuri).
  Darshil is an upcoming young bansuri player from Mumbai, now resident in Brisbane. We performed background music for an Indian food festival the Marriott Hotel in Surfers Paradise. We enjoyed creating beautiful atmospheric light classical and classical music, and in the breaks had some amazing food! I look forward to lots more music with Darshil in the coming years.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sat 10 Jun Indooroopilly: An evening with Vocal Maestro Kumar Gaurav Kohli
  We welcomed Kumar Gaurav Kohli back for his first concerts in Brisbane since his headline performance at Sangeet Mela 2015. Such a lovely vocalist - so at ease and charismatic, and so devoted to raga.
  
  
  
  Photo by Brian Sullivan - more in his Facebook album Kumar Gaurav Kohli in Concert.
• Sun 18 Jun Mt Gravatt E: Morning Ragas - Shrabani Choudhury (Sitar)
  Thanks to Swara Mohini for inviting me to accompany Shrabani-ji.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sat 24 Jun Kangaroo Point: BEMAC World Music Cafe - Tibet2Timbuk2
  Tibet2Timbuk2 were joined by now-regular member Richard Grantham (viola) and presented some new and old original songs by Tibetan vocalist Tenzin Choegyal, along with solos by Richard and Marcello Milani. We are getting ready to record a new album!
  
  
  
  Photo courtesy of BEMAC - more in their Facebook album World Music Cafe: Tibet2Timbuk2 & Matt Hsu

JULY 2017

• Sat 1 Jul Kenmore: Ustad Aashish Khan (sarod) and Shen Flindell (tabla)
  My amazing year continued to unbelievable levels when I found myself accompanying a genuine legend of 20th century Indian classical music - Ustad Aashish Khan, son of late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - in an intimate home concert in Kenmore. Many thanks to Rahim Zullah and Yasmin Khan for inviting me as the accompanist for such an illustrious artist, and thanks especially to Ustad-ji for giving his blessing and welcoming me into his music.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sat 8 Jul Kangaroo Point: 10th Annual Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Concert - a wonderful night as always - more on this in a separate blog post.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sat 15 Jul Mt Gravatt E: Night Ragas - Dr Indranil Chatterjee (sitar)
  Thanks again to Swara Mohini for organising these regular events for local artists. Indranil-da and I had a great time as always!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Sat 29 Jul Byron: Soul Sangeeta Vol 6 - Yuki, Shivam, Shen
  Indian slide guitarist Shivam Rath's regular Indian classical-inspired Soul Sangeeta concerts continued at Studio 93 in Byron Bay featuring the debut performance by Yogeshwari Giri, Yuki's Shiva Tandava Chhau dance item, which she learnt in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.
  
  

  

AUGUST 2017

• Sat 5 Aug Indooropilly: Nritya Bharati School of Kathak Dance: Tribute to Lord Shiva
  Kathak dance teacher Namita Debroy invited me to work on some classical Kathak presentations in her annual student concert. Together with Joseph Nand (harmonium), Darshil Shah (bansuri), and Usha Chivukula (vocal), we accompanied junior, intermediate and senior students in teentaal, rupak, jhaptaal and dhamar. It was an ambitious project and we managed to pull it off pretty well, I think. In the process we did lots of rehearsals with all of Namita's students including senior disciple Sheena Rinky Bala, who applied for and won the Sangeet Mela Rising Star Award and so this was a dress rehearsal for her Sangeet Mela 2017 performance a month later.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sun 6 Aug Logan: Queensland Multicultural Awards - opening performance by Tenzin Choegyal and Shen Flindell. Just the one song, but any time playing with Tenzin is memorable!

Sitar Maestro Pt Sugato Nag

It was a huge blessing for me to accompany sitar maestro Pt Sugato Nag of Kolkata for 3 concerts in and around Brisbane last May - Friday 19th at Lift Gallery in Maleny, Saturday 20th at QLD Multicultural Centre in Brisbane, Sunday 21st at Studio 93 in Byron Bay. In each of the out-of-town concerts, Sugato-da's daughter Sohini Nag gave a lovely Bharatanatyam dance performance. The Brisbane concert was the launch of our publicity for Sangeet Mela 2017, and featured local Bharatanatyam star Padmalakshmi Sriram and some of her students.

Sugato-da and I had never met but had heard lots about each other thanks to our mutual friend and his student, Christophe Rossi, a French sitarist (now magician) living in Japan, so I'm very grateful to Christophe for this introduction. I had such a wonderful time with Sugato-da and his family over the weekend with beautiful music and eloquent company. He really enjoys living and shares that joy, whether with his wonderful enthusiasm for the qualities of each individual raga, or effusing about Australia's natural beauty.

Photos by Brian Sullivan - see the full album at his Facebook page.

Various events Jan to May 2017

Continuing my walk down memory lane reviewing the various events of the last year, here are various events from the first part of 2017...

JANUARY 2017

• Fri 13 Jan Mullumbimby: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet - I had quite a few concerts with Tenzin in January - always lovely. This was part of his annual "For Tibet With Love" series of concerts raising funds for Tibetan Children's Village. This particular concert included a collaboration with devotional singer Amir Paiss to conclude the concert.
    
• Sat 14 Jan Gold Coast: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet - Thanks to Cameron and Lyza of The Infinite Connection.
  
  
  
• Sat 21 Jan Boonah: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks with special guests Shen Flindell (tabla) and Richard Grantham (viola)
  
  
   
• Fri 27 Jan New Farm: Prayer for Peace - Deva Premal, Tenzin Choegyal, Tashi Lhunpo Monks
  
  
  Soundchecking at Brisbane Powerhouse before Deva Premal...
   
  
  
  
  After show with Manose
  
• Sat 28 Jan Brisbane: Tibet2Timbuk2 in Queen St Mall
  
  
   Tibet2Timbuk2: Shen, Tenzin, Marcello, Richard Grantham
   
• Sun 29 Jan Oxley: Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Saraswati Puja concert - My guru-ji's house in Varanasi has hosted home concerts for Saraswati Puja almost every year for more than 50 years. I try to continue the tradition here in Australia when possible - the last time I was home for Saraswati Puja was in 2013. I invited a few musicians and music teachers' senior students to come and offer music at our altar, with tabla accompaniment by my senior students.
  
  

FEBRUARY 2017

• Sat 4 Feb Myocum: Soul Sangeet Vol 3 workshop and concert - Shivam and Shen - I was down in Byron for a rehearsal and so Shivam kindly pulled together this little event for us to share some music at. Good times.
   
• Sat 11 Feb Roma St: Yuki-Onna @ Kisaragi Sai - My main role was as a babysitter but I'm so proud of Yuki in putting this Butoh dance performance together at a Japanese festival in Roma St Parklands.
  
  
  Yuki-Onna promotional shot
  
  
  Yuki-Onna at Kisaragi Sai Japanese Festival

Mon 20 Feb - Thu 23 Mar - India Trip 2017 - see previous post.

MARCH 2017

• Sat 25 Mar Wynnum: Spirit of Bhakti - at the beautiful Inna Bliss Wynnum studio overlooking Moreton Bay. Lovely as always to play with Rebecca and Menaka in Spirit of Bhakti. 

APRIL 2017

• Sun 9 Apr Oxley: Tabla Workshop with Surojato Roy - Jazz guitarist Bart Stenhouse had brought Surojato to Australia for their tour, and I was really happy for the chance for my students (others welcome of course) to learn something from a visiting tabla master. We learnt a chalan of Lucknow gharana and worked quite a bit on clear vocalisation of compositions.
  
  
  
• Fri 14 - Sun 16 Apr Byron Bay Blues Fest: Tenzin and Shen - A new experience for me, witnessing the music industry in full force, as Bluesfest plays host to a huge array of international stars and the backstage crews and equipment are just phenomenal. The artists' catering is the best I've ever seen at any festival. It was a bit strange playing to an audience who were standing on gravel rather than sitting down, but we rocked the house. And I got to see Santana and his amazing band from the backstage viewing platform. Thanks to Tenzin Choegyal for inviting me to accompany him as part of the Boomerang Festival of indigenous performers, hosted by Bluesfest.
  
  
  
  
• Sat 22 Apr Oxley: Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ with Yuki
   
• Fri 28 Apr New Farm: Festival of Tibet - Lotus Born Concert - Another memorable collaboration with Tenzin Choegyal and artist Karma Phuntsok, evolving from Festivals of Tibet in 2015 and 2016. This year's show had a really nice flow and variety of styles, with pieces by Peter Hunt (jazz guitar/vocal), Richard Grantham (looped viola), Marcello Milani (vocals/guitar) and of course Tenzin Choegyal, interspersed with traditional Tibetan song and dance by Tenzing Yeshi.
  
  

MAY 2017

• Sat 6 May Gold Coast: Spirit of Bhakti - Thanks to Cameron and Lyza of Infinite Connection for hosting us.
  
  
   
• Sun 7 May Redlands and Bay Islands Cultural Festival - with Tabla Tarrango! - Thanks to my students Bipro and Jesinthan for coming and putting on a tabla show with me. Next time I'll ask to be on the main stage. It was a beautiful day and a good incentive for the boys to do some performance-focused practice.

India trip 2017

For the last few years we have been visiting India for Dhrupad Mela on the event of Shivaratri, and if possible staying for my guru-ji's memorial concert on March 17. This year was the 100th anniversary of his birthday so we made it a priority to attend. Unfortunately, quite early in this India trip I was struck by shingles so spent quite a lot of time in bed with severe back pain, saving my energy for lessons and the occasional concert. I did get some excellent lessons from Pt Pooran Maharaj as well as my guru-bhai Manishankar Tripathi, saw some fantastic performances, and made a few good new friends too.

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar (rudra veena) with Sukhad Munde (pakhawaj) at Dhrupad Mela 2017.

Beautiful performance by vocalist Kalapini Komkali at the Shivaratri Sangeet Mahotsav


I bumped into Tu of Bangkok's Tu's Place at the Dhrupad Mela, having not met for about 10 years!

I really enjoyed performing with UK bansuri player Jason Kalidas, at an all-night memorial concert for late pakhawaji Amit Shani.
 
Yuki had the opportunity to perform at Subah-e-Benares, a daily dawn concert on Assi Ghat.
  

Practice with guru-bhai Manishankar Tripathi and his student Ashesh Mishra.
 

My friend, Turkish vocalist Feridun Avar, visited from Brisbane on his way to Turkey and France. We visited the Ganesh Hall at my guru-ji Pt Pooran Maharaj's house.
 
We also had a little concert at Vegan and Raw Restaurant near Assi, where we were joined by Wade Evans on oud.

Supriyo Dutta and Sangeet Mishra at Woodford

This summer we had the great pleasure of hosting vocalist Supriyo Dutta, who we became friends with on previous trips through Kolkata. I had suggested him as a performer at Woodford Folk Festival and not only did they accept, they offered to also bring Sangeet Mishra to accompany on sarangi! It was a dream come true presenting such a high level of Indian classical music at Woodford, the likes of which they 'd never seen before. Supriyo and Sangeet had never met, but the chemistry in their performances was just fantastic. It was also a real treat that Supriyo invited Yuki to give vocal support in our concerts there.

Prior to Woodford, we had a few small events with Supriyo in Goonengerry and Myocum (including a workshop), hosted by and also featuring Indian slide guitarist Shivam Rath, now resident in NNSW and organising regular Indian music events there, and a workshop and home concert in Brisbane.

Good times in Byron Bay - Supriyo Dutta, Shen and Yuki

Post-concert at Serene Earth Sanctuary in Myocum
 - Yuki, Shen, Premala, Supriyo, Shyan Kishore, Shivam Rath

Woodford was one of the hottest ever - regularly over 40 - which made it tough, but the music was just marvellous.

Final sunset of 2016 - the sun was in my eyes, hence the sunglasses.

First concert of 2017, right around midnight.




My tabla student group Tabla Tarrango were invited to perform on New Year's Day, with accompaniment by Sangeet Mishra (sarangi).

After Woodford Festival, Supriyo headed home to Kolkata and we had a few little concerts with Sangeet Mishra, including a nice Queen St Mall show with Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet, and a home concert with sitarist Saikat Bhattacharya.

Shen, Saikat and Sangeet at Saikat's home in Parkinson.

Various events Jul to Dec 2016

Wow, I used to be such a regular blogger and here I find I can go back to July 2016 for concerts I haven't mentioned here yet. Here goes - 49 events over the last financial year to be spread out over the next few posts...

JULY 2016

• Sat 16 Jul 9th Annual Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Concert - always a fantastic event - please click on the link for the full blog post.
  
  
  Juniors group: Ben, Ashwin, Aaryan, Aditya and Josh.
   
• Sun 31 Jul Mt Gravatt E: Pt Upendra Bhat (Hindustani vocal) - disciple of Pt Bhimsen Joshi
  
  
  Shen, Pt Upendra Bhat (vocal) and Joseph Nand (harmonium)

AUGUST 2016

• Sat 6 Aug Rocklea: Namaste World - A Multi-Cultural Carnival - Tabla Tarrango! - I got my 3 seniormost students, Jesinthan, Tito and Sanjey, to join me for a really nice presentation of tabla compositions at this new outdoor festival organised by Radio 4EB's Indian group.
  
  
  
   Mt Gravatt: Murali Ramakrishnan (bansuri), Shrabani Choudhury (sitar), Shen - Then later that same day I joined a Swara Mohini concert featuring two of Brisbane's talented artists.
  
  
  
• Sun 7 Aug Southport: Gold Coast Multicultural Festival - Tabla Tarrango! - My Gold Coast students Thejan, Siva and Arun were joined by Darshil Shah giving naghma on bansuri.
  
  
  
• Fri 26 Aug BEMAC: Rajyashree Josyer (Carnatic vocal) - part of BEMAC's Singout Sista series of women in world music, featuring the former Brisbane resident Carnatic exponent.
  
  
  
• Sat 27 -Sun 28 Aug Nimbin: Soul ~ Sangeeta - Shivam Rath and friends - Yuki and I joined Shivam Rath (Indian slide guitar) and Jolanda Moyle (sarangi) for evening and morning concerts of Dhrupad and instrumental Hindustani classical music. I got the pakhawaj out for my first concert! It was also Yuki's first proper concert without a babysitter since being a mother, and our 3 year old daughter Saraswati was so good, lying down quietly behind her on the stage!
  
  

SEPTEMBER 2016

• Sat 3 Sep BEMAC: Sangeet Mela 2016 - The third Sangeet Mela was headlined by Pt Shubhendra Rao (sitar) and Smt Saskia Rao-de Haas (cello) with Sri Zuheb Ahmed Khan (tabla) and was certainly the best and most consistent yet. Read the full report here.
  
  
  
  
• Sun 4 Sep Oxley: Sangeet Mela 2016 Workshops - The fantastic Sangeet Mela international artists gave very enjoyable workshops in tabla, raga, and bowed instruments.
   
• Sat 17 Sep Mt Gravatt: Smt Sunita Tikare (Hindustani vocal) - senior disciple of late Smt Kishori Amonkar, Sunita-ji will be performing at Sangeet Mela 2017!
  
  
  Smt Sunita Tikare with the usual Brisbane vocal accompaniment team of Shen and Joseph.

OCTOBER 2016

• Sat 8 Oct Peregian: Spirit of Bhakti - a small fun concert, before which we had this and several other photos taken:
  
  
  
• Sun 9 Oct Westlake: Navaratri home concert by Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School - a small devotional event at the home of my senior student Sanjey Sivaananthan, featuring Murali Ramakrishnan and Darshil Shah both on bansuri.
  
  
  
• Sat 15 Oct Holland Park: Sangeet Premi Club presents Sangeet Mehfil - An evening of old Bollywood songs with Indian classical bases, featuring Usha Chivukula and Mansey Kinarivala on vocals.
   
• Sun 16 Oct Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ - with Yuki Taniguchi Flindell (I played a bit of pakhawaj).
   
• Fri 21 Oct Spirit of Bhakti played on a boat in the Brisbane River, as part of a demo series of yoga and exercise classes in a Fitness and Health Expo.
  
  
  Yes I played tabla here.
   
• Sat 29 Oct New Farm: Infinity Kathak presents: 7 Beats and Bells - One of the biggest and best productions I've ever been involved with - Dr Helena Joshi led a huge Kathak dance show at the Judith Wright Centre, with a fantastic ensemble of musicians: Shen Flindell (tabla), Mansey Kinarivala Gandhi (vocal), Darshil A. Shah (bansuri), Richard Grantham (viola), Monique Bartkowiak (cello) and Shreyas Niwas (drumkit). After Helena's student performances and some musical interludes, the main feature "7 Beats and Bells" presented traditional Kathak dance in Rupak taal in a fusion with Western accompaniment of viola, cello and drumkit. We worked very hard over several months and it was quite a success. I felt the Kathak tabla nut starting to crack for me and at last started getting a freer feeling and understanding of how to interpret Kathak compositions on the tabla. Thanks Helena! More photos at the Infinity Kathak Facebook album.
  
  

NOVEMBER 2016

• Sat 19 Nov Bulimba: Spirit of Bhakti - A beautiful evening at Inna Bliss Yoga in Bulimba. Unfortunately there aren't many photos of Spirit of Bhakti shows because everyone is blissing out in the dim lighting.
   
• Fri 25 Nov BEMAC and Tenzin Choegyal Present World Music Café: Himalayan Film Festival featuring Short Films + Tibet2Timbuk2 - Some wonderful short films and some wonderful music. We welcomed Richard Grantham on viola, who I met through the 7 Beats and Bells Kathak show. You'll see his face appearing here in a few different projects - a very talented man.
  
  
  Tibet2Timbuk2 - Shen, Tenzin, Marcello, Richard

DECEMBER 2016

• Sat 3 Dec Samford: High Vibes in the Valley - Spirit of Bhakti and Andy Copeman - A dark stormy evening in hills of Samford, enjoying the beautiful sounds of these two healing music acts.
   
• Sun 4 Dec Oxley: Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ - a bit of pakhawaj for me.