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Small World's 6th Annual South Asian Music Series :: Small World Music has produced another stellar lineup for one of their annual signature
programs; the Sixth Annual South Asian Music Series. This year's program truly offers something for every kind of South Asian music aficionado, in a similarly varied range of performance environments.
One of
Small World's longest-standing friends, the legendary tabla master Zakir Hussain, brings his astonishing Masters of Percussion concert to Roy Thomson Hall (May 9). The Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront hosts rising
Indo-Canadian vocalist and dance star Bageshree Vaze (May 4) and the Hindi poetry singers, Gundecha Brothers (May 24).
Home base for the series is Toronto's foremost world-music destination, the Lula Lounge,
with three diverse and spectacular evenings: a Toronto Indo-jazz celebration with Tasa and Monsoon that will kickoff Lulaworld 2008 (May 8); groundbreaking Indian classical-chillout fusion sensation Abhijit Pohankar
(May 15); and the infectious Juno-nominated Indian classical/jazz/funk/fusion of Autorickshaw will close the series (May 29).
Sunday, May 4 @ 5:30
BAGESHREE VAZE "In the Darbur"
:: An intimate evening of North
Indian classical music and dance featuring Sarod by Steve Oda, Tabla by Vineet Vyas and Kathak dance by Bageshree Vaze. This musical event, reminiscent of India's royal court (darbar) era, features Canadian artists who
have studied with some of India's legendary musical masters, such as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Pandit Birju Maharaj.
Bageshree Vaze is one of Canada's rising "new-generation"
talents. As both a vocalist and Kathak dancer, she has trained with some of India's top dance and music exponents, including Pt. Birju Maharaj and Smt. Veena Sahasrabuddhe. In 2004, MTV India named her an 'Ubbharta
Sitara' (rising star), and the video of her song "Deewana" from her first self-titled album won the 2006 ReelWorld film festival award for Outstanding Canadian Music Video. Produced by husband and tabla
virtuoso Vineet Vyas, her acclaimed 2007 release Tarana features North Indian compositions combining dance rhythms and melodies with the instrumentation of the tabla, flute, piano, sarod, sarangi
and guitar. The recording is the first of its kind to feature an Indo-Canadian singing the music for her own choreography.
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Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W. | Tickets $15 advance / $20 door Harbourfront Centre Box Office Phone: 416 973-4000 Thursday, May 8 @ 9:00
TASA with MONSOON *Opening night of LULAWORLD 2008*
:: Tasa is a world music ensemble that performs original repertoire inspired by the traditions of India as well as contemporary versions of traditional songs from the Indian diaspora. Tasa was
created in 1999 by tabla player and composer Ravi Naimpally; an Indian born, Canadian-based musician deeply committed to studying the music of North India. The band was put together to realize a vision that Ravi had to
create a new musical form out of the many cultures that co-exist in Canada. Blending instruments and musical motifs from several world traditions Tasa is able to create a rich and seamless tapestry of sound.
Tasa won an Urban Music Award for Best World Music Album for their debut release Bhakti. As part of the Canada Council for the Arts SonicWeave initiative to showcase Canadian talent in Europe, Tasa toured
in Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech, and Italy. Tasa has developed a wide fan base playing to enthusiastic crowds all over Canada and in parts of the US. Their third album Urban Turban
released in 2005 has already received critical acclaim.
Monsoon is a modern Indo-Jazz ensemble that features original compositions, and blends aspects of Indian Classical music with elements of modern Jazz.
Monsoon was created in September 2006. Co-founders Justin Gray, Andrew Kay and Jonathan Kay conceived the band during a trip to India where they were studying North Indian classical music with their Guru, Shantanu
Bhattacharya. Adding to Monsoon's appeal is a cross-generational dynamic, with the founders' youthful energy and passion enhanced by the virtuoso musicianship of renowned players such as Ravi Naimpally of Tasa, and
string virtuoso George Koller on bass.
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Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. – 416 588-0307 | Tickets: $15 advance / $20 door Order online by clicking here Friday, May 9 @ 8:00
ZAKIR HUSSAIN'S MASTERS OF PERCUSSION :: One of the most spectacular experiences in Indian Music, Zakr Hussain's Masters of Percussion offers the audience a breathtaking display of rhythm, melody and movement. Combining
forces with the world's preeminent tabla payer are four additional percussionists, two masters of melodic instruments and the dazzling and athletic dancing drummers of Manipur. The concert will feature the traditional
repertoire of North Indian drumming on tabla in solo and combinations as well as excursions exploring the frontier between traditional and contemporary, folk and classical.
Featuring:
Fazal Qureshi – tabla and kanjira; Taufiq Qureshi – percussion; Niladri Kumar – sitar; Abbos Kosimov – doyra; Ram Kishan – nagada; Dilshad Khan – sarangi; Vijay Chauhan –
folk drums
Zakir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his
consistently brilliant and exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure in his own country, but gained him worldwide fame. His playing is marked by an uncanny intuition and masterful
improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study. As favorite accompanist for many of India's greatest classical musicians and dancers, he has not let his genius rest there.
Widely
considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir's contribution to world music has been unique, with many historic collaborations, including Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and
L. Shankar. Others include the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as
George Harrison, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Giovanni Hidalgo, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Rennie Harris, and the Kodo drummers.
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Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street | Tickets: $49.50 - 69.50-$@ 416 872-4255 or order online by clicking here
Thursday, May 15 @ 9:00 ABHIJIT POHANKAR w/ DJ medicineman (CIUT 89.5 FM) in association with No Man's Land productions:: Abhijit
Pohankar is one of the most compelling figures in contemporary Indian music, uniquely bridging Indian classical music with chillout lounge grooves, building a remarkably cross-generational and international fan base.
The son of Indian music legend Maestro P.T Ajay, whose voice can be heard on Abhijt's break-out album Piya Bawari he is a prolific composer in his own right with over 20 albums to date.
Abhijit is
distinguished as a rare musician who can play Indian classical music on a keyboard. His fusion approach is backed by strong fundamentals, having studied music as a young man with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. His song
"Piya Bawari" was recently chosen for the Buddha Bar compilation, one of the world's best-known series of global groove recordings and a springboard for countless artists to worldwide notoriety. His festival
CV includes the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Cape Town Festival; with shows in leading concert halls and venues worldwide. This is his Toronto debut.
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Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. – 416 588-0307 | Tickets: $20 advance / $25 door Order online by clicking here
Saturday, May 24 @ 8:00 GUNDECHA BROTHERS :: Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are India's leading exponents of the Dhrupad style, the
spiritual heart of Indian classical music. Among of the most active performers of Dhrupad, internationally, these dedicated and immensely talented artists have helped to keep alive this ancient and profound tradition, a
musical legacy which freshly resonates today amongst yoga and meditation enthusiasts, as well as classical music fans.
The Gundecha Brothers have sung great Hindi poetry by Tulsidas, Kabir, Padmakar, and
Nirala in Dhrupad style. They have numerous recordings on H.M.V, Music Today, Rhythm House, Senseworld Music, Sundaram Records, IPPNW Concerts Berlin, Navras and Audio Rec London. They have sung for many television
channels in India and have been broadcast on British, U.S., German, French, Japanese and Australian Radio. As well as being an integral part of all of India's most prestigious music festivals, the Gundecha Brothers have
performed at many important international festivals and institutions in Europe, the U.S., Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.
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Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W. | Tickets $25 advance / $30 door Harbourfront Centre Box Office 416 973-4000 Thursday, May 29 @ 8:30
AUTORICKSHAW with special guest Ben Grossman (Hurdy Gurdy and electronics)
'Seriously talented musicians who weave a tapestry of musical traditions into a unique and inspiring sonic alchemy. Absolutely beautiful.' -Dave O'Rama, CHLY FM
Autorickshaw's music lies on the cultural cutting edge, as contemporary jazz and funk easily rub shoulders with the classical and popular music of
India. Formed in 2003, Autorickshaw has swiftly risen to become one of the most intriguing acts on the world music and jazz landscapes.
Their sound showcases the sultry, sophisticated vocals of Suba Sankaran,
anchored by the melodic bass-lines of Rich Brown, over a bed of intricate Indian percussion by Ed Hanley and global rhythms by Patrick Graham. The group's diverse repertoire draws from the classical music of north and
south India, jazz and popular music, with a healthy dose of original compositions. Such a range of Eastern and Western elements could only come from musicians with deep roots in both traditions.
After
garnering a 2004 JUNO nomination for World Music Album of the Year and winning a Canadian Independent Music Award in 2005, autorickshaw has once again been nominated for a 2008 Juno Award in the World Music Album of the
Year category. It's the second Juno nomination of the band's five-year career, and the latest in a string of acknowledgments for the group's 2007 release, So the Journey Goes. Most recently, Autorickshaw's
original composition "Heavy Traffic" won the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize in World Music. The JLSC is an international competition, and their song was chosen from hundreds of
submissions.
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Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. | Tickets: $12 door Phone: 416 588-0307
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