Artist Profiles: L. Shankar

Virtuoso violinist L. Shankar was born on April 26, 1950, in Chennai, India. He was born into a renowned family of musicians, the son, and disciple of V. Lakshminarayana. Both of Shankar’s parents were vocalists, and his entire family was into music. Shankar started learning vocal techniques at the age of two. His parents were not just Carnatic vocalists, but had a fair bit of exposure to world music. His father was trained in Indian classical music. Meanwhile, his mother L Sitalakshmi played the veena while his father sang and played the violin.

At the age of five, Shankar started learning violin. By seven, he gave his first public concert at a temple in Ceylon during a festival.

Early in his career he built a considerable reputation as an accompanist to masters of the South Indian vocal tradition, such as Semmangudi Srinivasar, Chembai Vaithyanatha Baghavatar and Alathur Srinivasa lyer. He was also a member of a unique violin trio with his brothers L. Vaidyanathan and L. Subramaniam.

L. Shankar extensively performed with Palghat Mani, known as the greatest mridangam player of all time.

In 1969, he left India and settled in the United States.

As a soloist and collaborator with such performers as tabla master Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram, he has been at the forefront in expanding the horizons of Indian music throughout the world. He has received numerous awards, including Best Violinist Award from the Madras Music Academy in 1982. Shankar’s numerous collaborations with Western musicians have brought him new international audiences. His association with guitarist John McLaughlin, first as a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and then as co-founder and co-writer of Shakti, a group that included John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram, brought him critical acclaim throughout the world.

Shankar is a virtuoso vocalist / violinist whose vocal range covers five octaves. His 1980 release, Who’s To Know, and Phil Collins’ solo debut, Face Value, introduced the unique sound of Shankar’s own invention, the 10 string stereophonic Double Violin, to listeners around the world. 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. The combination of Shankar’s haunting vocals, double violin and also as a composer has brought him worldwide acclaim as an innovator.

In 1982 Shankar formed the pop-rock group Sadhu, later known as the Epidemics, with British composer, vocalist, and keyboardist Caroline. Their two albums included a wide array of pop stars as guest Frank Zappa, Peter Gabriel, John McLaughlin, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Yoko Ono and Sting among others.

Shankar collaborated with Peter Gabriel on the song “Across the River” for the premiere of the Nomad double album Music and Rhythm that included tracks from David Byrne, Pete Townsend, etc. Shankar’s own song, Himalaya, was the album’s single, which he wrote, sang and produced. Other projects have included the Sun City Album (Artists Against Apartheid), The Princess Trust Rock Concerts, featuring artists such as Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bee Gees, Joe Cocker and others, and the United Nations Peace Day Festivals which included Bob Geldof, Bono (Us) and Yoko Ono, among many others.

The rock extravaganza Human Rights Now World Tour in 1988, featured his own group, who were joined in performance by Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, in addition to several other musicians. In 1993, he completed a long world tour with Peter Gabriel (Secret World Tour), as a special guest, singing and playing violin, besides performing with his own band in many places. The tour ended at the Woodstock Festival in 1994.

Shankar co-produced a one-hour BBC film directed by award-winning director, H.O. Nazareth. The film featured live concert footage of Shankar in Bombay, India. It was nominated as one of the best documentaries at the Cannes Film Festival. Shankar has also worked on many soundtracks 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. He has also worked as a composer, arranger, producer, singer, violinist, and performer with Frank Zappa, Phil Collins, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, U2, The Pretenders, Echo &The Bunnymen,John Lydon (Sex Pistols) and Dave Stewart, among many others.

In 1996, Shankar formed a duo with fellow violinist Gingger. Touring internationally as “Shankar & Gingger” since 1996, they performed at world evens such as The Concert for Global Harmony and Nelson Mandella’s 80th Birthday celebrations. Shankar and Gingger’s first release in the DVD-Audio format, which presents the music in stunning six channel surround sound, One in a Million was released worldwide on Silverline Records August 7, 2001.

Shankar & Gingger eventually moved away from world music and attempted stardom making pop music. Thankfully, he returned to Indian classical music a few years later.

In 2020, Shankar released worldwide his progressive rock album Chepleeri Dream via Cleopatra Records which featured internationally renowned superstars such as Jonathan Davis (Korn), Scott Page (Pink Floyd), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Norwood Fisher (Fishbone), Tony Levin (John Lennon, Peter Gabriel), Chester Thompson (Phil Collins, Genesis), Josh Lopez Will.I.Am, Black Eyed Peas), Zack Baird (Korn, Beyonce / Jay-Z).

Moving forward, in 2024, L. Shankar released Full Moon, which reached No. 3 on World Music Charts Europe. On this release, L. Shankar presented a masterful set representing India’s rich musical traditions, with an effortless combination of elements from the southern Carnatic, northern Hindustani and world music influences. His mesmerizing compositions included extraordinary improvisations and a dazzling interplay between his voice, violin, and the tabla.

Accompanied by maestro Abhijit Banerjee on tabla, one of India’s leading percussionists, Full Moon achieves a rare balance of structure and spontaneity.

In 2025, L. Shankar is toured worldwide with a supergroup featuring his longtime colleague TH Vikku Vinayakram (of the original Shakti group) and his son V. Selvaganesh (2024 Grammy winner), Fazal Qureshi (son of tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha) and Swaminathan Selvaganesh.

Discography:

Shakti, with Shakti (CBS, 1975)
A Handful of Beauty, with Shakti (CBS, 1976)
Natural Elements, with Shakti (CBS, 1977)
Touch Me There (Zappa Records, 1979)
Who’s to Know (ECM, 1980)
Vision (ECM, 1983)
Song For Everyone (ECM, 1985)
Nobody Told Me (ECM, 1989)
Pancha Nadai Pallavi (ECM, 1989)
M.R.C.S. (ECM, 1989)
Soul Searcher (Axiom, 1990)
Raga Aberi (Music of the World, 1995)
Enlightenment (Ganesh music)
Eternal Light (Moment! Records, 2000)
Shankar & Ginnger (2001)
Celestial Body (Mondo Melodia, 2004)
Open the Door (Big Deal/Rykodisc, 2007)
In a Box (2012)
The Revelation (2013)
Champion (2014)
Transcend (2015)
Face to Face (2019)
Chepleeri Dream (Cleopatra Records, 2020)
Christmas from India (Cleopatra Records, 2021)
Over The Stars (X DOT 25 Music, 2024)
Full Moon (X DOT 25 Music, 2024)

DVDs

Shankar & Gingger’s One In A Million (2001 · Silverline)

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.