Sandeep Narayan @ San Jose, CA Sankritilaya 4, Oct 2014

[mahavishnu]

Sri Sandeep Narayan - vocal
Sri B Ananthakrishnan - violin
Sri S J Arjun Ganesh = mridangam

Sankritilaya concert, CET auditorium, San Jose, Bay Area, California.

3 hr 30 minutes

1. vanajAkshIrO - kalyAni varNam - pUchi
2 ini oru kaNam - srIranjanI - P.Sivan (NS); neraval on pallavi line.
3. evvarE rAmayya - gangEyabhUshani - T (S)
4. sri rAmam - nArayanagowla - MD
5. hidakO bida bEda - aTANA - PD
6. bhajarE mAnasa - AbhEri - Vasudevacharya (ANST)
7. pALaya sadA- naliNakAnti - ST
8. RTP kalyani veLLai tAmarai poovil iruppAL veeNai seyyum oliyil iruppALl (Misra chapu - samam)
swarams in sUrya and behAg (transition to... 9)
9. parama purusha - behAg - nArayana tIrthA
10. mAtA ramO pitA ramachandrah (slokam) sindhubhairavi + rAmanai tharuvAi - arunAchala kavi
11. tillAnA - nirOshtA - TN Seshagopalan
12. nI nAma rUpamulaku - sowrAshtram - mangalam - T

I was delighted to get an opportunity to attend a concert on a Saturday evening after a ridiculously busy work week. And I am so glad I went!

It is easy to dismissively label Sandeep as a shishya of Sanjay and consequently build an expectation for the kind of kutcheri one might look forward to. First, it is not easy to imitate the inimitable. Sanjay Subrahmanyan is, for a better or worse, a brand. Defined by his uniqueness of presentation, wide repertoire, constant reinvention, extreme persistence, an originality in form and substance, and above all, a Thanjavur personality & Mylapore quick wittedness that one can't just conjure out of thin air. As an unabashed Sanjay admirer forumite once mentioned and quite appropriately so: idhu uzhaichu pAdara sangeetham (this is music created by sheer hard work).

Now, credit where it is due. Sandeep does an excellent display of Sanjay-isms. It is said that MDR developed strabismus by following Tiger's heterotopia. In this case however, I don't mean that the peripherals like hand and facial gestures that maketh the man.

But at the very core, Sandeep appears to have internalized Sanjay's many musical elements. And credit to him for being able to notate the un-notatable, figuratively speaking. I'm talking about Sanjay's crazy brighas and idiosyncratic sangatis. For example, in his srIranjani there are these lightning fast phrases like NDMDNSRSNDN sung as a triplet in under 100 milli seconds. Sandeep has them down to the most minute detail. I imagine that this has taken an enormous amount of effort.

I remember my grandfather and PMI having a conversation about savant mridangists, who would manage to play some sollus by some sense of approximation that brought random fingerings to fall into order and perfect timing. But they would insist that if you can't say it, you can't play it (solli kAmicha thAn vAsikka theriyum). I think singing like Sanjay is equivalent to that. Unless you know what you are doing, you can't really pull it off. Explicitly and analytically imbibing the total style of one's guru is laudable and is cause for much admiration. Now, imagine the pedagogical discipline is has taken both Sanjay and Sandeep to be able proceduralize this system of singing.

But Sandeep is proving to be a much deeper musician than just the person who managed to operationalize the Sanjay style. His professionalism, stagecraft, voice culture and several aspects of his musicianship reflect the hard work that he has put in over the years.

Sandeep's vocal range is excellent. He was able to hit the upper dhaivatam on a number of occasions today with ease; clearly this is something where his sheer tenacity and persistence have paid off. He has an excellent sense of shruti and his timekeeping/kaNakku is solid. There are a few minor imperfections, but that is part and parcel of singing risky sangatis and non-standard brighas. Sandeep could also spend more time working on enunciating; this is one of his guru's many strengths, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

Sandeep's song list reads very much like a Sanjay list. All the pieces that he chose today (well most) are tried and tested Sanjay classics. Even if there are other established versions of ini oru kaNam (KVN) or bhajarE mAnasa (DKJ), Sanjay has customized them so effectively. It would be very nice to see Sandeep expand his song selection beyond the Sanjay tropics, and I see this coming in the next few years. The last time I heard Sandeep was in Toronto in April 2012 and I can already see him having come a really long way. Oh I just found the review of the older concert here: http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... an+toronto It is interesting to look back on one's own words from a few years ago!

gAngEyabhUshaNi was presented with all due importance to the placement of the R3 (shatshuti rishabam) which gives the rAgam its life, lest it should regress to mAyAmALavagowLa. Sandeep took extra care to highlight S-R3 leading up to G3 evvarE in the pallavi line. Many of his swarams had the right "poruttham" to make this connection apparent. Sandeep's KalyANi RTP was excellent, but the pallavi presentation felt a bit rushed compared to the more elaborate treatment of the rAgam/tAnam. He chose not do a very detailed trikAlam/tisram. The neraval in srIranjani was textbook perfect, but sadly, that was the only neraval of the concert.

B Ananthakrishnan is a very good violinist. My first time listening to him. He certainly has a good bowing style, one can see the BHU influence (indirectly through N Rajam and directly through his father/grandfather). I also came to learn today that he is currently training with S Varadarajan. He took the liberty to do a small graha bEdam in kalyANi today, when the vocalist did not attempt any such move. I'm sure he has every right to do so, but it just seemed a bit weird and out of place for me. Not something Varadarajan would do, for e.g. There was also a moment when he harmonized on the nishAdam during the tAnam and I think this might have thrown the vocalist's shruti off. Just a few little things to watch out for.

Arjun Ganesh's playing reminded me of early career Srimushnam Raja Rao, his paramaguru. Good use of gumki and very fluent rhythmic syntax as he accompanies compositions, although some transitions could have been more graceful. He plays a kuchi instrument with a strong resonance and ring a la Poongulam. He has an excellent nAdham and follows the vocalist with great precision. I wish he would take more risks and seek out gaps to create intelligent fillers. There were a few missed opportunities today, where I think he could have created those sabash moments for himself. He played a nice tani, but I wish he had explored more nadai variations. The running leit motif was to end with a "thAm thAm thAm" to coincide with the bha/ja/rE of the eduppu. This was very cleverly done and integrated into the various kOrvais he played in this tani. AG also happens to be my "homie" from West Mambalam

Props to Sankritilaya for their excellent and responsive organization, very pleasant and helpful volunteers and a well-run sound system. An enjoyable evening concert on a unseasonably balmy early October evening.

[pperumal]

Dear mahavishnu,

Your review was a delight to read. A nice example of an objective and informed writing.
Keep it up!!

PP.

[arasi]

Mahavishnu,
Happy to see such a good review about Sandeep's concert. He is certainly getting better and better with each concert we hear.

I was delighted to read it, coming from you.

Hope you attend more concerts in the bay area (work permitting) and bring to us your excellent reviews which are born out of your rasikatvam and vishaya gnyAnam--not forgetting your fine style of writing

Hear the SishyA and know the mettle of the guru, was well demonstrated in your words about Sanjay

[vasanthakokilam]

Excellent review Mahavishnu. You are setting high standards for review writing. This is a different league from what newspapers and magazines manage to cover.

I attended Sandeep's concert in Chicago. It was an excellent concert as well and my impressions about the bANi relationship to his Guru is very much along the lines you came away with. You have said it much better than I could have.

I also felt that any major differences in technique and depth of approach between the guru and shishya surface more prominently in the RTP which is only natural.

Listening to the youngsters like Bharat Sundar, Ramkakrishnamurthy and Sandeep, it gives me the impression that they are indeed defining a new chapter for male musicians of CM. This is my own subjective impression of course, but the styles of male and female musicians are diverging noticeably, more so than in the past. I tend to look at that positively from the selfish point of view of rasikas since we get to experience a wider variety of music. The music of these three, for example, is very dynamic with a lot of confidence in laya and they do not hesitate to incorporate and project that in their music. I have a feeling that a retrospective in the future will trace that change to what Sanjay brought to the scene.

[arasi]

Swarna Rethas, another student of Sanjay is worthy of notice too.

I won't be around when 'Sanjay in retrospect' occurs--a long time from now, but can imagine that a pANi of his will find a place in the annals of CM history...

[rajeshnat]

Very nice selection of songs with a great spread of composers . Tx mahavishnu for your excellent review . Personally like Sandeep music it is packed with intensity .

[Ranganayaki]

Thank you, Ramesh, for your thoughtful, painstaking review written like an expert critic, reflecting the breadth and depth of your experience as a listener. I enjoyed it very much.

[mahavishnu]

Thanks everyone for your warm words.

VK: I think you are on to something with the younger generation of men and women vocalists being quite different in approach. As you say, diversity in all forms in most welcome! Sounds like something we say all the time at our Faculty meetings at UC

Arasi: I think Rethas certainly has potential, but I would imagine Prasanna Venkatraman is much further along in this regard (among Sanjay's various disciples). Raghavendra Rao is yet another interesting disciple, although he appears to have found his muse as a composer under the pseudonym Sean Roldan. Google him or look for him on youtube. He is most entertaining!

And finally, here's wishing Sandeep Narayan the very best in his career and in life. I came to understand that he recently got married!

[rshankar]

Ramesh, a very erudite review! Thank you. Seems to have been a lovely concert.
A honeymoon concert tour for Sandeep, perhaps. I think someone mentioned that his wife is accompanying him on this tour.
And best wishes with the grant....

[mahavishnu]

Thanks, Ravi.

[arasi]

Mahavishnu (Ramesh Jr on the forum, MKR being the senior),

Yes, Prasanna, of course. I have heard Raghavendra in his other persona. He is one creative and appealing composer and presenter in a modern genre of music too!

[manisubramaniyan]

Thanks for an eloquent review Mahavishnu! My thoughts were the same (about the Guru influence and the individual styles emerging) and I said that in a one-liner in my thank-you note at the end of the concert.

Here are a few snaps taken at the concert: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 543&type=3

(I thought I recognised Ramesh in the third or fourth row, but didn't get time to say hi at that time.. )

Regards
ManiS

[mahavishnu]

Thank you, ManiS. Yes that was me in the 3rd or 4th row.
I saw you from a distance (as everyone did). I had to leave almost right after the concert since it is about 35 + mins to the east bay where I live. Hope to talk to you in person next time.

[Lakshman]

Ramesh: Thanks for a superb review of Sandeep's concert in your inimitable style.. My Internet was off for a few hours and I just got back on line and read your post. I have always enjoyed going through your description of a concert. Hope you post more such reviews for us. We miss you here in Canada/Toronto.

[mahavishnu]

Lakshman-ji: Thank you for your warm words. I really miss the manram concerts and more importantly, miss seeing you at those events.
And not experiencing the autumnal colors, which I imagine are in full glory now, is one of the drawbacks of living on the left coast.

I hope to see you again soon. Perhaps in Cleveland or maybe even Toronto sometime.

[arasi]

You may have all your fine weather there in CA, but nothing to beat the autumn on the east coast.'I can feel your pain'. Only a few other things are worth their weight in beauty--all the golden, amber, orange, red and purple colors of autumn. I haven't missed a single fall in all these years. Even a wishy washy one ( by the eastern standards) abounds in color

[rshankar]

Arasi...autumnal beauty is wasted on me, for all I can see is the bleak winter that's sure to follow!

[arasi]

Easy for me to say, you say, someone who escapes part of the brutal weather by sitting in (sometimes overly chilled) sabhas of Chennai