Benseraglio2
Sat, 10 Apr 2004 10:49:35 -0700
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Last night at the Annenberg. Seventh generation sitarist, son of Ustad Vilayat Khan, who died March 13, so this was something of a memorial concert. Very poignant, very sad, also incredibly exciting and it made me weep.
Debashish Bhattacharya played Hindustani slide guitar in the second half. Some Hawaaian slide guitarist brought the instrument to India and lived there for 30 years. Debashish built his own hybrid, it involves 22 strings, 17 tuning gears, and is something to behold. Even more to hear. He plays it on his lap and it sounds like a sitar. To my untutored ear.
The concert was in the Harold Prince Theater, an intimate venue. A real privilege to watch these masters close up with an Indian audience.
As we were leaving I said to my son "These cats make Hendrix look like a farmer, man." He just shook his head and said "Watch it."
Ross Bender |