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Posted: 28 Sep 2011 02:43 AM PDT

At 91, Ravi Shankar is still making a beautiful bouquet of sound and rhythm with his magical sitar.

BABY boomers may remember classical sitar player Ravi Shankar from his legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock, or his influence on popular music culture at the time.

But what the 91-year-old musical icon remembers most about Monterey was hearing live rock 'n' roll for the first time. It was loud, he recalls, and he walked out on Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar.

The three-time Grammy winner appears for one night, tomorrow, in Los Angeles at the Disney Concert Hall, and ahead of the show he spoke to Reuters about his music, his memories of the 1960s and his friendship with late Beatle George Harrison.

You collaborated with many high-profile Western artistes in the past. In what direction are you taking your music now?

Mostly I'm playing concerts. I just finished five concerts in Europe, in London, Birmingham and the Edinburgh Festival, then I went to Oslo, Norway. I finished those and now I'm looking forward to playing San Francisco and Escondido.

What's on the programme for the Disney Hall show?

I always decide what I will play at the last moment, but I can tell you the format. I always start with very traditional classical music. The first I think will be very traditional almost dating back to 16th century. The second is a more later development known as contemporary-classical music. Another raga, an Indian raga. It's more popular, not in the pop sense, but it's a more popular second song. The form we play is known as raga. Popular music with a lot of rhythmic variations.

Can I take you back to the Monterey Pop Festival? It was a landmark concert and introduced you to your largest American audience. What are your memories of that show?

I'll tell you very frankly, I went to see the whole night show with people like Jimi Hendrix and The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Otis Redding, the Mamas and the Papas, all these people were performing. This was my first orientation to listening in person to live performances of rock 'n' roll. It was very loud for me. I'm not used to such loud music.

But when The Who started breaking their instruments after the songs, and they are kicking them and breaking all the instruments – and Jimi Hendrix, after a wonderful performance, which I was so impressed with, then he took off his guitar and then he put benzene on the guitar and burned it. That I could not take. I just walked out and said, "I won't be here."

But two years later at Woodstock, you did it all again.

It was a horrible experience because it was raining. We went by helicopter, which landed behind the stage. There were a half a million people, it was raining, drizzling, there was mud everywhere and everybody was, most of them, were high on drugs, y'know. And this was very difficult for my instrument, and I was not happy because of the whole environment.

Still, you gained fame in the West from those events.

There was one issue that always bothered me. They mixed my music with drugs and all that type of free love and everything.

That's what I objected to. I wanted to bring them consciousness of our music to relate to like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart – you don't go to hear a concert being on grass or misbehaving like that.

Did you ever express that to an audience?

I said, "I don't want to be treated – or my music – to be treated like that." So I, many a times, would walk out of my concerts until they stopped smoking and behaved properly. I didn't want to reach them on drugs, but I did want to play them our music, our Indian classical music which connected more with – not religion but a more spiritual energy.

Your introduction to the rock world came through George Harrison. What brought the two of you together for the 1971 benefit concert for Bangladesh?

I was in Los Angeles at that time and I was thinking of giving a concert or two, raising as much as I could, and help them. George came to my house and said, "Let's do it in a bigger way and raise as much as we can." He phoned Bob Dylan and all his friends, and the show happened. One show sold out immediately, so they had another show in the afternoon. The crisis became known around the world within 24 hours.

Harrison studied sitar under you before composing Norwegian Wood and Within You Without You, both of which used the instrument. Was George a good student?

He was a wonderful student, he was like my family, my friend and we had a wonderful time. He flew into Mumbai in 1974 and 1975 where I had a festival for 45 minutes with my musicians, and after intermission he had his group and he helped promote the concert all over the United States. He was a wonderful friend. – Reuters

Melissa Etheridge receives Walk of Fame star

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 12:40 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters): Singer, activist and breast cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Tuesday, an event she hopes can be an inspiration to anyone facing adversity or dreaming of a better life.

Grammy winner Etheridge, 50, who is known for her fusion of folk-blues rock in hits like "Come to My Window," was greeted by hundreds of fans outside the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood as she unveiled her coveted star.

"Let my life be an inspiration to anyone, gay, straight, breast cancer, woman, mother, any human being who receives the inspiration from my story," said Etheridge at the unveiling that took place in conjunction with the launch of a "Pinktober" campaign supporting breast cancer research.

"You can have a dream that you can grown up in a small Midwestern town and believe, and desire, and create a life and end up with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard," she said.

The Kansas native has released 10 studio albums over her 25-year career with the multi-platinum 1993 CD, "Yes I Am," garnering chart success and international recognition.

Etheridge, who counts winning the Oscar for "I Need to Wake Up" from the environmental movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and singing with Bruce Springsteen among career highlights, still finds herself surprised with the global success of her songs.

"When I realized that my music was being listened to internationally, it meant so much to me," said Etheridge. "It started to become very obvious to me that music is an international language."

Alongside her music career, Etheridge became a voice for gay rights after publicly coming out as a lesbian in 1993. An active spokeswoman, Etheridge, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, also became an Artist Ambassador for the Pinktober breast cancer awareness campaign.

Her star on the Walk of Fame marked the official start of this year's Pinktober effort, which will see numerous special events, concerts and limited edition merchandise available at Hard Rock establishments around the world.

Tribute to P. Ramlee

Posted: 27 Sep 2011 09:09 PM PDT

IF award-winning singer Zainal Abidin had to name one person who had the biggest influence on his music career, it would be legendary singer-actor Tan Sri P. Ramlee.

Like many of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, Zainal grew up watching P. Ramlee movies, ranging from comedies Madu Tiga, Pendekar Bujang Lapok and Nujum Pak Belalang to melancholic dramas such as Anakku Sazali and Ibu Mertuaku.

Zainal said these movies ranked among his favourite classics.

"My children and I love his movies. In fact, they often request for his films whenever we travel long distances in my MPV," said the father of four during a recent phone interview.

"Although P. Ramlee died nearly three decades ago, his influence on the community, in the form of social activism and film industry achievements, remains one of the strongest."

And what better way for Zainal to pay tribute to the legendary singer than by performing his most well-known song, Getaran Jiwa, in Dama Orchestra's musical In Perfect Harmony – A Malaysian Musical Journey, presented by The Star.

"I have been a fan of P. Ramlee since I was young. I love his songs and I am still crazy about his movies. As a tribute, I will sing his most iconic song," said Zainal, 52.

Getaran Jiwa, loosely translated as "Stirring Of My Soul", was featured in the 1960s black-and-white romantic classic Antara Dua Darjat, with starred P. Ramlee and Saadiah.

In the 1990s, American balladeer Lobo adapted the song into an English version, Whispers In The Wind.

The song holds a special place in Zainal's heart because of its simple and meaningful lyrics.

According to him, P. Ramlee played a vital role in revolutionising Malay music by drawing inspiration from traditional (asli, joget and keroncong) repertory and incorporating Western elements accompanied by an orchestra.

"P. Ramlee was one of the few singers who intertwined the Malay language beautifully with modern music," said the former frontman of popular 1980s Malay pop-rock outfit Headwind.

"Plus, his deep and melodious voice has never failed to captivate listeners."

P. Ramlee's popular composition aside, In Perfect Harmony's repertoire also comprises a delightful mix of classic favourites such as Zainal's evergreen environmental number, Hijau, and mesmerising love song, Ikhlas Tapi Jauh.

"The musical is going to be very well received and it is a brilliant project by Dama Orchestra and The Star.

"I am certain I will feel nostalgic after hearing these wonderful songs."

■ In Perfect Harmony – A Malaysian Musical Journey is a Dama musical production presented by The Star with SP Setia Bhd Group as the gold sponsor and UOB as the official bank. It will run from Oct 6 to 23 at Pentas 1, KLPac, Sentul Park in KL. Contact the KLPac box office (03-4047 9000) for tickets. The 10% discount on tickets for UOB cardholders has been extended until Sept 30. For bulk or corporate bookings, call 03-7967 1388 ext 1432/1240. Visit thestar-inperfectharmony.com for details. Zainal Abidin will be the special guest for shows from Oct 6-9.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 28 September 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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