DenzMusicDen

It was an eclectic Tuesday, February 26th evening at Acharya Jialal Vasant Sangeet Niketan's Vasantotsav 2019 in the company of Anup Jalota, Indian Ocean, Pankaj Udhas, Ranjit Barot, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shivkumar Sharma, Sonu Nigam, Talat Aziz, a.o. with a set by classical vocalist Vidushi Alamelu Mani and scintillating fusion from John McLaughlin (guitar), with Zakir Hussain (tabla), Ganesh Rajagopalan (violin), Selva Ganesh (kanzira) and Rajesh Chaurasia (flute) among an array of talented performances from prodigies across the country on classical violin, vocals & flute. Grammy winner John McLaughlin, the prestigous Jialal Vasant Awardee 2019, was reminiscent of his relationship with Indian music over five decades through his pioneering fusion bands Mahavishnu Orchestra and  Shakti  which included Zakir Hussain.   John McLaughlin very gracefully found time after his performance to autograph my copies of his l...

Nazia Hassan  (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000)  was a  Pakistani pop  singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. She started her music career at the age of 10, and became one of the most prominent singers in  Pakistan  and  India & across  South  and  Southeast Asia . She, along with her brother  Zoheb Hassan , went on to sell over 65 million records worldwide. She made her recording debut at 15 with the 1980 song ‘ Aap Jaisa Koi ’, composed by Indian producer Biddu which appeared in the  Bollywood   Indian film  ‘ Qurbani ’. Her debut album ‘ Disco Deewane ’ (1981), charted in fourteen countries worldwide and became the best-selling  Asian pop  record up at the time. Through her successful singing career spanning over 25 years, Hassan became one of the  subcontinent's  most popular celebrities. She received numerous national and international awards, and at the age of ...

“I choose to play Kamaka ukuleles because they're so rich in sound. It sounds beautiful when played softly, and it sounds amazing when being played hard. But not only do they sound great, they look amazing!   When I look at my Kamaka, the first thing that comes to mind is the word "love." I feel that every bit of work put into this instrument was filled with love, and that is because the Kamaka Ohana is so caring and full of love. I'm so happy and proud to play my Kamaka ukule le!” Born and raised on the Big Island, 13 year old Kris Fuchigami began his musical journey with a beat up old ukulele in his hands and a strong desire to master that tiny little instrument. 2 years later Kris won the grand prize at the Hamakua Music Scholarship Competition on the Big Island where he competed against classical pianists, singers, drummers, and many other musicians. Kris went on to perform at and headline ukulele festivals and has gained recognition throughout the world...

Israel 'IZ' Kamakawiwo'ole (Oahu, 20 May 1959 - Honolulu, 26 June 1997) was an American singer and musician native of Hawaii. It is also known by the pseudonyms Bruddah Iz, or Bradda IZ, or simply IZ. He became famous in 1993 with the release of the record 'Facing Future' containing the medley of the songs 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' (which was written in 1939 by Harold Arlen with lyrics by EY Harburg, played by Judy Garland and inserted in the column score for the film 'T he Wizard of Oz') and 'What a Wonderful World' (standard brought to success by Louis Armstrong) executed in a version with just the ukulele accompaniment, played by the same Kamakawiwo'ole. This song was included on the soundtracks of several films. In the latter part of his life Israel 'IZ' Kamakawiwo'ole has suffered from a severe form of obesity, coming to weigh 340 kg being tall 188 cm., which was even more out the contrast between the size of...

Photographer Art Kane's legendary jazz photograph, 'Harlem – 1958', commonly known as 'A Great Day In Harlem' celebrated its 60th anniversary on August 12, 2018, and is the subject of a new book, Art Kane: Harlem 1968, published in November 2018. In 1958, Kane pitched Esquire magazine with the idea of a photo shoot gathering together as many New York- based jazz musicians as possible. Esquire took the plunge and Kane put the word out to the jazz community via record labels, managers, agents and clubs to meet on 12 August outside a Brownstone house at 17 East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in Harlem at 10am, a time of day not that familiar to many night-owl jazz players. Come the day, 57 musicians turned up, including big rollers such as Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Count Basie, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and Pee Wee Russell to then up-and-coming names, Benny Golson, Marion Ma...

Singles have been a tranquil journey for me since 1975 when I got my first, Herb Alpert's 'A Taste Of Honey', complimentary with the Sanyo Stereo 3in1 (Record Player cum Cassette Deck cum Radio), an SSC graduation gift from Mum & Dad. God bless you both for that gift that keeps on gifting me to date.   50 years ago, 1968, Jimmy Webb wrote 'Wichita Lineman' for Country icon Glen Campbell. At 5:56 he talks about it: "... & there's where I rest my case in the existance of God."

My best memories of Christmas and New Year are in Calcutta as a teenager. I have spent winters in London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris. Even LA. But nothing quite compares to the Calcutta I knew. Park Street was like fairyland, brilliantly decked up days ahead of the festivities. Singers and musicians came from all over to perform there but the best among them were the local Anglo Indians who outclassed everyone. Braz Gonsalves & Pam Crain - live 1972 There was Pam Crain who sang like a dream, with Louis Banks and his boys in Blue Fox. Usha Uthup jived away at Trinca’s in a South Indian sari. Hers was a voice you could never forget. A Shillong band often backed her up. There was busty Delilah at Moulin Rouge, a blonde who lost her way and arrived in Park Street from heavens knows where. She wasn’t exactly the best singer there but she did some amazing gigs which everyone loved, for all the wrong reasons. For me at 16, she was Christmas. Usha (Iyer) Uthup ...

Back in 1932, I was 32 years old and a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago's Southside. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis, where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn't want to go. Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child. But a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66. However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back. I found Nettie sleeping peacefully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music. The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me...

At 85, 62 of those years as a performer, Willie Nelson encores his Country Music Association 1982 Song of the Year and Single of the Year, Grammy Awards Best Male Country Vocal Performance, Best Country Song, and Song of the Year 1982, Billboard number one Country Album of the Year for 1982. During the recording sessions for Willie's collaboration album with Merle Haggard, Pancho & Lefty, the producers Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons suggested that they record Johnny Christopher's "Always on My Mind". Merle had no interest in recording a version of the song for the album, so instead Willie recorded his own version.  In his autobiography, Willie said, "We'll never know what would have happened if Merle had really heard the song right. 'Always on My Mind' bowled me over the moment I first heard it, which is one way I pick songs to record".

'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' was written by 'Lonnie' Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), the first British male singer with two US Top 10 hits, and Jimmy Currie, and first released by Lonnie as a single in 1962.  Its most commercially successful recording was by Tom Jones in 1967. Tom says, "I did some shows with Lonnie and we became friends. One night he said, ‘Look, I have this song, you’d sing the pants off it. I knew that song, because a  lot of guys used to sing it in pubs in Wales. I went to his house in Virginia Water, and he got this record out to listen to. With the big chorus on it, it sounded fantastic. He was singing it Lonnie Donegan style, completely different from the way I did, like somebody busking."  In 2019, Lonnie's son, Peter, auditioned in week 1 of The Voice UK 2019 Blind Auditions in which Tom Jones turned his chair for him. Tom when finding out and taken back by who he was, performed an impromp...

This photo was taken in 1958, when Mina Kava – peering out from behind the drums – was still a few years away from his burst of success (or at least success as defined by the standards of the tiny world of Indian dance music). It was shot at the Bandra Gymkhana when his band, the Music Makers, was staffed with best-known performers of the Bombay jazz world: pianist Toni Pinto, trumpet player Chic Chocolate and saxophonist Norman Mobsby. If you look closely, you’ll see that the photograph was signed at the bottom by two visiting American jazz legends: Dave Brubeck and Joe Morello. Bombay Meri Hai is among my earliest musical memories. When I was a child, the song was always being played on Saturday Date, the pop music request show on All India Radio. But mostly, I heard the tune being performed week after week by wedding bands at the Bandra Gymkhana, opposite my grandparents’ home. Bombay Meri Hai is among the songs in the “masala” section of Catholic wedding parties – the fa...

“I rip people’s hearts out - and then I put them back in …” Layla Zoe took the stage at the 8 th edition Mahindra Blues Festival Mumbai in February 2018 and stood her own, carving out a niche in the blues psyche of each who saw her perform, me included. She has said, “My show is raw, honest, emotional and intense. People are often say they are moved to tears at my shows, and I feel it’s important that I give everything I have to my audience. I rip people’s hearts out - and then I put them back in …”, and that’s what she did, her performance nothing short of brilliance. Thirteen years as a performer and 11 album releases later, singer-songwriter Layla Zoe delivers a powerful statement in a 2CD set, the all original  Gemini, her lyrics, a voice for every woman universally, who need one. The first disc labeled Fragility is a largely an acoustic set in which she is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Jaan Laacks. As Layla meanders through life’s realities in the songs o...