HERITAGE SERIES
Tabla Recital
The Legend
by Pt. Kanai Dutta
Although not a child of any musical family Pandit Knai Dutta is a name associated with a few other world-renowned figures- Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and son. When Pdt. Ravi Shankar was opening to western Music-lovers new vistas of Indian Classical Music during the decade Fifties, Sixties, Kanai Dutta was one of his steady accompanists on the Tabla. He toured extensively with him in Asia , Australia , Europe and in United States . He had been to Kabul as a member of the Cultural Delegation of the Government of India. To some extent, like Pdt. Ravi Shankar, he was also “our man abroad,” with his hand-drums. He got the assignment of teaching American students for three years from 1967 at the initiative of the American Society for Eastern Arts. As preferred by Sitar-Player Pdt. Nikhil Banerjee, he travelled on Chain-Programmes of music with him at various places of the United States and the UK for years together.
At the early stage Sri Dutta took lessons under the tutorship of the Late Babu Khan, Sadhan Ch. Das, Satish Das, the then disciple of Ustad Abid Hussain Khan of Lucknow . He got moral patronage from Nawab Mirza Sahab of Khidderpur and Janakinath Chattopadhyay, founder Headmaster, Khidderpore Academy . Shree Dutta joined the class of Shree Hemanta Bhattacharyya. This was followed by a period of learning at the instance of Pdt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh under the Veteran Tabla-maestro of Farrukhabad, Ustad Masid Khan. Shree Dutta made a remarkable progress under him. But the man who gave the final touch to this enthusiastic learner's finished artistry was no less a man than the famous Bengalee exponent, Padmabhusan. Pdt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh who was an institution by himself in the vast world of Indian Classical Music. His lyrical improvisation on ‘Kayedas' and ‘Relas' with a poetic imagination, his brilliant and enchanting ‘Tihais', his vigorours frightening approach to traditional ‘Tukras', ‘Gats', ‘Parans', ‘Chakradars', etc. with dexterity and artistic accentuation that decorated his total performance with firm base, shining colours and ornamental artistry and the entirety of these qualities brought to him valued recognition from different quarters of the world. He has, to his credit, many LP and EP Records/Discs of accompaniment with Pdt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pdt. Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayet Khan and other of repute. He gave stage-accompaniment with Ustad Alauddin Khan, Ustad Faiaz Khan, Pdt. Omkarnath Thakur, Ustd Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Pdt. Tarapada Chakraborty, Pdt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Vilayet Khan, Pdt. V. G. Jog, Ustad Abdul Zafar Khan, Ustad Amzad Ali Khan, Pdt. Nikhil Banerjee, Pdt. Manilal Nag, Pdt. Buddhadeb Dasgupta and other reputed musicians of the country.
His rich style of solo recital and accompaniment with conscious approach had a special charm in the musicians' and listeners mind.
His style has already become a legend with its own identity. What is more fascinating about him is the fact that his style was very much expressive of the man that he was - cultured, idealistic as also progressive, free from the egotism of learnedness.
Teentaal - 32:30
Jhaptaal - 9:38
Teentaal - 35.56
