Former prodigy bridges India, West
Congratulations to the Raga Mala Music Society, which marks three decades of bringing great music and dance from the Indian subcontinent to our city with a special concert at the Maclab Theatre on Saturday.
I’ve enjoyed countless hours of fine music thanks to their efforts. Anyone with an interest in global music trends has to take in one of the society’s shows.
Coincidentally, it was also 30 years ago this year that pioneering mandolin virtuoso U. Shrinivas made a big splash in global music circles with his western concert debut at the Berlin Jazz Festival.
In a recent conversation Shrinivas recalled being “very nervous” as he was booked to perform a short set following trumpeter Miles Davis. But the mandolin player — just 13 at the time — was such a hit that the crowd demanded an extra hourlong encore and his entire concert was broadcast the next day on German television.
As fate would have it one of the musicians watching that show was jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, who would later ask Shrinivas to join his east-west fusion band, Remember Shakti (they performed here in 2003). That’s one of many meetings making Shrinivas one of the top artists to cross over between classical Indian music and western genres, bridging the gap with expert improvising skills.
Recently he performed with American mandolin star Bela Fleck, the latest in a long list of collaborators including Zakir Hussain, Nigel Kennedy, Michael Nyman, Michael Brook and many other stars of Indian music. He’s pleased to be part of the continuing penetration of Indian sounds in western culture.
“One of the beauties of Indian classical music is that it can match up with almost any other style and I think that has helped a lot in creating awareness of our music.”
For his concert here Saturday Shrinivas plays with his younger brother U. Rajesh, also a mandolin player, and the gifted percussionists Madirimangalam Swaminathan on mridangam, and Trichy Murali on ghatam (clay pot).
Shrinivas’s instrument was unknown in classical Indian music when he first tried his father’s mandolin at age six. His father taught various popular styles centred around India’s film industry, but the son wanted to play classical ragas on the small oval-shaped axe. For years other musicians advised him to get another instrument. He took lessons from a vocal instructor because there were no classical mandolin teachers in India. Then, with his first public recital at age nine, Shrinivas was recognized as a child prodigy.
Eventually he came to trade the acoustic mandolin for a custom five-string electric solid-body model that allows for the sustained notes crucial to Indian classical styles. Now 44, he heads up his own college for mandolin instruction at home in Chennai (formerly Madras), India when he’s not on tour. He was honoured with the Padma Shree Award by the president of India in 1998.
Shrinivas brings his quartet to the Citadel Maclab Theatre Saturday, 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 for VIP seats, $25 general, $20 for students and seniors from the Citadel box office (780-425-1820 or citadeltheatre.com).