I am happy to say I was actually able to bring you another episode within my prescribed time span of two weeks! I am very excited to share this discussion with you.

I had a special guest who is a mentor and dear friend, Sri Bangalore B. Rajashekar, who happens to be finishing up a tour of the U.S. with a percussion ensemble. As my title states, he is a master of his instrument, the morsing (also referred to around the world as "Jew's Harp.") It is one of the three main auxiliary percussion instruments used in Carnatic music aside from ghatam and kanjira.


In action (taken from the stage a few years ago in India)


Together with my guru a some years back.

To keep things digestible, I have broken our discussion into two parts. The second one will be released in the next episode.

In case for some reason you are contemplating whether or not to check this out, there is quite a bit of him actually playing and at the end of our discussion we do a short duet together (you can find that in the next episode). The whole thing was really memorable and fun.

We also got to spend some time together:




Download it here:
http://podcast.prasantmusic.com/2008/10/discussion-with-morsing-master-b.html

Once you are there, click the icons to the right to subscribe to the podcast! Now you can subscribe in iTunes too.

Labels: podcast

Last Friday, September 19, 2008, we performed at the Hillside Club in Berkeley, CA. It was great to play in the beautiful hall they have there. Despite the presidential debates, we had a receptive audience. We had a special guest on bass, Eric Vogler, filling in for David Ewell. Aside from playing bass, Eric is a genius at programming music through his computer.

Here are some pictures. View the whole set on flickr.



















It was a fun two concerts -- for YBCA at the Red Poppy and Hillside Club in Berkeley. Sameer has gone back to New York. We should all be getting together and playing again soon. In mean time, you can support us by checking out our new album if you have not already.

Labels: concerts, photos, vidya

Wow, that's a mouthful. Its a long title, but it was the easiest way to convey what this new show would be about. Yes, I actually decided to start a "podcast." Its basically like a radio show that is online. I decided to refer to it as a "set," because I hope that there will be a good dose of music in the show itself as well -- kind of like going to a concert.

You can subscribe to the show here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/prasantmusicpodcast. You can also check on updates at http://podcast.prasantmusic.com.

The show should be on itunes shortly, if it is not there already. The first episode briefly discusses why I decided to start the show and is followed by a clip of Bhairavi ragam on the saxophone. I actually had entertained the idea a couple years ago, but finally decided to take the plunge now for a few reasons. I will give more details soon.

Without further ado, hit the link to listen to the show (or right-click to download).

Listen Now!