Three days and some fabulous concerts

The Fourth Edition of The Hindu Friday Review Music Festival returns to Coimbatore with some more great music, writes Pankaja Srinivasan

October 29, 2013 05:21 pm | Updated December 05, 2021 09:06 am IST - coimbatore:

The Hindu Friday Review November Fest is here and it brings three fabulous concerts on November 8, 9 and 10.

Geet Gaata Hoon Mein

There is a treat in store for Hindi retro fans as the festival opens with ‘Geet Gaata Hoon Mein’. The Monsorate Brothers will set the evening on fire with the best of Kishore Kumar. Brush up on your old favourites and you can sing along. There is a 16-member brass band that will bring back the 60s and the 70s.

Guide , Jewel Thief , Padosan , Kati Patang …the concert spans the four decades in which Kishore Kumar created musical magic. The Monsorate Brothers have had the privilege of actually working with Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman! They started their career in 1972 and have also played music with stalwarts such as Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji and Bappi Lahiri besides many present-day music directors. They tour the world on concerts. These have included performances with Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.

Nirgun Naad

It is magic of another kind on November 9. ‘Nirgun Naad’ presents soul stirring music with the best of the North and the South. Vidya Shah’s powerful voice reawakens the compositions of medieval mystics such as Bulle Shah, Rabia Al Basri and Kabir. And she has none other than the renowned Vikku Vinayakaram joining her with his ghatam as they perform the works of Sufi and Bhakti poets from the 13th to the 17th Centuries.

Vikku Vinayakaram is the first South Indian artiste to receive a Grammy in 1991 for Best World Music Album. For this concert, his grandson Hariharan plays the kanjira alongside.

Vidya has performed internationally and her gurus include the formidable Shubha Mudgal, Mujahid Hussain Khan and Shanti Hiranand. She received the Charles Wallace Award and a Senior Fellowship from the Government of India for her project >Women on Record , a performance highlighting the contributions of forgotten women performers in the Gramophone era.

The treat does not end there, as from the Thar desert in Rajasthan comes haunting melody from the Manganiyar singers. For centuries, the Manganiyars have kept alive the stories and history of the vast deserts that have been their home. Chugge Khan, the director of a collective of Manganiyar musicians called Rajasthan Josh, plays several instruments, is vocalist, writer, composer and arranger with a repertoire of more than 1,000 songs that range from Rajasthani folk music to Sufi qawwali and bhajans. He was born in the Thar desert and learnt music from his father from the early age of four. Chugge and Rajasthan Josh have played across the world with A.R. Rahman, Susheela Raman, Shye Ben Tzur, Prem Joshua and Transglobal Underground. Chugge has also played with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the album ‘Alvida’ and with Indian Ocean in ‘Bhumi’. He has received numerous awards from BBC Wales, Intec India and University of Jaipur, among others.

Meeting of the Continents

The Festival concludes with a grand Indian jazz-rock concert called ‘The Meeting of the Continents’ by Noisy Mama. Headed by Carola Grey, the ensemble has a mix of Indian and European musicians.

Carola is an award-winning drummer and composer who founded the jazz/fusion group in 1991 in New York. In this concert, she binds together solid jazz-funk and rock grooves with the sophisticated rhythms from India with her distinctive style of writing, playing and singing. She uses both Indian ragas as well as Western melody and harmony.

Carola has been studying under South Indian musical legend Padma Bushan T.V. Gopalakrishnan for many years. This has added a unique and interesting aspect to her drumming and music. She has also recorded for Bappi Lahiri. She tours with her band Noisy Mama in Europe and India. They received the Munich Music Award and much acclaim for their first album Road to Goa. The band performed its first big show in India earlier this year.

The Schedule:

November 8 : Monsorate Brothers

November 9 : Vidya Shah, Manganiyars & Vikku Vinayakram

November 10 : Noisy Mama

Venue : JTPac, Tripunithura

>For the detailed schedule of Nov Fest 2013 in all five cities, click here .

Tickets:

Price:>Rs. 400, Rs. 250 & Rs. 150. Season passes at Rs. 1,000 & Rs. 650

All tickets can be purchased online at >www.thehindu.com/frnf2013

Tickets will also be available at PhotoCenter Sai Baba Colony and Race Course, Nilgiri’s R.S. Puram, Vadavalli and Ramanathapuram & The Hindu , 19 and 20, ATT Colony, LIC Road, Coimbatore - 18

Helpline Numbers 93806-64382

Follow us:

Website >thehindu.com/novemberfest

Facebook at >Friday Review November Fest

Twitter >@FRNovfest

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