Sikkil Gurucharan @ Sankritilaya, SF Bay Area Feb 28

[mahavishnu]

Sikkil Gurucharan - vocal
V Sanjeev - violin
Patri Satish Kumar - mridangam

karuNimpa sahAnA varNam (N @ krpa judu)
Sri Lakshmi varAham – abhogi (A)
pugazhai thEdi poRuLai thEdu – Kannada – Dhandapani Desigar
Sri ramA saraswati sEvitAm – nAsAmaNi – MD (AS)
Tatvameruga – garudadhwani (S @ tAmasa)
Amba nannu – tODi – Anai ayyA brothers (N,S@ bhakti viDaka) Tani (dEsADI – 4 kalai)
kaNmaNiyE sollaDi – kApi – mazhavai chidambara bhArati
RTP bilahari – sri raghukula tilakuDai velasina rAmachandruDE mApAli dEvuDu (khanda triputa) rAgamAlika swarams – kalyaNavasantam, brindAvani, vAsanti)
Pallavi composed by Sri TRS.
AnDavan dharisanamE – jOnpuri – HMB
tillAna – dwijAvanti – SKR
Mangalam ? (I had to leave then)

I knew I was in for a "different" Sikkil Gurucharan experience, when he began a neraval @ krpa joodu at the end of the sahAna varnam.

Sikkil's music just seemed to flow today, with the kind of grace, speed and power that I haven't seen in his recent performances over the last few years. I feel like he let go of some inhibitions and sang with an unusual burst of creativity today.

Perhaps it was the stellar accompaniment. Sanjeev was outstanding, not only in sweetness of tone but also in his fastidious attentiveness to the music in perfect complement to a very ebullient Gurucharan. And with the explosive pakka vAdhyam of Patri, the concert was supremely entertaining.

Gurucharan's swarams seemed to be landing in just the right spot. While his brighas seemed spontaneous and joyful, his kriti renditiion powerful and absorbing. His treatment of nAsikabhushani (nAsAmani, with the special prayOgam srgs) had the fluidity of an acrobat, with perfect volleys from sr, sg, sm, sp, sn landing at the distant end note with precision each time. Sanjeev's return alapanai was excellent.

I was delighted to listen to sri rama saraswati, which I haven't heard treated with as much due diligence, since Maharajapuram Santhanam in the 70s and 80s.

The Anai Ayya piece was a nice surprise and the dEsAdi talam provided an interesting change of pace. Patri's tani was spectacular. In fact, he brought his A+ game today. Every nook and cranny was filled with her enthusiasm and exuberance. He produces such a continuous sound! An activist mridangist like him brings out a different dimension in the vocalist. Perhaps Gurucharan's pace and punch today was inspired by Patri and in no trivial way.

The pallavi felt a bit rushed. A beautifully structured pallavi no less (I think we discussed this bilahari pallavi by TRS some years ago). I felt that there were some approximations in the trikalam that didn't feel right to me. However, the pallavi's aesthetics were intact.

I will remember this concert for a long while. The whole team was quite spectacular. Gurucharan's unhibited vocals, Sanjeev's superb tone and melody and Patri's busy fingers kept me suitably occupied.

The first concert of the 2016 season here in the Bay Area! I hope this is a harbinger of things to come.

[rajeshnat]

mahavishnu
How long was this concert??? 3 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes is my guess.That is why you have a rushed pallavi? I like the way you have described Patri.

Best wishes for the lovely team.

[mahavishnu]

Yes, Rajesh. The concert was exactly the length you guessed it was.
I believe Gurucharan's e-label "sraavyam" might be releasing this concert for sale online.

[thanjavooran]

Shri Mahavishnu,
Thanx for the excellent review. A very good song list. Expect more reviews. Normally those who visit perform for more duration exceeding 4 hrs reminding Madurai Somu.
With wishes,
Thanjavooran
01 03 2016

[arasi]

Mahavishnu,
A remarkable concert it turned out to be, it seems.

And to get a review from you is a treat

Patri can really make a concert move along merrily and no wonder, Gurucharan was inspired to sing the way he did. Sanjeev seems to have been a big plus too.

Look forward to more of your reviews

[mahavishnu]

Thank you Thanjavooran & Arasi.

[rajeshnat]

...
tillAna – dwijAvanti – SKR
Mangalam ? (I had to leave then)

Hmmm even the brain scientist is restless where he cannot extend another minute to hear the mangalam . Only the celestial mahavishnu has to help

[grsastrigal]

If you observe SGC, he always sings tillAna in all his concerts. Andavan darisanamE was once sung by T R Magalingam. It was awesome.

[rshankar]

Ramesh - awesome review! The MMU concert of Sri Gurucharan had the same accompanying artists - I looked it up after your review to get an idea of what it must have been like - must have been great, and your review made me live through it vicariously....thank you!

[teamsraavyam]

A recording of this concert is available for purchase at

http://bit.ly/1pqDhOI