After 4 years of "meaning-to-goes" or "just-missed-its", I finally saw Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar Sunday night in Santa Cruz. It was Raga-tastic and Tala-rific. I was accompanied by my musically-savvy chica, NoeBoe, for an evening of transcendental, pentatonic vibrations. (Yes, we were drug-free for this experience.)
What a fantastic crowd; I have such an appreciation for Santa Cruzers! You had everything from the devout classical listener to the dread-locked hippie. They all nodded and applauded. There were three standing ovations: One for the entrance of Guru Shankar, one for a FABULOUS tabla solo, and a very LONG one at the end.
Ravi Shankar is 87! I had no idea how frail he was. He couldn't sit on the floor anymore, and needed people to bring him onstage. Then, low and behold, he started to play and you stopped worrying about him. Until you've seen an 87 year old man rock out on an instrument more difficult than a guitar (7 strings - HA!) you haven't seen anything. His daughter, Anoushka, also amazing, had a lot more dexterity than her father, but Ravi was definitely the one pushing the tonal and rhythmic limits for the entire group. I should also mention that Anoushka has quite a career ahead of her - she's really bringing a lot of sitar music into western classical and even pop music.
I was inspired. Very rarely do you see such competent musicians, let alone to see them work together spiritually, while, of course, rocking hard core on classical instruments. It was much more like watching a jazz combo than a classical group. I can't say as much for choral singers or orchestral players. (Very beautiful, but boring to watch indeed.)
Ravi and/or his daughter are in the Bay Area a couple times a year. I wouldn't call myself a "fan" of very much. But, I'd like to see the Shankars again next year.
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