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India Calling Celebrates the Music and Dance of India Sunday, September 20, 2009 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009, at 7 PM "King of Bhangra" and Punjabi icon Malkit Singh brings his wildly popular hits to the Bowl stage; Kailash Kher's Kailasa, featuring Kailash Kher and brothers Naresh and Paresh Kamath, perform Sufi-folk rock - a fusion of traditional folk sensibilities and more modern rock, electronic and funk influences; the Ravi Shankar Centre Ensemble, curated by India's most esteemed musical ambassador, Ravi Shankar, performs music rich in the Indian classical music tradition; his daughter, young sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, continues the family's musical legacy with her own inimitable style; Rhythm of Rajasthan opens the show performing an energetic fusion of traditional rhythms and melodies. Malkit Singh has taken music from the Punjabi vernacular from the relative obscurity of a Punjabi village to the heady heights of a world stage. As the music spreads its wings across the globe, Singh reaches audiences of all ages and backgrounds. He has toured in over 36 countries, released 21 albums, recorded numerous music videos, and received endless awards and accolades. Singh uses his music to bring different communities together, not only Indian communities but also communities in which Bhangra music was never before heard. Some of Malkit's songs have also been featured on the big screen. "Jind Mahi" was featured in Bend It Like Beckham and "Gurh Nalon Ishq Mitha" was featured in Monsoon Wedding. Also his trademark anthem "Tutak Tutak Toothiyan" is the best selling Bhangra song to this very day. Singh has been recognized in the Millenium Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the Best Selling Bhangra Solo Artist in the World. He also received an MBE from the Queen for his services to Punjabi music making him the only Asian artist to have received this honor. Singh releases Billo Rani in October 2009 on the Moviebox label. Kailash Kher's meteoric rise from a humble upbringing outside of New Delhi to being appointed a judge for the 2008-09 season of Indian Idol - all before the age of 30 - is nothing less than remarkable. It is also a testament to the strength and appeal of what is undeniably one of the most unique voices in Indian music today. Despite numerous childhood years of classical Indian music training, it was the traditional folk songs sung by his father that exerted the most influence. In 2001, Kailash left New Delhi for Mumbai, home to the highly competitive Bollywood film and music industry. Soon after the recording of a handful of jingles, the raw, earthy and soulful strength of his voice caught the attention of every production house and film composer in Mumbai. By 2004, Kailash was catapulted into the spotlight having performed on some of the biggest hits of the India. Since 2001, his credits include over 60 different film soundtracks and nearly 200 jingles. Though the Bollywood playback world had proven rewarding, Kailash began collaborating with brothers Naresh and Paresh Kamath in search of a more satisfying Sufi-folk rock sound. Together they created Kailash Kher's Kailasa, and have released two critically and commercially acclaimed albums in India, Kailasa and Jhommo Re, and toured worldwide to sold-out audiences. Sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar has emerged as one of the leading figures in world music today. She is deeply rooted in Indian classical music, having studied exclusively with her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, and is now one of the foremost performers in that tradition. In tandem with this, she has flourished as a performer and composer, exploring fertile ground in the crossover between Indian music and a variety of genres including electronica, jazz, flamenco and Western classical music. In 1998, her first solo recording, Anoushka, was released to critical acclaim. Anourag (2000), Anoushka's second release, expanded upon and refined what she had previously recorded, and was followed by Live at Carnegie Hall (2001), which garnered her first Grammy nomination, making her the youngest-ever nominee in the world music category. On Rise (2005), her fourth album, she composed, arranged and produced her own music, and received another Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary World Music category. In February 2006 she also became the first Indian to play at the Grammy Awards. In 2007 Anoushka collaborated with Karsh Kale, the Indian-American producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, to jointly create the album Breathing Under Water, which showed an even deeper grasp of the fusion of Eastern and Western music and received widespread critical acclaim. Her work is notable for the way she has applied her expertise as an Indian classical musician, and the profundity of the Indian raga framework, to working with top-quality musicians from a range of traditions, creating innovative music that appeals to her own generation as much as to that of her father. Ravi Shankar, the legendary virtuoso sitarist, composer, teacher and writer, is a singular phenomenon whose artistry crosses all cultural and musical boundaries. He is the foremost pioneer in disseminating India's rich classical music tradition to the West, and was the first to experiment with mixing Indian classical music with other western forms, creating a new kind of fusion. He has curated the Ravi Shankar Centre Ensemble especially for India Calling! at the Hollywood Bowl. This historic performance is the first by this ensemble in the U.S. The ensemble is comprised of special guests, and teachers and students from the renowned Ravi Shankar Centre, still run by Shankar in New Delhi. The Centre was established to keep the classical arts traditions of India alive for future generations. It is supported by The Ravi Shankar Foundation, established in 1997. Ravi Shankar has donated all his prize money and has performed several fund raising concerts to benefit the foundation, which helped to build the center. National Geographic is creating a special photo presentation to be displayed on the Bowl's large screens during this performance. Rhythm of Rajasthan, conceived by Nitin Nath Harsh, a folklore promoter of Rajasthan, is composed of groups of musicians and dancers of western Rajasthan. The group has the mixture of traditional hereditary caste musicians of the Langa and Manganiar community, as well as dancers from the Kalbelia community. Rhythm of Rajasthan creates the exciting fusion of traditional rhythms and melodies of these communities. The Langas and Manganiars are groups of hereditary professional musicians, whose music has been supported by wealthy landlords and aristocrats for generations. Both sing in the same dialect, but their styles and repertoires differ, shaped by the tastes of their patrons. Langa literally means song giver. An accomplished group of poets, singers, and musicians from the Barmer district of Rajasthan, the Langas seem to have converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 17th century. Traditionally, Sufi influences prevented them from using percussion instruments, however, the Langas are versatile players of the Sindhi Sarangi and the Algoza (double flute), which accompany and echo their formidable and magical voices. They perform at events like births and weddings, exclusively for their patrons (Yajman), who are cattle breeders, farmers, and landowners. The Langa musicians are regarded by their patrons as kings. The Sindhi Sarangi used by the Langas is made up of four main wires, with more than twenty vibrating sympathetic strings which help to create its distinctive haunting tones. The bowing of these instruments is a skilful exercise, often supported by the sound of the ghungroos, or ankle bells, that are tied to the bow to make the beat more prominent. Manganiars play the kamayacha, a remarkable bowed instrument with a big, circular resonator that gives out an impressive deep, booming sound. The music of Rajasthan is driven by pulsating rhythms created by an array of percussion instruments, the most popular of them being the dholak, a double headed barrel drum, whose repertoire has influenced other Indian drums including the tabla. One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a
seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the
summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening
in 1922, and is home to the best and brightest in all genres of
music. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood
Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition
of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this
day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling
summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy
"SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl,"
the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children,
now in its 42nd season. In January 2009, the Hollywood Bowl was
named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fifth year in a row
at the 20th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's
summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California
summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland. KCRW World Festival INDIA CALLING! MALKIT SINGH RAVI SHANKAR CENTRE ENSEMBLE, curated by RAVI SHANKAR RHYTHM OF RAJASTHAN Tom Schnabel, host Corporate Sponsors: Incredible India, National Geographic Global
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