INTERVIEW: Sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee to play Carnegie Hall
Photo: From left, Rakesh Chaurasia and Purbayan Chatterjee will perform as part of the Saath Saath ensemble at Carnegie Hall. Photo courtesy of artist / Provided by Press Junkie PR with permission.
On Sunday, Aug. 14, the Saath Saath ensemble will play a sold out concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Included on the bill are flute maestro Rakesh Chaurasia, sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee, tabla player Ojas Adhiya and legendary percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, according to press notes. The music for the performance will be pulled from the musicians’ upcoming album, titled Saath Saath, due out in September.
Chatterjee is considered one of the finest sitar players on the Indian classical scene, according to his biography. He is a member of the Senia Maihar Gharana music school, and he is at home in the North Indian raga genre, but also plays South Indian raga music and jazz. All told, his music career has spanned more than a quarter century.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Chatterjee about the Carnegie Hall concert and the Saath Saath album. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can fans expect at your upcoming Carnegie Hall concert?
The Carnegie concert is going to be a specially designed and curated evening. It is an opportunity for “Saath Saath” to come together and celebrate 75 years of Independence of our great country (India). We have planned the evening in stages, and different members of the ensemble will make grand entries. And we are honoured to have a very special guest with us, Taufiq Qureshi, who’s going to set the ball rolling with his very well-known “breath percussion.” Rakesh Chaurasia comes with his divine “Alaap” (ad-lib melodic introduction). I have planned to come in with a section called the “Jod,” which is where a pulse (akin to a heartbeat) enters into the melodic framework. There’s also going to be a percussion duet.
How long did it take to put the album Saath Saath together?
My earlier album with Rakesh Chaurasia was nominated for a “GIMA” award, and for the last few years we’ve been planning a record together. When we were asked to go on tour in the USA and UK sometime in 2021, we decided to record Saath Saath to celebrate the spirit of togetherness in music. Over the last year we’ve planned, rehearsed and finally recorded in one day straight. This music is improvisational and to that end, has to be recorded live.
When did you first fall in love with the sitar?
I started learning vocal music when I was only 3 years old. I was introduced to the sitar at 5 (by my father to stop me from being up to other kinds of mischief), but the real love and passion came at age 12 when I heard a very inspiring record of Pt Nikhil Banerjee. I remember watching Ustad Zakir Hussain playing in my teenage years and being almost tempted to take up the tabla.
How would you describe North Indian raga music to a new listener?
North Indian raga music is rich in melodic complexity. The interesting thing about this music is, although it’s an improvisational art form, the improvisation occurs within a very well-defined structure of “Raga and Tala.” Its ornamentation and melodic depth makes it very inward looking and spiritual while its mathematical rhythmic structure make it highly evolved intellectually. It’s a kind of music where time and space are continually stretched.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Saath Saath ensemble, featuring Purbayan Chatterjee, will play Sunday, Aug. 14 at Carnegie Hall. Click here for more information and tickets.
