Strings & Rhythms with Pandit Bickram Ghosh & Purbayan Chatterjee at Blue Frog, Pune

Pandit Bickram Ghosh

One of India’s greatest Tabla maestros, Bickram Ghosh also holds the rare distinction of being one of the most well- known names in the world of Indo- fusion music. Having performed the world over with the greatest names in indian Classical music,(especially Pt. Ravi Shankar with whom he played for over a decade), Bickram went on to form his hugely successful band Rhythmscape which made him one of the most popular musical stars of his generation.

Bickram played on four albums that were nominated for Grammies including George Harrison’s Brainwashed. He played on “Full Circle” with Pandit Ravi Shankar which won Shankar a grammy. Bickram’s subsequent super successful solo albums like Beyond Rhythmscape, Folktail , Drum Invasion. Kingdom of Rhythm, Interface ,Electro classical , Transformation etc have consolidated his position as a pioneer of a new fusion sound, at once

Bickram also holds an enviable position as a composer of film music today. Having composed for  21 feature films so far including the Mira Nair presented, Sooni Taraporewala directed Little Zizou, Bickram has now teamed up with Bollywood singing star Sonu Nigam and together the duo have just begun their journey as co- composers in Bollywood  with three films, the first of which – Jal , recently released . Bickram has composed for numerous documentaries and Television projects. In an interesting departure, Bickram has even acted in 6 feature films in Bengali.

The son of the illustrious tabla maestro Pt. Shankar Ghosh and well known vocalist Sanjukta Ghosh , Bickram also learnt the nuances of Carnatic percussion from  the great Maestro of the mridangam Pandit S.Sekhar. Bickram Ghosh was the brand ambassador for the Indian Election commission in 2011 and his participation led to a record 8.5 percent increase in urban voting. He has over 100 albums to his credit and has performed on four Grammy nominated and one Grammy winning album. He has also taught as a lecturer in several universities across the world.

Purbayan Chatterjee

Purbayan has learned to play the Sitar from his father Parthapratim Chatterjee. His music is inspired by the sound of Pt. Nikhil Banerjee. His music combines the tone and richness of the style of Nikhil Banerjee and a contemporary touch of his own urbane sensitivity. He is also an astounding vocalist in his own right. He is the recipient of the President of India award for being the Best Instrumentalist of the country at the age of 15. He has received the prestigious Aditya Vikram Birla Award for being a leading name in the field of Music in India. He has performed at prestigious venues such as Queen Elizabeth Hall, London and Sydney Opera House.

He has conceptualised the ground-breaking project Shastriya Syndicate – the first Indian Classical Band with a contemporary touch, who have performed the world over at Roskilde Festival, Denmark, OzAsia Festival, Australia, Traumzeit Festival, Germany to name a few. The album “Lehar” released by Times Music in 2008 has remained the best-seller for a year and a half. Shankar Mahadevan has performed the title song “Dwo” in Purbayan’s super-hit fusion album, “Stringstruck” released by Times Music. The number has also been compiled in the album “Aman ki Asha”, an Indo-Pak peace project released by Times Music and has also received the Palm IRAA Award for the Best World Music Album of the Year. Purbayan’s music has been internationally appreciated by jazz greats like Chick Corea, Bella Fleck and Pat Metheney.

Amit and Anup Joshi

Amit Joshi and Anup Joshi started learning Tabla at an early age. Initially, both were learned basics of North Indian Classical Music from various local teachers. After listening to Ustad Zakir Hussain, they were immensely inspired and learned the fundamentals of rhythm from Zakirji’s father – an eminent tutor and legend – Ustad Alla Rakha. They have been learning from Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than a decade. Amit and Anup are performing Tabla Duet since last couple of years. Their performance is an authentic repertoire of North Indian Classical Music.

Anup is an electronics engineer by qualification and a percussionist by choice. He has been involved as a recording artist for short films and documentaries. He also conducts workshops about rhythm. Anup learnt the fundamentals of rhythm from Ustad Alla Rakha. He has been learning from Ramdas Palsule and from Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than a decade.

Amit is a percussion artist who plays Tabla and Drums. He performs with various styles and forms of music. He also is a recordist in his own studio set up. Amit is a Tabla disciple of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than a decade. He also learned fundamentals of drumming from Taufiq Qureshi. He is a Spiritual follower of Shri Shri Ravishankar.