Songs of Love, Ragas of Longing….

 

Ken Zuckerman presents a unique musical bouquet, spanning continents, epochs and styles -from Indian folk melodies to classical ragas, to love songs of the European Middle Ages.

Ken Zuckerman - Sarod, Dhotar ...........Annie Dufresne - Soprano ...................Sanju Sahai - Tabla
Dupki Medieval Lute

"Whether playing the medieval lute, oud, sarod, and whether appearing alone, with his mentor Ali Akbar Khan, with Jordi Savall's Hesperion XXI or with medieval chant expert Dominique Vellard, Ken Zuckerman is one of the world's most eclectic masters of improvisation. His electrifying performances of medieval, Renaissance and classical Indian music leave his audiences breathless." Phillip Pickett, South Bank Centre.

"The glory of this CD is the brunettes sung by soprano Annie Dufresne. A superb, artless-seeming stylist gifted with a brilliant yet sweet and sexy voice, her vocal agility easily overcomes the demands of these songs' florid diminutions. Most impressive is the clarity of Dufresne's trills, a rarity indeed in today's early music world." Christopher Price.

Sanju Sahai is an outstanding tabla player who has accompanied many senior artists, including acclaimed vocalist Pandit Rajan Sajan Mishra, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj and guitarist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. He comes from a very eminent percussion lineage. He is a direct descendent of Pandit Ram Sahai, the founder of the Benares Gharana.

This event has been supported by The Essex Racial Equality Council - Essex Cultural Diversity Project