Mumbai Magic: Van Shipley

Van Shipley, one of India’s most prolific popular instrumentalists, until his death in 2008, issued a series of LPs throughout the 60s and 70’s, in which he arranged and performed contemporary and past Bollywood hits.  Never a household name (except in his own, of course) he was nevertheless, a prominent ‘behind the scenes’ player on hundreds if not thousands of film soundtracks.  About the closest you got to a session musician in India.

I’ve posted his biography a few months ago which you can access here. It is worth a read. He is one of the rather unsung but important cadre of Indian Christian or Goan musicians who collectively had an influence beyond what their numbers would suggest on the development of India’s most popular popular music.

Van is most famous for his guitar work but in tonight’s selection serves up a big portion of hits played on the violin. He was known as the ‘Man with the Golden Guitar’. This album is named, The Magic Violin.  I personally enjoy this album more than his guitar work, especially the slower numbers, which really allow Van to squeeze the soul  from the strings.

Note: track 2 and 8 on this LP were simply too mutilated to recover despite my best efforts. Apologies to all accountants and other perfectionists.

            Track Listing:

            01 Ek Pyar ka Naghma Hai

03 Deewana Leke Aaya Hai

04 Gham Hai Kisi Ke Pyar Men

05 Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye

06 Chalte Chalte

07 Duniya Mein

09 Sath Mein Pyara Sathi Hai

10 Dil ki Baten

11 Zindagi ka Safar

12 Chingari Koi Bhadke

here

Saving America: Raga Darbari and Bansuri

Loyal followers of and visitors to the Washerman’s Dog will have seen the video clip of President Obama and Gov. Romney debating who is better placed to integrate the wonders of Hindustani and Carnatic classical music into the culture and economic life of the United States.  Both candidates expressed an admirable depth of understanding as well as sensitivity to some of the finer points of the Indian classical tradition in their responses. But as is to be expected, the Democrat President emphasised that no economic or social recovery could take place without a true understanding of the raga. In particular he held up Raga Darbari Kanada as being a pinnacle of achievement which needed to be more fully appreciated by Wall Street and Main Street alike.  That he promised $17.5 billion for the promotion of the bansuri (Indian flute) in next year’s budget underscored his seriousness.

The Republican Romney opposed this position, placing priority on the complex taals of Indian percussion as the ultimate saviour of American culture. While he was able to impress the moderator (and himself) with the rapid annunciation of several rhythmic patterns his protestations that his familiarity with a variety of Indian drums fell a bit flat.

It was a fascinating debate, indeed, and after considerable reflection I have come down in the Obama/Democrat/raga camp.  And as evidence of the truth of this position I offer tonight a choice selection of the raga played by North and South Indian flute maestros, as well as several renditions of the wonderful Raga Darbari, but vocally and played on the sarangi.

Here’s to a cultural awakening and economic recovery in the USA!

            Track Listing:

Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia

01 Raga Ahir Bhairav [Hari Prasad Chaurasia] The greatest living proponent of the bansuri, referred to by President Obama in his response, plays the exalted morning raga Ahir Bhairav, one of his personal favorites.

Pt. Ram Chatur Malik

02 Raga Darbari Kanhra - Alap [Pandit Ram Chatur Malik] the Don of Darbhanga Dhrupad, Ram Chatur Malik presents a master class in how to sing this grave raga, played deep into the night. Darbari is considered to be one of the more difficult ragas to master, and with the potential for profound emotional impact.

T.N. Sitram

03 Kalalanerchina - Deepakam [Prapancham T. N.  Sitaram] An ancient Thyagaraja ragam from South India played by the blind flute guru from Chennai.

Ustad Sabri Khan

04 Raga Darbari - Jhala [Ustad Sabri Khan]. Representing the Sainia gharana and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Ustad Sabri Khan plays a difficult raga on a cantankerous instrument—sarangi.

Pt. Jasraj

05 Raga Darbari [Pandit Jasraj]. One of India’s outstanding vocalists renders the mighty night raga Darbari with style and power. Ustad Zakir Hussain accompanies on tabla so Mitt Romney should be pleased!

06 Raga Bhupal Todi [Hinmanshu Biswas and Dulal Roy] The Bengali duo of Biswas (bansuri) and Roy (jaltarang) wind up the concert with a stunningly artful Raga Bhupal Todi, another morning raga.

here

At Last the Real Issues are Debated: Obama and Romney on Indian Classical Music

In case you missed the debate last week here is a recap of the most critical phase when they were both asked about their views on how to integrate Indian classical music into American culture and economic life.

Stellar Soundtracks: Aaye Din Bahar Ke

Winter is over for another year. Spring weather has the trees blooming with urgency and temperatures soaring. Yesterday we hit 31 C. Tomorrow it will rain and barely hit a dozen degrees.  But the change of season is always a soulful time and so the Washerman’s Dog shares another stellar soundtrack from the Maestros of Mumbai : Aaye Din Bahar Ke (Days of Spring).

Made in 1966 right smack dab in the middle of the Golden Period of Indian popular cinema the film was a hit for the studly action man, Dharmendra and the classy Asha Parekh. The film tells the story of Ravi, (Dharmendra) an eligible bachelor who lives with his mother. The whereabouts of his father are unknown. He meets with beautiful Kanchan (Asha Parekh) and both fall in love. But fate has other plans for them as Ravi soon finds out that Kanchan is already married and has a child.

Filmed in the lush tea fields of West Bengal the mountain scenery provides a fresh atmosphere in more ways than one. Kanchan, of course, at first is not very friendly and Ravi has his work cut out for him but of course, such difficulties only mark an occasion to cavort amongst the tea plantations and beautiful flower beds whilst tugging on Kanchan’s sari!

The playback singers are also at their peak. Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi are at the summit of their popularity, with the latter in particular contributing one of his most powerful performances in Mere Dushman (My Enemies).  Lata’s younger sister, Asha Bhosle, was still a few years from breaking out of her sister’s shadow and claiming top spot for herself but the two sing a nice duet in Ai Kaash Kisi Diwane Ko.  

The films music was composed by the venerable duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal who not only composed specially for Lata, but had her to thank for their entry into the film music world. She picked them out of an orchestra and recommended them to Naushad, at the time the King of Composer, who gave them places in his own ensemble.  The relationship between playback singer and composers remained close throughout their careers with Lata performing their songs more than any other composer/s; she named one of their songs in her personal 10 most favourite.  Lata’s solo Suno Sajna, for this film ranks as one of their outstanding contributions to Hindi song.

Lyricist Anand Bakshi it is claimed wrote more than 4500 film songs in his long Bollywood career, most of them for Laxmikant-Pyarelal. With his inclusion, Aaye Din Bahar Ke boasted the A-Team of Bombay music.   My favourite song in this soundtrack is the Mohammad Rafi number Mere Dushman. Indian film songs are famous for extolling the ways and attributes of love and the beloved in a thousand different ways. But this song, set in a nightclub, seethes with bitter anger and vengeful longings against the singer’s supposed enemies, including the shocked Kanchan.  ‘My enemies, you’re going to long for my friendship/ You who’ve hurt me will long for happiness.’  Every bit as bitter and spiteful as Bob Dylan’s famous put down in Positively 4^th Street.  The mighty soaring strings ramp up the emotions to unbelieveable heights, and yet Rafi never loses control, indeed spitting the hurt out with style and even grace!  A stunning performance.

            Track Listing:

        01 Ai Kaash Kisi Diwane Ko

02 Khat Likh De

03 Suno Sajna

04 Ye Kali

05 Mera Mehboob Hai Bemisal

06 Mere Dushman

07 Khudya Khair

here

The Yearning and the Longing: Muhamed El Amin

The oud player

There are few sounds I’ve grown to love dearer in recent years than that of the oud. The plucked string resonates with a crispness that never grows stale. Though it is often played solo, its song is far more sonorous than the solo guitar. It speaks with a natural confidence, like some sort of precocious youngster where the (acoustic) guitar seems to whisper.  This is not without its pleasures but the oud’s assured tone spells hope and urgency.

I’ve not been in Khartoum in Sudan though have worked with several Sudanese in my years in the aid industry. They were intensely proud of being Sudanese and frequently notified me that no one spoke Arabic with greater clarity and melody then themselves.  And for a tradition and language that is intimately bound to speech and oral communication, as opposed to writing, this is high praise. 

My only visit to the country was to the south many years before it became an independent nation. I was on a mission to meet and interview some high ranking Ethiopian government officials of Sudanese extraction who had fled to the regional city (no larger than a small neighbourhood) of Nasir.  Because of their association as loyal public servants with the despised and recently collapsed leftist Derg government headed by Col. Hailemariam Mengistu, they were in fear for their lives.  Though they were ethnically ‘home’ in southern Sudan, they were mistrusted and disliked by the local population. My job was to see if there was a way to get them resettled in the West.   To make a tangential story short, there wasn’t and I don’t know what became of them after I flew back to Nairobi.

Muhamad El Amin

Tonight’s selection is Muhamad el Amin, one of Sudan’s great voices accompanying himself beautifully on oud.  Mohammed el Amin is a Sudanese folk-hero for his majestic voice and superb oud playing, and the near-blind, reclusive old revolutionary is also a brilliant composer and arranger. Never a prolific writer, his work is concentrated and even his rearrangements of old songs sound fresh. I forgot the irritating half-assed reggae of lesser bands the night Mohammed el Amin conjured up a playful dub fade-out of one epic song with just a violinist (Mohamediya), bass player and tablas. Born in Wad Medani, central Sudan, in 1943, he began learning the oud at the age of 11, taught by the well-known professor Mohammed Fadl. He wrote his first compositions aged 20, and went on to become honorary president of the Sudanese Artists' and Composers' Society. Frequently in trouble for provoking one military dictatorship - he was jailed by Nimeiri's regime in the 1970s - he moved to Cairo after 1989 to avoid similar run-ins with the National Islamic Front, but returned to Khartoum in 1994 and kept a low profile. (http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/MUSIC/musicians/AMIN.HTM) 

The CD The Voice of Sudan (Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Germany)
 is an intimate solo acoustic set recorded in Berlin in 1991. It captures his smokily majestic voice and nimble oud playing - the latter sometimes got lost in his earlier big band outings - in glorious epics such as Habibi, where the roller-coaster riffing of the 1980s electric version gets altogether subtler treatment. (http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/MUSIC/MTEXT.HTM)

Here is a link to a good introduction to the music and musical politics of Africa’s largest country. Well worth a read. (http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/MUSIC/MTEXT.HTM)

This is another fine example of Arabic left-folk music. Oud and voice both in outstanding glory.

            Track Listing:

            01 Al Jarida - The Newspaper

02 The Longing And Yearning

03 Obituary

04 Life

05 Eyes Of Hope

06 Fullmoon Over The Castle

07 Habibi

here