Ravi Shankar Dies – Sitar Pandit
In the 60s and 70s Ravi Shankar helped introduce Indian music, and the sitar in particular, to the West. He just died and it's hard to over estimate how much he shook up the world and opened our eyes to the power of non Western music. He played at Woodstock, that seminal festival fusion of hippie and rock. He also played at the Monterey Pop Festival. Ravi Shankar influenced the Beatles and in particular George Harrison but also violinist and pop mega star Yehudi Menuhin.
To hear him perform solo or with tabla and not be moved is to be made of stone. My co-worker MW told me she saw Ravi Shankar play with George Harrison at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1974. She was fifteen at the time and to quote her "too young, sadly, to appreciate him" fully but she's now inspried to listen to him again with the greater wisdom of age.
If you are still not convinced …or want to listen to more then the Library has many CDs by him.
If you are interested in knowing more about his life there is also a DVD about him:
He lives on in both his daughters Norah Jones (!) and also Anoushka Shankar.
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