Bollywood star Asha Bhosle debuts at Walt Disney Concert Hall Sunday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m., for a one-night-only performance that covers the legacy of a passionate, prolific, and versatile singer. Amit Kumar joins Bhosle to help honor her musical journey with songs from her latest release: 75 Years of Asha: A Musical Journey.
Bollywood, the world’s largest film industry, has given birth to an equally popular genre of music. Bhosle is an integral part of this musical history and considered the most recorded female voices in the world. As a playback singer for more than 50 years, Bhosle’s vocals have been lip-synched by hundreds of Indian film actresses during her career. Speaking on her life in music, she says, “Music is like my breathing. The day it stops, my breath will stop too.” This concert is one of the many treasures in the LA PHIL’s World Music series, which concludes its 2007/08 season May 3 with the Kronos Quartet featuring Nunavut and special guest Tanya Tagaq Gillis.Among the long list of great singers Bhosle has worked with, Kishore Kumar was one of the very best. Although he has since passed, his son, Amit (who has become a legend in his own right), was the ideal choice to unite with Bhosle for this program. Deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps at an early age, Amit Kumar has become a huge sensation as an actor and leading playback singer. While he did not train in Indian classical music, he did use his father’s films and stage work as a learning palette for his own successful career as an innovative singer and composer.
Asha Bhosle introduced American audiences to the range of her well-known and well-loved repertoire with The Rough Guide to Asha Bhosle (2003), her 2005 collaboration with the Kronos Quartet You’ve Stolen My Heart, and Love Supreme (Times Square Records, 2006), a double CD of love songs. Love Supreme – a two-sided coin of newly- recorded ghazals (a classical song form based in Persian and Urdu poetry that Bhosle describes as “a conversation between two lovers”) and her classic-romantic duets from some of Bollywood’s best-loved movies – is as diverse as the artist herself.
Much of Bhosle’s inspiration comes from her home life and family. Her children and grandchildren are her chief advisors in developing new directions for her music. It is that intergenerational attunement that gives her an appeal that has lasted for five decades. In 2008, Bhosle celebrates her 75th birthday, which has inspired the release of 75 Years of Asha: A Musical Journey. Also in 2008, the president of India has bestowed upon her the Padma Vibhushan, which is the second highest civilian award in India. 75 Years of Asha: A Musical Journey is a journey through her career, featuring new recordings of her all time favorites, including songs made famous by these legendary female vocalists, who had a deep impact on Bhosle’s life.
Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 7:30 pm
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
World Music Series
Asha Bhosle
Amit Kumar , special guest
Tickets ($35-$88) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For information, please call 323.850.2000.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
