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January 28, 2010

Lalgudi Jayaraman's Gati Neevani in Thodi -- no words to describe

  
(download)

I have been enjoying this gem from the 1967 Krishnaghana Sabha concert where they have rendered the Lalgudi Pancharatnams in addition to an RTP. The whole concert is amazing.

So expressive... its hard to describe. 


P.S. 100% proceeds to Haiti is still happening at http://music.prasantmusic.com until Feb 1st midnight PST!

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Filed under  //   artists   lalgudi jayaraman   mp3   violin  

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January 26, 2010

100% of prasantmusic.com sales go to Haiti until February 1st

Dear Friends,

As relief efforts in Haiti get underway, it is a crucial time to keep the donations going. Most of us have already donated to some of the major organizations.

To add another avenue to this, 100% of all digital sales proceeds from http://music.prasantmusic.com will be donated to Haiti via Red Cross. Not a percentage of, but 100% -- all proceeds. You can name your price so feel free to donate more.

To provide another option, you can add a note at checkout if you want your donation to go to Doctors Without Borders. 

This is only valid for about 5 days, so you have until February 1st midnight PST. This is all to keep things simple and straightforward.

So: any album or track, 100% to Haiti, until February 1st midnight. Please share.

http://music.prasantmusic.com

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Filed under  //   charity  

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January 25, 2010

House Concert Pics from December 18, upcoming chamber concerts Jan 30 and 31.

Here are a few pics from a chamber concert at the Chandreshekar residence from last month in Fremont, CA. With Susheel Narasimhan and Karthik Gopalratnam. It was a nice concert series and I hope they continue to host such concerts.

I will be playing another such chamber concert at the Sarukkai residence in the South Bay along with Los Angeles based artists Nishanth Chandran on violin and Nirmal Narayan on mridangam. January 30th, Saturday 6pm. If you would like to attend, please e-mail RSVP to sekhar at gmail. The following day will be a relaxing afternoon concert at the Sangati Center in SF at 1pm with the same artists, January 31. Info at www.sangaticenter.org.

So:

Saturday 6pm Jan 30 at Sarukkai Residence in the South Bay. Contact sekhar at gmail for rsvp and inquiries.
Sunday 1pm Jan 31 at Sangati Center in San Francisco.

For more info, visit www.sangaticenter.org or http://prasantmusic.com/concerts.html

     
Click here to download:
House_Concert_Pics_from_Decemb.zip (6177 KB)

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January 22, 2010

Voleti and MSS Renditions of Viriboni. Timeless!

For the Carnatic listeners out there. One of the most commonly sung compositions rendered with rare depth. I am a fan of both of these musical giants. Enjoy!


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Filed under  //   artists   carnatic   video  

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January 21, 2010

Reminder to donate to relief efforts in Haiti

I know everyone has heard and probably most of you have already donated. But in case you haven't yet, here is a friendly reminder.

Please donate now!

http://www.redcross.org/
https://www.planusa.org/content1188763

I know there are many others, but I don't want you to be slowed down by too many choices!

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January 15, 2010

Mac Mini (Late 2009) Review

Here is my review of the latest Apple Mac MIni. Check it out!

 

The verdict: Surprisingly powerful for the price -- a very useful, energy efficient and simple machine.

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Filed under  //   mac   tech  

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December 22, 2009

A review of our SMU concert

via smu.edu

Just got this link in my e-mail. Thanks to this student at SMU who wrote a brief article about our performance at SMU back in September featuring Patri Satish Kumar and Thiripunithura N. Radhakrishnan. It's nice to see a perspective of how the music made her feel rather than a song list and technical breakdown of ragas/talas etc. I was moved. A little excerpt:

The first song starts with Radhakrishnan on the saxophone, and it draws me in. I can feel all tension in the air start to melt away, leaving a sense of raw, unadulterated discovery hanging overhead. The man to the left of me closes his eyes, hums softly, and becomes enveloped in the music. As the percussionists enter the song, Radhakrishnan plays as if in a trance. He and his instrument are one and we as the audience witness a conversation between man and music. It is just extraordinary! There is really no way with words to describe the kind of communication between Radhakrishnan and the notes he is playing around him, or the way that it makes me feel.

The whole thing is at http://www.smu.edu/Meadows/NewsAndEvents/2009/090930-WorldMusic.aspx#

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Filed under  //   Concerts   photos   press mentions  

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December 21, 2009

Unmistaken Child: A moving account of purpose, devotion and reincarnation

via traileraddict.com

This documentary is about a young monk's search for the reincarnation of his master, Geshe Lama Konchong. I have been especially fascinated with this very specific Buddhist tradition ever since watching the Scorsese film "Kundun" in the late 90's. If you haven't seen it, I would encourage you to watch it. It has a score by Philip Glass too.

Back to this documentary. It was humbling to watch the journey of this young monk who basically searched an entire region for this child with almost nothing to go on, and actually found him. I don't think it matters whether you believe in reincarnation or not or if some might try to nitpick details about how the child chose the right objects during the test. It is a picture of real people with real emotions, engaging in their own traditions that have gone on for generations with or without scrutiny from non-believers.

If you can't find this movie at blockbuster, try renting it on Amazon video.

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Filed under  //   film  

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December 19, 2009

Amateur King of Masks in Oakland comments on gender

(download)

Remember the classic Wu Tianming film King of Masks? It featured the old Chinese art of "bian lian" or changing faces. I hadnt had the chance to see it live, but someone was performing it in Oakland Chinatown. This person kind of stumbled in the middle and got the masks stuck, but it was a good effort.

It was a little dissapointing to hear him talk afterwards about how bian lian is supposed to be only taught to men and never to women to protect the secret. Judging from the various performance arts around the world, including Carnatic music, I think gender equality in art is somewhat a given now. Not that one should necessarily infer much culture from an internationally popular movie...but King of Masks (bian lian wang) showed in a nuanced way that ultimately, the gender issue has became irrelevant.

I would like to see more bian lian performances in the future, regardless of who is doing it.

Do some youtube searches to check out this unique art for yourself.

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Filed under  //   mobile   oakland   video  

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December 16, 2009

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer at Music Academy 1988

via youtube.com

I've been listening to this recording for years, but had never seen a video. I just came across this on youtube. T.N. Krishnan, Trichy Sankaran and G. Harishankar. Hope someone will post the RTP in Bhairavi from this concert on youtube too.

Sankaran and Harishankar are amazing in this clip and even more enjoyable during the rest of the concert.

It would be great to see some video of the masters like Semmangudi when they are in their prime.

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