Recordings by five non-Indians who have mastered Indian classical music.
Steve Gorn, bansuri
As a bansuri and saxaphone player, Gorn is ideally placed for his favoured project: bringing Indian classical and world music together to create a new auditory aesthetic. Although he began as a jazz musician, he later studied the bansuri under Pandit Gour Goswami in Calcutta. Gorn now performs his unique style of music across the world. The video below shows him in a more classical role.
Jon Higgins, Carnatic vocalist
In the notoriously closed world of Carnatic music, Higgins was one of the few foreign musicians to gain complete acceptance. He was noted for his ability to pronounce his lyrics correctly as well as for his mastery of the form. His rendition of Siva Siva Siva Yenadara, a Thyagaraja composition, is among his more famous recordings.
Saskia Rao-de Haas, Indian cello
While Rao-de Haas is not quite a traditional Indian classical musician, she studied under classical masters and learnt to play Hindustani music on her cello while seated on the ground. As no Indian instrument resembles the cello in either size or string width, she had to improvise to find a sound that was true to both the instrument and the music she wanted to play. Here, she plays with sitarist Pandit Shubhendra Rao at a concert for Radio Sai.
Terry Riley, Hindustani vocal
Riley was one of the first minimalist Western music composers to emerge in the 1960s. He drew from both jazz and Indian classical music. In 1970, he met Hindustani vocalist Pran Nath and began to study under him. Apart from vocals, he also learnt how to play the tabla. In this 2010 concert in Padua, he sings a Pran Nath composition in Raga Puriya Dhanashree — with a twist. Accompanying him is a saxophone and tabla.
Ken Zuckerman, sarod
Zuckerman studied under sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan for 37 years, until the master died in 2009. Not only does he perform regularly with tabla artistes, he has also headed a music school for 27 years and has contributed to technical innovations of the sarod. Here, he plays Raga Bhairavi set to the 16-beat teental.
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Steve Gorn, bansuri
As a bansuri and saxaphone player, Gorn is ideally placed for his favoured project: bringing Indian classical and world music together to create a new auditory aesthetic. Although he began as a jazz musician, he later studied the bansuri under Pandit Gour Goswami in Calcutta. Gorn now performs his unique style of music across the world. The video below shows him in a more classical role.
Jon Higgins, Carnatic vocalist
In the notoriously closed world of Carnatic music, Higgins was one of the few foreign musicians to gain complete acceptance. He was noted for his ability to pronounce his lyrics correctly as well as for his mastery of the form. His rendition of Siva Siva Siva Yenadara, a Thyagaraja composition, is among his more famous recordings.
Saskia Rao-de Haas, Indian cello
While Rao-de Haas is not quite a traditional Indian classical musician, she studied under classical masters and learnt to play Hindustani music on her cello while seated on the ground. As no Indian instrument resembles the cello in either size or string width, she had to improvise to find a sound that was true to both the instrument and the music she wanted to play. Here, she plays with sitarist Pandit Shubhendra Rao at a concert for Radio Sai.
Terry Riley, Hindustani vocal
Riley was one of the first minimalist Western music composers to emerge in the 1960s. He drew from both jazz and Indian classical music. In 1970, he met Hindustani vocalist Pran Nath and began to study under him. Apart from vocals, he also learnt how to play the tabla. In this 2010 concert in Padua, he sings a Pran Nath composition in Raga Puriya Dhanashree — with a twist. Accompanying him is a saxophone and tabla.
Ken Zuckerman, sarod
Zuckerman studied under sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan for 37 years, until the master died in 2009. Not only does he perform regularly with tabla artistes, he has also headed a music school for 27 years and has contributed to technical innovations of the sarod. Here, he plays Raga Bhairavi set to the 16-beat teental.
YouTube: See our playlist here
