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Shakti
Shakti was a renowned band in the world of fusion music, formed in the 1970s. It was a collaborative project featuring renowned musicians from different musical backgrounds, blending Indian classical music with elements of jazz and rock. The band was co-founded by Indian violin virtuoso L. Shankar, English guitarist John McLaughlin, and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.
Shankar, a disciple of Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, brought his expertise in Indian classical music to the group. John McLaughlin, known for his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, contributed his jazz and rock guitar skills, while Zakir Hussain brought his mastery of the tabla, a traditional Indian percussion instrument.
Shakti's music was a unique fusion of various genres, incorporating intricate improvisations, complex rhythms, and melodic structures inspired by Indian ragas. The band released several albums, including their self-titled debut album "Shakti" in 1975, followed by "A Handful of Beauty" in 1976 and "Natural Elements" in 1977.
Shakti's music showcased the virtuosity and synergy of its members, combining the rich traditions of Indian classical music with the energy and improvisational spirit of jazz and rock. The band's unique sound and influential contributions have made them an important group in the history of fusion music.
Source: ChatGPTTags
Shakti 50th Anniversary Tour at Hill Auditorium
by C. Andrew Hovan
Shakti Hill Auditorium University Musical Society's 145th Annual Season Ann Arbor, Michigan September 14, 2023 Having learned his lessons well during his brief stay with Miles Davis in the late '60s, guitarist John McLaughlin has never let any grass grow under his feet, embracing many styles and following his creative muse at will. Back in 1973, casual meetings between McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain enlightened the guitarist to the Indian music tradition, ultimately leading to ...
read moreShakti: Joy
by Ian Patterson
Nobody had seen anything quite like it before. Thrilling virtuosity from fusion pioneers Shakti at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival. In bringing both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions together with jazz, John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar and T.H. “Vikku" Vinayakram broke new musical ground. Shakti marked 50 years in 2023 with This Moment (Abstract Logix), its first studio album in 46 years. The accompanying tour, a triumph. Still joyful, still exhilarating. Still unique. ...
read moreShakti: This Moment
by Geno Thackara
The Shakti of This Moment is essentially the Shakti of all its moments--a natural fusion bridging jazzy interplay with the forms and rhythms of Hindustani carnatic music, even if the sound is leagues away from the all-acoustic wildfire that singed countless ears with the live Shakti with John McLaughlin (Columbia, 1976). The group's unexpected reemergence after never-mind-how-many decades comes with a share of surprises, from touches of vaguely reed-like MIDI guitar to the presence of a co-lead violin for the ...
read moreJohn McLaughlin and Shakti: This Moment
by Dave Linn
John McLaughlin was known for his work with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970) and with Tony Williams' Lifetime before forming his groundbreaking fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra. He then shocked people with his next project, John McLaughlin and Shakti, an acoustic fusion of the Carnatak music of South India combined with some Western influences. After three albums, he disbanded the group and went in different directions before revisiting the genre 20 years later in 1999 with Remember Shakti, for ...
read moreJohn McLaughlin And Zakir Hussain: Shakti's Half-Century Of Spontaneous Joy
by Mike Jacobs
John McLaughlin. Ustad Zakir Hussain. Speak either name and a host of musical notions can come to mind. Pair them together and they conjure just one: Shakti. Indeed, the iconic jazz guitarist and celebrated Indian percussionist have each built long careers replete with enough musical achievements, stylistic innovations and instrumental mastery to gain entrance into a rarified musical pantheon. But it's their musical brotherhood in Shakti that has outdistanced all of their other individual efforts, active and vibrant ...
read moreShakti: This Moment
by Ian Patterson
It has been a while alright. 46 years have slipped by since Shakti's last studio album, but the band founded by John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain in late '73, is back to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The old road dogs could easily have marked the milestone by touring the back catalogue, and doubtless it would have been a roaring success, but it says a lot for McLaughlin and Hussain's artistic drive that they chose instead to write an album's worth ...
read moreShakti: This Moment
by Ian Patterson
Forty-six years is a hefty chunk of time between studio releases. Half a lifetime, in fact. Shakti, however, is no ordinary band. The lengthy hiatuses that have punctuated the pioneering Indo-jazz band's fifty-year journey have not dimmed the collaborative flame of co-founders John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. Following its 2012-13 tour, they placed the dust covers over the band-- redubbed Remember Shakti in 1997--once more. That hiatus soon seemed set to be permanent following the premature death of mandolinist Uppalapu ...
read moreJohn McLaughlin And Zakir Hussain's Groundbreaking Shakti Gets A Grammy Nomination For 'This Moment'
Source:
MAD Ink PR
Shakti, the recently reconvened global fusion trailblazers, have been nominated for the 2024 GRAMMY Award for Best Global Music Album for This Moment—the group’s first new studio album in more than 45 years, released on June 30, 2023, on the Abstract Logix label. “After our most successful tour ever of three continents, Shakti gets a GRAMMY nomination for our album This Moment…” reacted to co-founding guitarist and composer John McLaughlin. “We are thrilled and delighted beyond words.” “Our 2023 world ...
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Darryl Jones of the Rolling Stones and Selvaganesh of Remember Shakti add their talents to Miles From India
Source:
Michael Ricci
Montreal -- For its 30th edition and as part of the Miles From India concert, the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal is pleased to welcome famed Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones and illustrious Indian percussionist Selvaganesh, member of the group Remember Shakti. The Miles From India concert, a nod to jazz legend Miles Davis uniting renowned Indian musicians with established American jazzmen, will be held Saturday, July 4, 2009, at 9:30 p.m., in Theatre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts, as ...
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John McLaughlin/Remember Shakti "The Way of Beauty" New DVD Release
Source:
All About Jazz
2006 DVD Release called The Way of Beauty from seminal jazz/world music unit Remember Shakti featuring John McLaughlin on guitar, Zakir Hussain on tablas, U.Shrinivas on mandolin, V.Selvaganesh on kanjeera and Shankar Mahadevan on vocals. This is a All Region NTSC DVD playable on all DVD players. This dvd features a 60 minute documentary (Shakti Timeless) on the band starting from the early seventies. 45 minutes of sound check footage with Remember Shakti from Paris 2004 as well as 55 ...
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