Small World celebrates South Asian Heritage Month!
The Sixth Annual South Asian Music Series: May 4 to 29, 2008
Small World is proud to present one of our signature programs, the
Sixth Annual South Asian Music Series, one of the cultural keystones of
South Asian Heritage Month. This year's six-evening program offers a
rich diversity of international and Canadian-based superstars and
rising stars.
Sunday, May 4, @ 5:30 pm
BAGESHREE VAZE & Vineet Vyas
'In the Darbar'
Harbourfront Studio Theatre, 235 Queen's Quay W.
$15 advance @ 416 973-4000 / $20 door
This
intimate evening of North Indian classical music and dance features
Sarod by Steve Oda, Tabla by Vineet Vyas and Kathak dance by Bageshree
Vaze; reminiscent of India's royal court (darbar) era. These performers
have studied with some of India's legendary musical masters, such as
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Pandit Birju Maharaj.
Bageshree Vaze is one of Canada's rising "new-generation" talents. In
2004, MTV India named her an 'Ubbharta Sitara' (rising star), and the
video of her song "Deewana" won the 2006 ReelWorld award for
Outstanding Canadian Music Video. Produced by husband and tabla
virtuoso Vineet Vyas, her 2007 release "Tarana" combines dance rhythms
and melodies with the instrumentation of the tabla, flute, piano,
sarod, sarangi and guitar; the first of its kind to feature an
Indo-Canadian singing the music for her own choreography.
Thursday, May 8, @ 9 pm
TASA with MONSOON
Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W., 416 588-0307
$15 advance @ smallworldmusic.com / $20 door
Tasa
is a world music ensemble that performs original repertoire inspired by
the traditions of India as well as contemporary jazz. Tasa was created
in 1999 by tabla player Ravi Naimpally a musician deeply committed to a
vision that of a new musical form combining the many cultures of Canada.
Blending instruments and musical motifs from several world traditions
Tasa is able to create a rich and seamless tapestry of sound.
Monsoon is a modern Indo-Jazz ensemble that features original
compositions, and blends aspects of Indian Classical music with
elements of modern jazz. Monsoon was created by co-founders Justin
Gray, Andrew Kay and Jonathan Kay during a trip to India where they
were studying North Indian classical music with their Guru, Shantanu
Bhattacharya. Adding to Monsoon's appeal is a cross-generational
dynamic, with the founders' youthful energy enhanced by the virtuoso
musicianship of renowned players such as Ravi Naimpally of Tasa, and
string virtuoso George Koller on bass.
Friday, May 9, @ 8 pm
ZAKIR HUSSAIN'S MASTERS OF PERCUSSION
Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street
Tickets: $49.50 - $69.50 @ 416 872-4255 / roythomson.com
Featuring:
Fazal Qureshi - tabla and kanjira; Taufiq Qureshi - percussion; Niladri
Kumar - sitar; Abbos Kosimov - doyra; Ram Kishan - nagada; Dilshad Khan
- sarangi; Vijay Chauhan - folk drums
Tabla master Zakir
Hussain's Masters of Percussion is one of the most spectacular
experiences in contemporary Indian music; a breathtaking display of
rhythm, melody and movement. Combining forces with the world's
preeminent tabla player are four additional percussionists, two masters
of melodic instruments and the dazzling dancing drummers of Manipur.
The concert will feature the traditional repertoire of North Indian
drumming on tabla in solo and combinations as explorations of the
frontier between traditional and contemporary, folk and classical.
Zakir Hussain's remarkable list of projects and collaborations include:
Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar; Planet
Drum with Mickey Hart, and Tabla Beat Science. He has recorded and
performed with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Joe Henderson,
Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, and the Kodo drummers.
Thursday, May 15, @ 9 pm
ABHIJIT POHANKAR
w/ DJ medicineman
(CIUT 89.5 FM)
in association with No Man's Land Productions Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W.
$20 advance @ smallworldmusic.com / $25 door Guaranteed seating w. dinner reservations: 416 588-0307
Abhijit
Pohankar is one of the most compelling figures in contemporary Indian
music, uniquely bridging Indian classical music with chillout lounge
grooves, building a remarkably cross-generational and international fan
base. The son of Indian music legend Maestro P.T Ajay, whose voice can
be heard on Abhijt's break-out album "Piya Bawari" he is a prolific
composer in his own right with over 20 albums to date. Abhijit is
distinguished as a rare musician who can play Indian classical music on
a keyboard. His song "Piya Bawari" was recently chosen for the Buddha
Bar compilation, one of the world's best-known series of global groove
recordings and a springboard for countless artists to worldwide
notoriety.
His festival CV includes the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Cape Town Festival. This is his Toronto debut.
Saturday, May 24, @ 8 pm
GUNDECHA BROTHERS
dhrupad.org
Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W.
$25 advance @ 416 973-4000 / $30 door
Umakant
and Ramakant Gundecha are India's leading exponents of the Dhrupad
style, the spiritual heart of Indian classical music. Among of the most
internationally active performers of Dhrupad, these dedicated and
immensely talented artists have helped to keep alive this ancient and
profound tradition; a musical legacy which freshly resonates today
amongst yoga and meditation enthusiasts as well as classical music
fans. The Gundecha Brothers have sung great Hindi poetry by Tulsidas,
Kabir, Padmakar, and Nirala in Dhrupad style. They have numerous
recordings on H.M.V, Music Today, Rhythm House, Senseworld Music,
Sundaram Records, IPPNW Concerts Berlin, Navras and Audio Rec London.
As well as being an integral part of all of India's most prestigious
music festivals, the Gundecha Brothers have performed at many important
international festivals and institutions in Europe, the U.S.,
Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.
Thursday, May 29, @ 8:30 pm
AUTORICKSHAW w/ special guest BEN GROSSMAN
autorickshaw.ca Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. 416 588-0307
Tickets: $12 at the door
Autorickshaw's
music lies on the cultural cutting edge, as contemporary jazz and funk
easily rub shoulders with the classical and popular music of India.
Formed in 2003, autorickshaw has swiftly risen to become one of the
most intriguing acts on the Canadian world music and jazz landscapes.
Their sound showcases the sultry, vocals of Suba Sankaran, anchored by
the melodic bass-lines of Rich Brown, over a bed of intricate Indian
percussion by Ed Hanley and global rhythms by Patrick Graham. The
group's repertoire draws from the classical music of north and south
India, jazz and popular music. After garnering a 2004 Juno nomination
for World Music Album of the Year and winning a Canadian Independent
Music Award in 2005, autorickshaw has once again been nominated for a
2008 Juno Award in the World Music Album of the Year category for "And
So the Journey Goes". Autorickshaw's original composition "Heavy
Traffic" recently won the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest
Grand Prize in World Music.
they are all great artists, I am looking forward to see Autorickshaw!
Posted by: Vijay Sappani | May 14, 2008 at 12:27 AM