Indian voice at Grammy '09

The performances, glitz and glamour attached to the Grammy Awards apart, Indians will have much to cheer as three of the country’s musicians will vie for a gramophone when the music world’s Oscars are announced on Sunday night, in Los Angeles.

One of India’s leading jazz musicians, Louis Banks, has earned two Grammy nominations in the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” category for his work in the albums “Miles From India” and “Floating Point”. This category is for albums containing 51 per cent or more playing time of instrumental tracks.

“Miles from India” is a tribute to the founder of modern jazz Miles Davies. According to Banks, it is “an Indian tribute to the maestro who was simply in love with Indian music”.

 

In “Floating Point”, Banks plays with legendary guitarist John McLaughlin.

In the “Best Traditional World Music Album” (vocal or instrumental) category, two Indians are in the race — Kolkata-based classical musician Debashish Bhattacharya and veteran Hindustani classical vocalist Lakshmi Shankar.

While Bhattacharya has been nominated for his album “Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey”, Lakshmi has been shortlisted for her album “Dancing In The Light”.

“Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey” is a musical journey through the centuries of guitar playing in India.

Using three unique guitars that Bhattacharya designed himself, each raga explores influences ranging from gypsy to Sufi with deep sensitivity and free-flowing movement between past and present, tradition and innovation.

“Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide-Guitar Odyssey” is an album of Indian raga music, interpreted in a way that is accessible both to the Indian and western listener, touching on the blues, jazz, flamenco and Hawaiian music. “Dancing in the Light” has a khyal (Raga Purya Dhanashree), two thumris (Raga Manj Khamaj and Sindbhairavi) and two Mira bhajans. Sister-in-law of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar, Lakshmi was at first a dancer but had to give up due to ill health. She worked on a historic adaptation of Jawaharlal Nehru’s “Discovery of India”, a work that prompted Nehru to say, “The ballet’s better than my book”.

Only three Indians have won Grammys till date — Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Shankar has won it on three occasions, the last time being in 2001 for his album “Full Circle - Carnegie Hall 2000” in the “Best World Music Album” category.

He was the first Indian to win a Grammy in 1967 for his performance “West Meets East” with violinist Yehudi Menuhin in the “Best Chamber Music Performance” category. He went on to win another Grammy in 1972 when “The Concert For Bangladesh” featuring him, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann was named “Album Of The Year”.

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, creator of Mohan Veena, won the Grammy along with guitar guru Ry Cooder for “A Meeting by the River” in the “World Music Album” section.

Tabla wizard Zakir Hussain won the “Best World Music Album” Grammy in 1992 for “Planet Drum”, an album co-created and produced by Mickey Hart.