Another Blue Moon, a tribute to a hallowed tradition of the Sarod

Arnab Chakrabarty, a young Indian sarod virtuoso, has released his debut album of Hindustani sarod music. Another Blue Moon, produced by Indian Ocean Records, a Hampshire Media Ventures company, features ragas Bihag and Zilha Kafi. Arnab has played a 27-minute alap, followed by three gats in teentaal, the 16-beat time cycle. The opening sequence of Zilha Kafi is borrowed from the tappa vocal form native to the Punjab, and two gats are presented.

Twenty-three year old Arnab, who describes himself as an “eclectic mix of the old and the new“, is a disciple of Buddhadev Dasgupta, one of the legends of this fretless instrument that instantly reminds one of the banjo. He also says he is “deeply influenced” by the music of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. The International Relations graduate from Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, now lives in Calcutta, and is pursuing his music as a full-time career now.

On this recording, Arnab is accompanied on the tabla by Debasish Sarkar who is the most distinguished disciple of the late Kanai Dutt, who appeared frequently in the 1970s with Ravi Shankar, and on the tanpura by Piyush Unnithan, a vocalist and disciple of Dr. Girija Devi.

This CD will be available soon with most music retailers in India, or by electronic mail-order at www.hampshiremedia.com. It is priced at Rs. 220 in the Indian market and internationally, US $10.

Hampshire Media Ventures is a progressive media company with interests in global music, independent film, and digital delivery of content. HMV is particularly interested in music of the subcontinent, and wishes to identify with the avant garde in Indian classical music.