8/15/2010 | RAGA DVD
EMWMusic is excited to annouce the upcoming re-release of RAGA: A FILM JOURNEY INTO THE SOUL OF INDIA, a film documenting Ravi Shankar's unique career in the late 1960s, early 1970s. EMWMusic is working with Modulus Studios in Boston on digitally re-mastering of the 35mm print, optimizing the film to modern color range resolution and standards as well as creating a fully re-mastered audio soundtrack.
Originally released in 1971, Raga: A Journey into the Soul of India documents the life of sitar master Ravi Shankar in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following him on his return to India to revisit his guru, Bengali multi-instrumentalist and composer, Baba Ustad Allauddin Khan. It further explores Shankar’s life as a musician and teacher in the United States and Europe, initiating those in the West to the exceptional world that is Indian classical music and culture. Through rare and candid footage shot in both India and the United States, Raga sheds light on Shankar’s influences and collaborations, from Allauddin Khan to his famed dancer brother Uday Shankar, to his associations with Western musicians Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. Fully narrated by Shankar himself, Raga reveals music as the soul of India and of Shankar’s life. The soundtrack will be availabe for free with purchase of the DVD or available separately for purchase via all digital retailers. NTSC. 97 minutes. Directed by Howard Worth. Written by Nancy Baca. Produced by Gary Haber. Originally produced by Ravi Shankar and release by George Harrison/Apple Films.
Release is scheduled for both DVD and Digital Sountrack for 10/14/2010.
VIEW THE TRAILER ON YOUTUBE>>
6/28/2010 | Ravi Shankar's Master Class - Herbie Hankcock's Imagine Project
Watch Ravi Shankar give a mater class at the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music & Performing Art. Filmed by Herbie Hancock in association with the Imagine Project.
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6/22/2010 | Anoushka Shankar Featured on Herbie Handcock's 'Imagine Project'
Anoushka Shankar is featured on Herbie Hancock's 'Imagine Project' release, an unprecedented international recording and film project featuring collaborations between music legend Herbie Hancock and a dozen superstars from every region of the planet. Track 10, "The Song Goes On," has Anoushka performing with Hancock, K.S. Chithra, the indomitable Chaka Khan and jazz legend Wayne Shorter. Once again out in front with crossover collaborations, Anoushka proves her dedication to carrying on the musical tradition of her father, Maestro Ravi Shankar, as well as her incredible range as an artist.
Available June 22, 2010 on iTunes, Amazon, BestBuy, Borders, Barnes & Noble, & Target
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5/24/2010 | The Anoushka Shankar Project at Prage Spring Festival
Anoushka Shankar returned to the Prague Festival stage for the first time in five years with an international ensemble, the Anoushka Shankar Project: Anoushka on sitar, the Indian musicians Tonmoy Bose on the tabla and Ravichandra Kulur on flutes and the khanjira (a kind of tambourine), Nick Able, a British player of the tanpura (a traditional Indian lute), and two Americans, Leo Dombecki on piano and Barry Phillips on cello.
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New Delhi, India- S. Kalidas recently wrote a great profile of Pandit Ravi Shankar for the Indian Publication Man's World. Below are excerpts of the fabulous article:
"That drive, in itself, could be a signifier of Ravi Shankar’s genius as an artist. it is that innate need to keep in practice and to perform; to face the public yet all over again. To prove his worth, not only to the world, but most of all to himself. add to these, a capacity for constant travel: between cities, countries and continents. Year after year, for 80 long and eventful years and, hopefully, with many more to come.
"By the time Ravi Shankar was 18, however, he realised two things: the first was that he must learn the indian classical music systematically with Ustad (master) Allauddin Khan; and second, that he must make the west accept indian classical music as a high art. he knew, perhaps instinctively, that he had a greater tryst in life than to amuse the well meaning orientalists of the pre-second world war europe. he could not but have been conscious of the fact that platitudes apart, the west was loath to accept any art but their own as entirely significant. To get past that ceiling, he would have to delve the depths of his own tradition and lift it to greater heights instead of merely re-packaging its more superficial attractions.
"Among india’s most respected musicians, Baba Allauddin Khan was himself an extremely enigmatic person...he was famous for his outbursts of fury and foul speech, but also for his deep humility and a guileless generosity of spirit. during his long and eventful life Baba trained and taught scores of pupils, many of whom made their mark on the indian musical scene. after the second world war, he virtually adopted the children of soldiers of indian army who had died in the war and trained them in a variety of instruments (including some self-crafted ones like a xylophone made of gun barrels) and formed the Maihar Band. The Band is still playing, though with second and third generation successors.
"Whether or not the Pandit was a bit reckless in all those “experiments” is a moot question. what is certain is that virtually all western musical genres from jazz to fusion and from the experimental to the minimal, would definitely have been the poorer had they not benefitted from him and his music.
"With all due respect for masters past and present, perhaps it is finally now time to again assert that the structural format for any instrumental concert of indian classical music has been hugely re-edited and refined by ravi shankar. no old master ever played a raga as we are used to hearing it from their inheritors today. To lapse into hindustani musical jargon, a few introductory strokes of aalaap, a random use of main strings and chikari in the name of jor and absolutely chaotic and often crude gat- todas were the order of the day. no wonder sitar and sarod players had to concede the place of honour to vocalists in that generation. “Uttamgaana-maddham bajana-neecha naachna” went the popular hindi adage. Translated, it means: “vocal music is the highest form of art, instrument playing is medium and the lowest is dance.” it was only with the coming of ravi shankar that the situation was finally democratised if not completely reversed."
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4/7/2010 | Celebrating 90 Years of Ravi Shankar in Concert - Film Screening & Recital
Chicago, IL--In celebration of Ravi Shankar's 90th Birthday and the recent launch of his personal record label, East Meets West Music, the Chicago Cultural Center is proud to present an evening dedicated to the life and achievements of the legendary Indian sitar master who turns 90 years old on April 7, 2010. Ravi Shankar is long credited for bringing Indian classical music, and in particular, the sitar, to the Western musical world over 50 years ago. The free event will begin at 6 PM in the Claudia Cassidy Theater with a screening of the 2002 documentary, Ravi Shankar: Between Two Worlds. The film will be followed by an opportunity to purchase the debut release of 'The Nine Decades Volume 1 (1967 - 1968)' the new CD by Ravi Shankar on his newly established, East Meets West Music record label.
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3/30/2010 | Ravi Radio Interview on BBC4 Radio
Ravi Shankar: Sitar Hero - BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a recent interview where Ravi talks about his life and music with Nitin Sawhney. Listen streaming via the web at 1:30pm BST / 8:30am EST Tuesday March 30th, repeated on Saturday 3rd April at 3:30pm BST / 10:30am EST: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rmrpt. ( Also available on BBC I-Player for 7 days.)
LISTEN LIVE (Click 'LIsten Live' top right) >>
3/19/2010 | Ravi Shankar receives honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from University of Melbourne
In a special conferring ceremony at the University of Melbourne, Australia Ravi joined the ranks of an international group of eminent people honoured by the University of Melbourne with the honorary degree of Doctor of Law. In recognizing Ravi's outstanding commitment to music and humanity, theuniversity celebrates Ravi as an individual distinguished by eminent public service and outstanding cultural achievement. Previous recipients include the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama and Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
2/25 - 28/2010 | Ravi Shankar Centre Festival
New Delhi, India—Dedicated to the late George Harrison on his 67th birthday, the Ravi Shankar Centre holds its annual festival, featuring artists working in the Indian classical music and dance tradition. Including performances by Tanmoy Bose, Prasun Chatterjee, Vino Lele, Paromita Mukherjee, Rupak Kumar Parida, Ramachandra Behera, Jubabar Mishra, Agoimitra Behera, Arun Menon, Eswar Ramakrishman, Ramesh Babu, Mangal Prasad, Lakesh Anand, Vikash Babu, Pramod Prasanna, Romen Deka, Utpal Ghoshal, Swapnamoy Bannerjee, Rajendra Prasanna, Jazmin (Seth Blumberg, Armando Cepeda, Jesse Charnow, Leo Dombecki, Bodisattva Ghosh, Kenji Ota), Divya Shiva Sundar, Kushal Das, Shalini Patnaik, Sarathi Chatterjee, Parimal Sadaphal, Sanjeev Shankar, Saswati Sen.
Supported by the Material World Foundation
1/29/10 | The Ravi Shankar Foundation Launches Independent Recording Label
New York, NY—The Ravi Shankar Foundation proudly announces the launch of East Meets West Music (EMWMusic). With the creation of EMWMusic, Ravi Shankar bridges any divide between his recorded music and his audience. With unique access to an astonishing archive featuring thousands of hours of live performance audio, film footage, interviews, and studio masters, the legendary sitarist and composer hopes to provide a glimpse into what has most inspired and shaped him in his 70-plus years on stage. And, in keeping with Ravi’s dedication to looking forward and not back, EMWMusic provides a vibrant platform for new artists, projects, and collaborations.
"There is something beautiful about the stage. There is a performer and there is an audience. Nothing is in the way. The sound remains pure and unburdened by things like marketing and distribution. My hope is for this label to be more like a stage and less like the music business as I have experienced it.”
–Ravi Shankar
The name of the label, East Meets West, points to the Shankar philosophy of exploration, experimentation and cross-pollination. The vast archive features performances and appearances by an extraordinarily eclectic cast of musicians from across the globe. This new label continues in the long tradition of open-mindedness and curiosity that has been a hallmark of Ravi’s work.
The debut release, Nine Decades: Volume One, is scheduled for Ravi’s 90th birthday on April 7th. The Nine Decades series will feature rare live performances hand-picked by Ravi. The series will focus decade by decade on performances that are particulary meaningful to the artist himself. In October 2010, EMWMusic will release the George Harrison produced documentary on Ravi, called Raga. The soundtrack to the film will also be available in October.
The newly launched website, EastMeetsWestMusic.com, features release updates and performance information for both Ravi and Anoushka Shankar.
12/9/09 | Ravi Shankar conferred Lifetime award by CNN-IBN
Ravi received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from CNN-IBN. Honored for his truly global musical spirit and unparalleled achievements that rise above cultural and national barriers, the Award celebrates Ravi's commitment to world music and its millions of admirers.
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10/13/2009 | Ravi Shankar Receives First-Ever George Harrison Humanitarian Award
After his October performance at Carnegie Hall with Anoushka, Ravi was honored with the first-ever George Harrison Humanitarian Award. The award was presented by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. Ravi was recognized for his unprecedented efforts in saving the lives of children, and his involvement with the Concert for Bangladesh. Organized by George Harrison and inspired by Ravi Shankar, the Concert marked the ground-breaking collaboration by rock musicians for a common humanitarian cause.
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