INDIAN MUSIC FORUM ARCHIVES: Sitar Forum: Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27

 

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Billy
Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 26, 2003 10:32 a.m.


This is just a reminder that Shahid Parvez will be playing in Dallas DMA Saturday, 9/27 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door. Info at: http://www.icmcdfw.org/
Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Sitars Etc. Fan Club, Beginners Division
Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 29, 2003 12:00 p.m.


I really enjoyed this performance!

This was held in the Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art, a pretty decent venue. My wife and I were among the first entering when they opened the doors, and nabbed front-row seats. The concert was quite well attended, so I'm glad we got in early.

The performance started around 7:45. Ustad Parvez announced the Raga, but due to someone talking behind me and his soft-spoken voice, I don't know if I heard it right. It sounded like he said "Raga Ghouli", but I couldn't find this when I looked it up, using several different spellings, so I probably heard wrong.

I thought the alap was remarkable. I knew he was a hotshot on the gats, but I was quite impressed with the passion he seemed to be expressing. The audience all were impressed with the harmonic tones he achieved with his huge mends, and were quite vocal in their appreciation!

After the jor, he played two gats, in 10 beats and 16 beats. This was one of the most exciting performances I have ever witnessed! Honestly, I thought several of us on the front row were going to get up and start dancing! Of course Parvez's well-known right *and* left hand techniques were stunning! I'm quite please that we were close enough that even my foggy eyes could see what he was doing. Very amazing!! Combined with superb tabla playing, it was almost exhausting.

I don't understand why the mike was cool on the tambura; although I don't care for an overbearing tambura often heard in recordings, I still think its important for establishing the tonic. Additionally, the player had a really gloomy expression on her face throughout most of the performance, not a big deal, it just didn't fit in with the rest of the performance.

Unfortunately, with the late start and a long first half, we chose to leave at the Intermission at about 9:30. I really hated to, but healthwise its not my best time of day, and I'd been working long hours all week, so was even more worn than usual. However, I was completely sated with what I saw in the first half.

Well recommended!


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Sitars Etc. Fan Club, Beginners Division
pb
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 29, 2003 12:24 p.m.


Hey Billy,
glad you enjoyed the show. I wonder how long he played? I look forward to seeing him perform withing a 2 hr drive radius from me. He is in Toronto a lot.

Pb
:wq

Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 29, 2003 01:43 p.m.



pb (Sep 29, 2003 12:24 p.m.):
glad you enjoyed the show. I wonder how long he played? :wq

Well, after all the energy he put into the 1:45 of the first half, its hard to imagine the second half being that long. From others that have seen him, I gather he apparently plays softer, more contemplative music after the Intermission.
Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Sitars Etc. Fan Club, Beginners Division
Amitava
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 30, 2003 09:51 a.m.



Billy (Sep 29, 2003 12:00 p.m.):
I really enjoyed this performance!

:but due to someone talking behind me and his soft-spoken voice, I don't know if I heard it right. It sounded like he said "Raga Ghouli", but I couldn't find this when I looked it up, using several different spellings, so I probably heard wrong.

AS>>>> Yes those moronic talkers. Cannot think of a raag simiar to that performed in the evening.

AS>>>> I thought the alap was remarkable. I knew he was a hotshot on the gats, but I was quite impressed with the passion he seemed to be expressing. The audience all were impressed with the harmonic tones he achieved with his huge mends, and were quite vocal in their appreciation!

AS>>>>Harmonic tones? Usually it is the subtle meeds that people vocally appreciate. Or are we talking about the same thing? Yes his meends are long and complex at the trailing end. A lot of precise mid fret starts. .which are difficult to do.

After the jor, he played two gats, in 10 beats and 16 beats. This was one of the most exciting performances I have ever witnessed!

AS >>>> Shahid is accused of - by several musicians, of formulizing his taans and other elements of his performance and repeating them in several raags. I have not heard him enough to make that judgement, but he does seem to perform everything well. One thing I was dissapinted in Austin, was that he avoided sapaat taans almost completely.

I don't understand why the mike was cool on the tambura; although I don't care for an overbearing tambura often heard in recordings, AS >>> Yes be happy that the tanpura was cool. His style is better appreciated in alaap without one. Was it an anglo dudette? Sometimes he may not want a bad tanpura player to be heard. .:-)

Unfortunately, with the late start and a long first half, we chose to leave at the Intermission at about 9:30.
AS>>> In Austin he played lighter raags. .as seems to tbe the moroinic US tradition these days. .for about 40 min. .and extended it to a second piece when people requested/griped :-) It was OK (ending piece was great), but the 1st "half" was the best.

Well recommended!


Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 30, 2003 12:18 p.m.


Yes, his meends with microtones were quite controlled, but the audience seemed quite impressed with the long meends; I'm sure they were at least five steps, perhaps even six. And for some reason, there seem to be more than the usual harmonic tones when he did this, especially on frets up the neck. I don't know how to explain what I'm talking about, I'm not that knowledgeable, and base this on my knowledge of other instruments. You know how you check your bridge position by lightly touching the string at fret eleven and plucking, listening for the harmonic tone? That is the kind of tone he seemed to be getting on some of those long meends; it didn't sound like a fretted note. Sometimes I'm frustrated by my ignorance!! :-)

The tanpura player appeared to be South Asian. Its sort of funny; a couple of months ago I posted a note on this forum about how being a tanpura player must be one of the most boring jobs there is, and many people disagreed with me. Well, when we were driving home last night, my wife, who had seen only a couple of ICM concerts, and never from so close, said the same thing to me.

I honestly think the player must have been feeling badly or something. She seemed totally out-of-it, and had an actual frown during most of the performance. She was playing a flatback female tanpura on her lap, so its not like she had to hold it up or anything. And she played the entire time, and I was close enough to tell she was playing in beat. Shahid did check the tuning against his sitar at the first.

Well, its not that big a deal, its just something I expect, but I didn't really miss it that much.

By the way, I forget the tabla player's name, I have the program at home, but he was super too, and the audience also appreicated his work. Even my wife was impressed, and she's usually not into percussion of any type that much. I believe he was one of the Khans (those Khans that includes Shahid), I just don't remember which one, and will post his name when I find it at home; He deserves a lot of credit for a great concert.


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Sitars Etc. Fan Club, Beginners Division
Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 30, 2003 12:49 p.m.


Here is an ignorance question: isn't there a term for striking the chikari strings? As in, when Shahid plays, its amazing how fast he can go back and forth between the main string playing melody and the chikari. I first noticed that when watching the online video someone posted a link to, but it was more striking live and close up. Its so fast, it sounds like it must be two people playing!

By the way, I notice he uses his left little finger to strike the tarbs occasionally. I don't know if this is very common, but it was cool how he could add sort of a half-syncopated rhythm using this technique. He only did this occasionally, or at least I only noticed it a few times. Seems like someone here on this forum mentioned that some performers use this technique, but this is the first time I've noticed.


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Sitars Etc. Fan Club, Beginners Division
Amitava
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Sep 30, 2003 05:14 p.m.



Billy (Sep 30, 2003 12:49 p.m.):
Here is an ignorance question: isn't there a term for striking the chikari strings? As in, when Shahid plays, its amazing how fast he can go back and forth between the main string playing melody and the chikari. I first noticed that when watching the online video someone posted a link to, but it was more striking live and close up. Its so fast, it sounds like it must be two people playing!

AS>>>>> His chakari work is impressive and he has brought a new dimension to using the chikari. .like other modern players.

By the way, I notice he uses his left little finger to strike the tarbs occasionally. I don't know if this is very common, but it was cool how he could add sort of a half-syncopated rhythm using this technique. He only did this occasionally, or at least I only noticed it a few times. Seems like someone here on this forum mentioned that some performers use this technique, but this is the first time I've noticed.


AS>>>>Vilayat Khan was one of the first people to do this. Perhaps it was done before I am not sure. Listen to VK's older recordings. He uses it a lot in gats to play with rhythm. SP uses it more during jor.

The tabla player was Akram Khan.

A

Raj Singh
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 01, 2003 12:21 p.m.


According to one of U. Shahid Parvez 's students who was at the concert it was raga Gaoti (or Gawati) that he performed in the first half.
Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 01, 2003 06:55 p.m.



Raj Singh (Oct 01, 2003 12:21 p.m.):
According to one of U. Shahid Parvez 's students who was at the concert it was raga Gaoti (or Gawati) that he performed in the first half.

Many thanks. At least I was close!

Did they mention their thoughts on the performance?


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Lars
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 02, 2003 09:38 p.m.


Ok. . .now in defense of the poor tanpura player. . . .I just did the same thing for Indrajit Banerjee in Seattle and was told I looked like I was falling asleep at times! Heh heh. . . .actually was concentrating to keep a steady drone without matching Indrajit's rhythm cycle or having a finger slip, etc.
It's tough because I kept wanting to get caught up in what he was playing as it was so wonderful. .
I think we had talked about all of this before but basically I missed the concert which was almost 3 hours. . . . .
Amitava, the sound guy gave me the low volume 'anglo dude' treatment too. . . . . :-)
Lars
Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 03, 2003 09:50 a.m.



Lars (Oct 02, 2003 09:38 p.m.):
Ok. . .now in defense of the poor tanpura player. .

I wasn't trying to put her down; she seemed completely alert the entire time, and was playing with the rhythm. She just seemed very unhappy or uncomfortable. Perhaps she was tired from touring or feeling ill. I'm only relating what I saw, and not being critical.

I did make a comment a couple of months ago along the lines that playing the tanpura must really be a boring job, and everybody jumped on me. Again, not being critical, just an observation. I actually learned some interesting things about tanpura performers. I think the fact that they are willing to do it, whether they do it full time, or they are a student picked to assist aninstructors performance, wins my respect.

I also believe I would like to hear the tanpura a bit better during a concert that includes tanpura, although I do believe sometimes, at least on recordings, they are a bit too dominate. At the Parvez concert, I have no idea why they had the mike down so much, I with it was a little louder.


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Billy
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 03, 2003 10:01 a.m.



Amitava (Sep 30, 2003 09:51 a.m.):
AS >>>> Shahid is accused of - by several musicians, of formulizing his taans and other elements of his performance and repeating them in several raags.

Even with my untrained ear, I notice certain elements from the concert were the same on my one CD of his. I would say its only a small part of the whole. That does not distract from my overall admiration of his playing. But it is an interesting point.

Along the same idea, I've noticed the same to some degree with Anoushka Shankar. I can understand that more with her lesser experience.


Namaste',
Billy Godfrey
Beenkarji
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 03, 2003 01:40 p.m.


There is certain ways the tanpura has to be plucked, I have had the opportunity to play with a few artists, and also from going to concerts picked up different tricks. First of all if you are using a male tanpura, do yourself a favor and just lay it on the ground, it is easier and less destracting that way. And also for a quiet tone if you notice the limp wristed tanpura players behind Raviji, thats because they are pressing the string (you don't pluck) with the side of the finger to reduce the initial sound, so it is just one continuous drone and you dont hear the PssS so strongly. I have heard that some female players use their finger nails, god that must hurt the ears. Then comes into the question if an artist is just jealous, sometimes they don't like tanpura players getting some of the spotlight, so you are almost a silent figure, its probably happened to everyone who has played tanpura for the first time or so. Personally when I perform I just skip that hassle and use two Raagini tanpura (one is the old model, the other is the new) and then my friend Shrikant accompanies me on pakhawaj.
Beenkar Ted Ceplina
Lars
Re:Shahid Parvez in Dallas 9/27 Oct 03, 2003 10:31 p.m.


Hey Billy. . .I know you weren't putting her down. . .I think maybe she was zoned out, easy to do. I'll put some pics of the concert on the site soon. .You're right about the volumes though, should be louder IMHO. I was playing and so was a machine also, getting the whole thing mastered so we'll see how it turns out. . .
Lars
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