Jayanthi Kumaresh @ Nadasurabhi on 21-8-2011

[kssr]

Dr.Jayanthi Kumaresh will give a veena recital at Koramangala, Bangalore, next Sunday.

Details are available in their website http://nadasurabhi.org

[arasi]

Good news! More VINA concerts everywhere, please!

[mahavishnu]

Amen to that.

[kssr]

Happy belated Independence Day greetings to all. Their invitation reads as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nadasurabhi Cultural Association, (Regd.)
662, 6th Cross, 17th Main , 3rd Block, Koramangala, Bangalore.560 034.
Phone: 25539368. Email:[email protected]. http://nadasurabhi.org

Cordially invites you for the Monthly Programme on
Sunday, 21st August 2011 at 4.15 PM

Venue: The Indian Heritage Academy Hall,
6th Block, Near Police Station, Koramangala, Bangalore. 560 095.

A Grand Veena Recital by
Kalaimamani
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh - Veena
Vidwan Tumkur B.Ravishankar - Mridangam
Vidwan Guruprasanna - Kanjira

All are Welcome.

• Dr.Jayanthi is a disciple of Veena Maestro Dr.S.Balachander. Also, her maternal uncle, the Violin Legend Lalgudi Sri. Jayaraman is a great influence and inspiration for her. It is therefore hardly surprising that Jayanthi is rated "The best and most versatile Veena artiste we have today.(Statesman)". Jayanthi started playing the Veena when she was barely 3. Winning her way through several laurels right from her childhood, Jayanthi was soon one of the youngest artistes in Veena to receive A-TOP grading from AIR. She has been awarded the prestigious title of Kalaimamani by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu. She has also been awarded a Doctorate in Music by the University of Mysore. She recently came out with an album called 'Mysterious Duality' in which for the first time one artiste and one instrument have created an orchestral effect. She has also released several CDs on similar special themes under all the leading music companies. She has performed extensively in India and many countries in Europe, USA and the Gulf.

• More on Nadasurabhi November 2011 Music Festival: This year the “Sangeetha Surabhi” annual award will be bestowed on Carnatic Music legend Padmashri Sangita Kalanidhi Sri.M.S.Gopalakrishnan. On 13th November 2011, after the felicitation function, Sri.Gopalakrishnan will present a violin concert.

[mohan]

• Dr.Jayanthi is a disciple of Veena Maestro Dr.S.Balachander. Also, her maternal uncle, the Violin Legend Lalgudi Sri. Jayaraman is a great influence and inspiration for her.

Dr Jayanthi is primarily a disciple of her aunt (Lalgudi) Padmavathy Anantagopalan.

[kssr]

Yes. I too saw it on her website. Also I saw in the Hindu that JK was making a huge orchestra presentation with CM and HM artists in Bangalore yesterday. Did anyone attend? Any views- reviews?

[S.Balaji]

Mrs. Jayanthi is the wife of Violin Maestro Shri R.Kumaresh ( brother of R.Ganesh ).

[gardabha_gana]

I have heard duets of Vidushi Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Vidushi Jayanthi - the first time was in mid 90s in the US.

[Nick H]

She is brilliant.

I have to confess that I was put off for a while by her fusion/etc stuff like including drum pads in performance. Then, after a long time, I saw her straight classical concert , and was delighted to have the chance to see her again in the same week. I am sad that I neglected her, and wish there were more opportunities to see her play.

[kssr]

There is an article about Jayanthi's HM/CM orchestra held at Gayana Samaja, Bangalore on Independence Day in The Hindu (I think), yesterday.

After listening to her programme in Naada Neeraajanam of TTD, I have been looking forward to her concert. Probably tomorrow is a good opportunity for Bangloreans.

[MV]

Good news! More VINA concerts everywhere, please!

I agree with you Arasi. New Zealand has seen violin concert by Lalgudi Siblings in March, Sikkil Mala on flute in May. We are now realy pleased to host Iyer Brothers from Melbourne on veena on September 10. Violin-venu-veena all in one year. Really thrilled...

[srikant1987]

We are now realy pleased to host Iyer Brothers from Melbourne on veena on September 10.

Very good!

Students of Trivandrum Sri R Venkataraman, the Iyer Brothers are a very good choice for a vINA concert.

[gardabha_gana]

Vid. Veenai Jayanthi Kumaresh
Vid. Tumkur Ravishankar
Vid. Guruprasanna

Gajananayutham - Chakravaham - Dikshitar - Adi (Sketch, S)
Bhavanutha - Mohanam - Tyagaraja - Adi (Sketch, S)
Santanagopala Krishnam - Kamas - Dikshitar - Rupakam (R, S)
Bagayanayya - Chandrajyothi - Tyagaraja - Adi (Sketch)
Balagopala - Bhairavi - Dikshitar - Adi (R)
Palvadiyum - Natakuranji - Oothakadu - Adi
RTP - Kalyani - Khanda Jathi Triputa
Sri Hari Nara Hari Mura Hari Krishna Hari Sachidananda Hari
Ragamalika in Bowli, Ananda Bhairavi, Valaji
Thani
Baro Krishnayya - Ragamalika - Kanaka Dasa - Adi
Enna Tavam - Kapi (Sketch)
Tillana - Varamu - Jayanthi Kumaresh - Adi
Pavamana - Sowrashtram

A very enjoyable and memorable concert on the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi. Details to follow.

[mahavishnu]

Nice list. There's the varamu tillAna that Sindhuja mentioned!

[Sindhuja]

Nice! Yes, that's the thillana
Would be nice to hear some details about the performance. I'm sure Bhavanuta would have been a treat. I had the good fortune of hearing her play that along with her mother at close quarters. Did she do her classic nadai bhedam at nardana muralidharam in Santhana gopala? And I think she played Gajananayutam at MA in Dec too.

[kssr]

It was indeed an amazing concert. Can say with reasonable confidence, that she is the best veena artist today (leaving Gayathri, of course). Other opinions are welcome.

a. Her capacity to keep playing miles and miles after just one pluck of the string (meettu) is unbelievable. I guess that there is a mechanism by which she gently plucks and plays with the left hand itself. Otherwise it is just incredible durations that she plays with one meettu. I have seen something like this with Dr.Balachandar but the way he will twist and turn his head and body will be a painful experience to the watcher! Jayanthi is absolutely charming without a doubt, when she employs all these expert techniques.

b. In the Enna Thavam seythanai, there is a place where "Kannanai uralil katti vaai poththee KENJA vaiththaai". Veena was made to actually beg during " Kenja ". How she could bring in the meaning while playing, i just cannot explain. I could understand the tamil sahitya and hence the appreciation. I am sure she would have brought out the Bhava in every composition.

I wish she gets the recognition and opportunity she so richly deserves. Kumaresh who was present also complained about the lack of opportunities for instrumentalists.

I think Baaro Krishnaiyya is by Kanakadasa.

[rajeshnat]

Kssr
bAro krishnayyA , the rAgamAliga in MAnd, kApi and Jonpuri is indeed by KanakadAsA. It was popularized by Smt MLV. I congragulate you and nAdasurabhi committee in providing oppurtunity in the sabha for this eminent vidushi, that too with the recent posting of JJ in the background.

[srikant1987]

It was indeed an amazing concert. Can say with reasonable confidence, that she is the best veena artist today (leaving Gayathri, of course). Other opinions are welcome.

(Please attach "Vid" to all names) I like Kalyani Ganesan, R Ramani, A Shankar Raman and Geeta Ramanand most (continue reading). I like the Iyer Brothers a lot too. And there are many KSN disciples ...

The loss of TRV & KS has hit the vINA world really hard, but there are still many, many vaiNikas of amazing vidwat and mastery with us.

[kssr]

Sorry! What is JJ?

[srikant1987]

JJ = veenajj = Jayashree* / Jayaraj, a vaiNika couple.

* Edited from Jayanthi :$ |(

[kssr]

Have any of the persons mentioned by you played in Bangalore in recent times? Staying here for so long has made me a frog in the well (you know what I mean, Kinatru thavaLai

[srikant1987]

kssr,

But you must have had some standards by which to say Vids Gayathri and Jayanthi are the best.

Sri A Shankar Raman isn't that well known, I think. He's a Karaikudi bani vidwan I happened to listen to in a chamber concert at BTM Layout (last Sep or Oct) and I never got to listen to him since either. Though I got to know he's Aishwarya Cienu's (MSS's great-granddaughter's) veena teacher from the "Bangalore Rasikas' Meet" thread.

Geetha Ramanand is also based in Bangalore. She comes often on radio I believe (I don't listen to much radio), and I got to attend this concert of hers last month.

[arasi]

True. They do not get as many chances to play as their merit deserves.I have heard that Karnataka's own vaiNika Prof. Visveswaran is someone one should listen to. I haven't been able to, so far.

kssr,
J &J are fellow Rasikas.org members. I just love to listen to them. I know it's impossible to keep up with the posts on a busy forum like ours and we miss many of them. Please go to General Discussions section and look for J&J's thread on the vINA.

[gardabha_gana]

Yeah - my bad - it is indeed by kanaka dasa and I knew it that's what happens when you do things in a hurry. rectified.
Amongst the current performing Vainikas I do enjoy in no particular order Vids. Jayanthi, Gayathri, Balakrishna(Vid. Doreswamy Iyengar's son and disciple), Srikanth Chary (California, USA, disciple of Lalgudi Sir), Ashwin Anand (Bangalore, disciple of Vid. Vedavalli).
Looking forward to hearing other vainikas that srikant mentioned.

[ranjanimalavi]

They do play lots of veena concerts on Amrithavarshini FM 100.1 between 6.45 AM. to 7.15 AM, and 8.30 AM to 9.30 AM everyday.
I feel its almost like alternate day there is a veena concert. Evening between 7.00pm and 8.00pm, there are lots of veena concerts.
Some of them are live concerts.

I didn't know Ashwin Anand was Vedavalli's disciple.
Once I heard his rendition of Dakshayani Abhayambike looked ditto of what Vedavalli has sung in Music Academy Concert.
His rendition was very good, Vedavalli's rendition was the best of this krithi I have listened to.

JJ played sometime back in indiranagar sangeethasabha.

Raman

[srikant1987]

I never got to listen to JJ live yet. The thing is, I'd seen them (on youtube) play the sunAdavinOdini and found them good to very good, but it's only recently that I saw a saraswatI vINA youtube of theirs, and realized they're actually excellent. :$ I'd like to see them play the saraswati vINA live ...

[kssr]

Srikant

My judgement is just based on my personal listening experience. It appears from the discussion here that I have not had enough of it anyway. There are of course many good vainikas who are totally dedicated to the art and they are the ones who keep the tradition going. We thank all of them. But the words mastery and excellence can be associated with just a few. eg: Putting Gayathri, Jayanthi and Balakrishna (whom I have heard on a few occasions) in the same basket, is unfair to the former two,IMHO.

I hope I will get an opportunity to listen to JJ, who seem to have an universal approval rating of AA+!!

[gardabha_gana]

Vid. Veenai Jayanthi (VJ) gave yet another splendid concert on the day/previous day/2 days previous to Krishna Jayanthi - depending on when you were celebrating! We are indeed lucky to have such a brilliant vainika amidst us in Bangalore. Every concert of hers is unique in itself. As expected many of the songs were on Lord Krishna - including Bala Gopala that I had requested. Many thanks to the vidushi for honoring my request. I wished the Kamas alapana did not end and neither did the bhairavi! She asked the audience to choose between Palvadiyum and Kuzhaloothi manamellam and Natakuranji was preferred over Kambodhi (though many in the audience including me wanted both)! It was nice to hear a major raga RTP, the previous RTPs of hers that I have heard in Bangalore were behag and hamsanandi. The pallavi had rhythmic intricacies that I hope to appreciate some day Tani was well appreciated by the audience and the post tani pieces included the varamu tillana that was her own composition.

VJ connects very well with the audience and keeps us engaged from the beginning to the end. I have enjoyed every concert of hers and try not miss any of them! I also would like to thank her for honoring audience requests. The way she keeps the sound w/ a strum going is absolutely amazing. No words to describe her gamakams on the veena.

I would like to thank Vid. Kumaresh for cutting off the speakers and have the speaker from the contact mike (mixing up jargon here) directly relay the sound of the veena. It sounded more natural. Also at then end Vids. Kumaresh & Jayanthi offered to sponsor a instrumentalist during Nadasurabhi yearly festival every year noticing the lack of enough instrumentalists featured - which found a lot of resonance and appreciation. I personally was very thrilled to see a full hall especially looking at the other thread. I would like to applaud Nadasurabhi for featuring her - and hope to hear more veena concerts in Bangalore.

[gardabha_gana]

Also, Rasikas - let us not get into the business of ranking or grading vainikas. I am sure that all of us enjoy different aspects of every vainika and every bani - and - everyone(including me) enjoy some more than the others. Let us be respectful to the practitioners of this divine instrument. Note that this is NOT directed at any forumite in particular.

[rshankar]

I think that the musical lineage of the descendants of Sri Gopal Iyer (Sri LGJ, his siblings, and all of their children and grandchildren) is truly incredible - reminds me of the musical (family) tree of someone like Smt. Dhanammal! While their individual contributions are great, collectively, as a family, their service to carnAtic music is incredibly outstanding!

[kssr]

Also, Rasikas - let us not get into the business of ranking or grading vainikas. I am sure that all of us enjoy different aspects of every vainika and every bani .

Point absolutely well taken. Very very true statement. Artists spend a lifetime specialising in cultivating a particular bani. It is totally childish to say A is good and B not so good, etc., The delight of listening to some brilliant concert like JK's blinds one temporarily.