Heights in vocals and violin: Indian maestros at Sanders on Friday

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

Within the realm of Indian classical music lies all of the emotional ranges of the human spectrum. Fusing East and West with distinctive rhythms and measures of intensity, the duo Shankar & Gingger bring their genre-busting audio and visual work to Sanders Theatre this Friday evening at 8 p.m. They will be joined by renowned tabla player Zakir Hussain in a show that is certain to defy expectation and inspire revelation.

Shankar, an acclaimed vocalist with a five-octave range and violin virtuoso who designed his own double neck, 10-string stereophonic instrument, has been credited with bringing South Indian music to modern Western culture. “The double violin, designed by Shankar and built by Ken Parker, covers the entire range of the orchestra's double bass, cello, viola and violin, and is the only one in the world,” said Leslie Malmed of the World Music Institute. “The combination of Shankar's haunting vocals, double violin and compositions has brought him worldwide acclaim as an innovator.” He has released over a dozen classical Indian albums and several with the ensemble Shakti, which also featured John McLaughlin, Hussain and T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram. With Hussain and Vinayakram, he also released several albums, including 1996’s Grammy-nominated Raga Aberi.

However, it is Shankar’s transcending of musical environments and cultures which truly astounds. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in pop, including Lou Reed, Frank Zappa, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Eric Clapton, U2, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Marianne Faithful, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, Nils Lofgren, Van Morrison, Yoko Ono and Sting. He has worked as a composer, arranger, producer, singer, violinist and performer many others including Echo & The Bunnymen, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, as well.

With Gabriel, Shankar performed the song Across the River for the album Music and Rhythm, which also included tracks from David Byrne and Pete Townsend. Himalaya, the album's single, was written, sung and produced by Shankar, who also contributed to the Sun City Album (Artists Against Apartheid), The Princess Trust Rock Concerts, which included Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bee Gees, Joe Cocker and others, and the United Nations Peace Day Festivals, which featured Bob Geldoff, Bono and Yoko Ono, among others. Springsteen and Gabriel joined him in the 1988 Human Rights Now World Tour. He toured the world with Gabriel in 1993, which ended at the 1994 Woodstock Festival

According to Malmed/WMI, Shankar’s notable film work has included a one-hour BBC film directed by H.O. Nazareth featuring a Bombay concert which was nominated for a Cannes best documentary award. “Shankar has also worked on many soundtracks,” reported the Institute, “which have included Jacob's Ladder, Jennifer 8, Robin Hood, and the Grammy award-winning and controversial The Last Temptation of Christ, in which he co-wrote 13 of the tracks with Peter Gabriel.”

Gingger, a remarkably adept violinist, singer and songwriter, came early to her craft, according to Malmed/WMI. From one of the most acclaimed musical families in India, she began her training with her mother, an accomplished classical singer. “Between the coaching from her mother and grandfather (on violin), and her extensive training in classical Indian violin, opera, western classical music, piano, pop and world music, Gingger has developed a musical style all her own, yet one that encompasses all of these genres and creative experiences.”

She has become only the second musician in the world to master Shankar’s double violin; the two have collaborated for over six years; their DVD, One in a Million, spent 4 weeks as the top DVD in the country on the U.S. Soundscan/Billboard charts. Her appearances with Shankar have included The Concert for Global Harmony and Nelson Mandela's 80th Birthday celebration; their album, One in a Million, features Collins and Gabriel, among others.

Hussain, who has accompanied Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Birju Maharaj, Shivkumar Sharma, and others, has over 100 recordings to his name. Also a child prodigy, according to Malmed/WMI, “Zakir began his professional career at age twelve and toured internationally by age eighteen.” His jazz and rock collaborators have included John McLaughlin, the Grateful Dead and Van Morrison; his awards hace included the distinguished title of Padma Shree, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the 1999 NEA National Heritage Fellowship, and a Grammy for his instrumental roles in Mickey Hart's Planet Drum. He worked with George Harrison, Jack Bruce, Joe Henderson, Tito Puente, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, the Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony. Hussain founded Moment! Records in 1991.

World Music, which is partially funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, presents India's Shankar & Gingger with Zakir Hussain on Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St. Tickets, $40, $30 and $20, are available at the Harvard Box Office located in the Holyoke Arcade, Harvard Square. To charge tickets or for information, call World Music t 617-876-4275 or the Harvard Box Office at 617-496-2222.