Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale preview

Anoushka Shankar & Karsh Kale
College Of DuPage, Elgin
Saturday, October 6, 2007

Yes, Anoushka Shankar is the daughter of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar. That said, we’ll give you a guess what instrument she plays. One hint: It isn’t the tuba.

O.K., another hint: it isn’t the pedal steel, either. It’s the sitar, duh. Though judging by her resume thus far in her short life (26-years old), we can only imagine how many instruments Anoushka has, or is in the process of mastering. Her father started training Anoushka in Indian classical music (though it was her mother, Sukanya, who encouraged Anoushka to learn sitar) at the tender age of 8, and she made her recording debut at 13. Two years later she was a friggin’ conductor on her dad’s Chants Of India album, which was produced by none other than George Harrison. She released her first solo album in 1998 as a 17-year old for cryin’ out loud. Oh yeah, that same year she became the youngest recipient (and only female) to be awarded the British Parliament’s House Of Commons Shield, for recognition of her artistry and musicianship. Kind of a showoff, huh? Poor Karsh Kale, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Anoushka’s musical collaborator on Breathing Under Water (Manhattan), hardly stands a chance does he? The record, a jazzy, loungy, at times psychedelic take on the traditional Indian sound, includes guest performances by Sting, Norah Jones, Bollywood star Sunidhi Chauhan, and, of course, Ravi Shankar.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for streaming samples of Breathing Under Water.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly