Shankar grew up in Massachusetts. Unlike others of his
generation who drifted to the beats of Nirvana, Madonna and Usher, Shankar was
drawn towards Indian classical music, his ideal being maestro John McLaughlin
who is famous for composing Indian and Western classical fusions. Tucker was
induced towards learning Carnatic music after listening to “Remember Shakti”, a
unique composition by McLaughlin (Strings) and featuring Zakir Hussain (table),
V Selvaganesh (percussion) and U Shrinivas (mandolin).
About Shankar Tucker. While his mastery over the clarinet can’t be
doubted....he also magnificently blends the essence of jazz, pop and Indian
classical music to create seamless fusion. I know this sounds a bit
melodramatic. Most of his videos crossed one million views over the last 6
months, though not all comments were alluring. Before I started writing this
article, I was under the impression that the guy who sings in “O re piya” video
was Shankar Tucker. The confusion resolved after I Googled him and found that
the one behind the clarinet is actually our protagonist. It all fits, the guy named
Shankar (a Hindu mythological name) who fuses Indian music with jazz should
happen to be a firangi desi rang me.
It mesmerizes me to think someone linguistically alien, should share the same platform
as the legendary artists Zakir Hussein and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
If you think there cannot be anything as captivating as the
Oscar winner AR Rahman’s anthem from “Slumdog Millionaire”, catch “O Saya
(A.R.Rehman cover) ft. Shankar Tucker” on YouTube.
Unlike conventionally released compositions, The Shruti Box
is an online going music album. Shankar, a musical prodigy, when his career has
barely taken flight, claims not to make music that must sell. A blend of fresh
Carnatic fusion - vocals by the Iyer sisters with the highlight from the
melodist’s clarinet left me in crisis of adjectives, as I spent half an hour repeatedly
listening to the “Nee Nenaindal” video. Refined and perfected, lilting and
rising sounds of his clarinet in his signature style can even beat the pulses
of a heart; such is the soul of his original composition- “Lemongrass”. A treat
to anyone who appreciates classical music is his deft rearrangement of
classical Bandish of Raga Bimpalassi in the vocals of Nirali Kartik’s- “Ja Ja
Re”.
This whole article might look a bit aggrandized and
amplified to some who are in the critics’ stage of persona or to the Jagjit
Singh or Pundit Jasraaj fan followers, who are grumpy over the lyrical and
pronunciation aberrations in the videos. If I could understand my culture and
musical heritage half as well as Tucker does, I would have been in a better
position to savour the taste of his ethnic brew.
Vasundhara Goyal
I eat when I am bored and I live by the quotes that explain exactly what I am going through. I fancy reading Archie comics for the love of my favourite character Jughead Jones and I tend to get attracted to guys with a persona like him. I am a loner and at times I search for lonely spots where I can just sit and daydream.
I eat when I am bored and I live by the quotes that explain exactly what I am going through. I fancy reading Archie comics for the love of my favourite character Jughead Jones and I tend to get attracted to guys with a persona like him. I am a loner and at times I search for lonely spots where I can just sit and daydream.
