Select group of artistes

[ragam-talam]

Over the past few years I have been impressed by a small, select group of artistes (mostly vocalists) who keep a fairly low profile but deliver very scholarly, erudite music. I have found their singing style to be devoid of gimmicks - and they avoid the temptation to sing to the gallery. This may have cost them popularity and fame; however they do have a strong following of die-hard rasikas who are after quality music.

The following is a (partial) list that I have put together:
1. Manda Sudharani
2. Rudrapatnam brothers
3. Bangalore Shankar
4. Seetha Narayanan
5. Madurai GS Mani

I plan to attend concerts of mostly this category of musicians when I make my annual pilgrimage to the music season this year.

Could fellow forumites kindly add a few names to this list, for the benefit of like-minded rasikas. It would also be useful if you could include couple of lines about them, in case they are not known that well (which is usually the case with some of these artistes!).

[bilahari]

Vijay Siva - music completely devoid of gimmicks.
Trichur Ramachandran - very classical musician; the bhairavi he sang earlier this year in San Diego is still ringing in my ears - but hardly gets concerts during the season, it seems.
Trichur Brothers - EVERYONE should listen to them this season; their music is really extraordinary. Sense of shruti and coordination is supreme, and excellent manodharma and intensity in their music which keep rasikas at the edge of our seats throughout the concert.
Injikudi Subramaniam (nAdaswaram) - The AbhEri and dES he played in San Diego made a very deep and lasting impression on me... his music is extremely rich in bhAvam.
Pantula Rama - She was sick and didn't give the best account of herself in San Diego but from what little I heard, her music is uncompromisingly classical and weighty.
Parassala Ponnammal - Don't need to say anything about the grand dame.

[bilahari]

Oh, and hope to see all of you this season!

[kssr]

Amrutha Venkatesh- Brilliant

Also, if possible, attend
Shertallai Renganatha Sharma
Srivalasan Menon
Sankaran Namboodiri
TNS Krishna
Saaketharaman

I can guarantee that these would be as satisfactory as the bigwigs. Mostly less crowded and free!!

[gobilalitha]

I am in total agreement with all of you. But let them select kritis rarely heard in giant raagas gobilalitha

[ragam-talam]

bilahari & kssr - thanks for the tips. I have listened to Pantula Rama, Renganatha Sharma, Srivalsan Menon & Sankaran Namboodiri - and agree they are very good. Vijay Shiva is a favourite of mine and is a weighty singer; it's a good thing he is also famous! Vidushi Parassala Ponnammal is indeed in a class of her own. Absolutely no show, just solid music.

Another class singer is Vizianagaram Vardhini - difficult to find her concerts though. Hope she will be singing at the season this year.

[smala]

Amazing voices of depth, tenor - some favorites I would love to hear in person:

Smt. Sugandha Kalamegham
Sumithra Vasudev - her tulasi jagajjanani (15 mins) is simply breath-taking....http://www.hummaa.com/music/artist/2206 ... ra+vasudev

...on youtube for Smt. Kalamegham

[fduddy]

-

[munirao2001]

Sri Venkateshwara Bhakthi Channel of TTD telecasts daily at 18-15Hrs. 'Nadaneerajanam'. The performances are good and very good by not only popular performing artists, but also many meritorious and deserving artists. Our task is made easy in selecting and recommending by this channel. If we carefully note down the names of the performers, we will have big list, in no time.

[kssr]

Sri Venkateshwara Bhakthi Channel of TTD telecasts daily at 18-15Hrs. 'Nadaneerajanam'. The performances are good and very good by not only popular performing artists, but also many meritorious and deserving artists. Our task is made easy in selecting and recommending by this channel. If we carefully note down the names of the performers, we will have big list, in no time.

Very true. In fact there is a thread running about Nadaneeraajanan in the Concert Review section. It will be nice if we can get from somewhere the consolidated list of all artists who have (going to perform) performed in this programme. I am sure it will be a kind of who-is-who and a good guide for deciding about which concert to go to, in advance, before going to Chennai during Season.

[MV]

I have enjoyed Saketharaman's concerts these last 2 years. Last year I really enjoyed Sangeeta Swaminthan.

[ragam-talam]

Another solid artiste is Varalakshmi Anandkumar, disciple of DKJ.
See here: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=13596

[ragam-talam]

Adding vainika duo Jaysri and Jeyaraaj to this select list:..

See here for more details on them: http://rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6823

I will definitely make it a point to attend their concerts during the season.

[fduddy]

R-T
watch out for Sankaran Namboodhiri. Lovely voice and sings extremely well. There are some lovely recordings in the youtube. I am not sure though about his concert opportunities in The Music Mecca!

[fduddy]

Sankaran Namboodhiri is already included by KSSR. Anyways he sings very well and should not be missed.

[ragam-talam]

Yes, Sankaran Namboothiri is a favorite of mine. However, he hasn't been singing much these days, esp at the season.
There are a few nice video clips of his singing at youtube.
e.g. see this one taken at a family get-together, sans pakkam: http://youtu.be/VUaKUXi7rAU

[arasi]

Yes! Fellow members J&J--to hear them in person is a delightful experience.
Among the seniors--another forumite who is well respected and is appreciated in Karnataka (originally from the kAvEri banks in tamizh nADu), Neela Ramgopal.