Home » Stories » Anoushka Shankar - Love Letters nominated For 2021 GRAMMY as 'Best Global Music Album' / REPUBLICWORLD.COM

Stories for January 26, 2021

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    The pandemic forced touring musician Robin Spielberg to reinvent how she plies her trade / York Daily Record
     
    Posted At : January 26, 2021 7:22 AM

    York Daily Record - Mike Argento writes......Robin Spielberg was looking forward to a good 2020. The pianist and composer was working on her 19th record and had a tour scheduled with legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb, who penned such iconic songs as "By the Time I Get to Pheonix," "Galveston," "Wichita Lineman," "Up, Up and Away" and countless other timeless tunes.  She had toured with Webb before – her husband, producer and talent agent Larry Kosson represents Webb, among other artists – and it was always a great time. "I'm Jimmy's driver, shoe-shiner, everything," Spielberg said. "I always joke with him in the car, telling him, ‘You're an icon." And he would say, ‘Say that one more time and I'll slap you in the face.' So then, I'd have to say it over and over again."  She was also eager to get back on the road to promote her new record, "Love Story," released Feb. 7, her 19th record and first to be pressed on vinyl - bright red vinyl at that.   They played one date of the 20-city tour and were scheduled to play in her adopted home, York County, on March 28. Then the pandemic began.  And everything changed.  READ THE FULL York Daily Record ARTICLE

  • Cho Seong-jin to premiere unheard piece by Mozart, in Salzburg, on composer's 265th birthday / The Korea Times
     
    Posted At : January 25, 2021 3:20 PM

    The Korea Times - Kwon Mee-yoo writes.....Pianist Cho Seong-jin will premiere an unheard piece by Mozart in Salzburg on the occasion of the classical composer's 265th birthday. Cho will play Mozart's "Allegro in D K626b/16" at the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation, Wednesday, which mark's the Austrian composer's birthday as well as the opening date of the first-ever virtual edition of Mozartwoche, or Mozart Week, festival. "It is a great honor to be invited to give the premiere of a formerly unknown work by Mozart in the city of Salzburg, where the composer was born," Cho wrote on his Twitter, Friday. READ THE FULL Korea Times ARTICLE

  • Jon Batiste lindy hops his way through 'I Need You' / boingboing
     
    Posted At : January 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    Multi Grammy & Emmy nominated recording artist, TV star and activist Jon Batiste announces a new single "I Need You" from his forthcoming ‘black pop' album WE ARE. The album is set for worldwide release on March 19 (Verve Records). On "I Need You" Batiste showcases his vocal range, accompanied by his once-in-a-generation musicianship. Produced and written in collaboration with songwriter Autumn Rowe and producer Kizzo, the song is communal and deceptively sophisticated. It fuses the sound of early 20th century black social music, with modern pop production and a hint of hip-hop storytelling. He expertly alternates between belting high notes in full voice, to singing harmony with himself on the choruses, to delivering the verses in a ‘farm rap' style. Batiste then dives into two killer instrumental breaks on both piano and saxophone - all in less than 3 minutes. Says Batiste, "This song is a vibe cleanse. After 2020, this is like a warm hug," says Batiste. "Let's bring the vibes back!" Watch Batiste Lindy Hop his way through new single on the attached video. About the video, boingboing's GARETH BRANWYN  writes.... "Jon Batiste everybody." One of the upsides of COVID-19 isolation has been getting to know Stephen Colbert and his musical director, Jon Batiste, a lot better. During the Trump Virus shit-show, Jon has been a little nightly dose of heartfelt music and unwavering positivity. In this video, the single to his forthcoming record, We Are, a group of Lindy Hoppers in a gallery photograph come to life and dance with him and another female patron. Sadly, upon seeing this, my first thought was: Where are their masks? SEE THE boingboing PAGE & WATCH THE VIDEO

  • The 48 minutes of William Susman's 'A Quiet Madness' offer more than their fair share of listening rewards / textura
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    textura writes.....A Quiet Madness is somewhat of a curious title for William Susman's latest release. The composer's music is seldom hushed, and neither is it deranged-not that there's any suggestion the title should be taken literally anyway.  The influence of classical minimalism on Susman's melodious music is undeniable, but he uses it as a foundation upon which to construct his own distinctive edifice. These settings enchant as they wend their way through different instrumental groupings, from the violin-and-piano serenity of the opening Aria on through the wholly transporting Seven Scenes for Four Flutes and beyond. Though its material was written between 2006 and 2013 and recorded on two continents, a cohesive impression forms due to the through-line of the composer's voice and the smart sequencing. By distributing three parts of the solo piano work Quiet Rhythms in amongst the other pieces, the album conveys a unified character capable of accommodating dramatic contrasts between the earthy and the ethereal. For now, the forty-eight minutes of A Quiet Madness offer more than their fair share of listening rewards as a representative sampling of his artistry. READ THE FULL textura REVIEW

  • 'We can't have a New York City without Birdland' / PIX11
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    Iconic NYC jazz club rallies to stay open amid pandemic. WPIX11's Magee Hickey writes....Like so many jazz clubs and music venues across the city, 'Birdland' has been shuttered on West 44th Street since the pandemic began last March, except for a brief reopening last month. What better way to open the Save Birdland fundraiser than hearing the legendary Catherine Russell sing its anthem: the lullaby of Birdland. Birdland, the jazz corner of the world, has been around for longer than most of us can remember. It first opened in 1949 on 52nd Street with big names, including Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. They performed regularly with Billy Taylor as the house pianist. Owner Gianni Valenti feared would have to close permanently until producer Tom D'Angora held a successful fundraising telethon to save the West Bank Café on Christmas Day. "After a very successful West Bank Café campaign, some of my friends said 'can you do the same for Birdland,'" D'Angira told PIX11 News. "Birdland can't close. We can't have a New York without Birdland. That's impossible." READ THE FULL PIX11 ARTICLE

  • Vikingur Olafsson - Philip Glass: Piano Works. Simplicity that is almost majestic / The Guardian
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    For Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson's debut album on Deutsche Grammophon, he is performing selections of Philip Glass's Piano Etudes. Ólafsson's fascination with reinterpreting the Piano Etudes grew as he toured and performed the works with Glass himself. Released for the composer's 80th birthday, the pianist says; "On the surface, they seem to be filled with repetitions. But the more one plays and thinks about them, the more their narratives seem to travel along in a spiral," he explains. "My approach to each of the etudes is to enable the listener to create his or her own personal space of reflection." The Guardian's Killian Fox writes.....We got this as a Christmas present from my father-in-law, who's a pianist and musicologist, and I think it's one of his favourite records. Ólafsson is an Icelandic pianist and here he's playing works by Philip Glass, for whom repetition is a big thing. The album has a simplicity that for me becomes almost majestic in the end. It's so precise and so clear – it feels almost mathematical but also very soulful. You listen to it for a little while and new details keep emerging. I've been playing it all the time since we got it.    Photograph: Antonio Olmos SEE The Guardian PAGE

  • Amid the pandemic, NY's 'Ashokan Center' extends its virtual reach / The Daily Freeman
     
    Posted At : January 24, 2021 12:00 AM

    The Daily Freeman's Diane Pineiro-Zucker writes......The Ashokan Center has always focused on hands-on outdoor education and the environment, so when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early March, 2020, it immediately became clear that things were about to change drastically, said Jay Ungar, the center's president and chief executive officer. The Ashokan Center, at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge, has served about 5,000 schoolchildren annually during academic years since 1967 and has offered on-site dance camps for adults and families each spring and summer since 1980. But it saw enrollment drop and then disappear as the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing made it difficult if not impossible to continue business as usual. "We leapt into the world of what's now called virtual programming," Ungar said. "I rebel against that word because virtual reality is not real, but online programming is real. It's the real thing, only it's online." COVID "has been devastating to many non-profits and commercial businesses and small businesses. It's rewriting the world as we know it," Ungar said. "Who knows what the world will be like when we reach whatever the next step is? But for this particular organization, the Ashokan Center, while it's been a struggle and it's been difficult, it has opened possibilities that we never thought of before. "So, our world is going to continue to include some of this virtual programming in the future and we never would have embarked on it if we hadn't essentially been forced." READ THE FULL Daily Freeman ARTICLE

Top 10 for Jan

  • Jon Batiste :

    'I Need You' from 'We Are'

     Multi Grammy & Emmy nominated recording artist, TV star and activist Jon Batiste announces a new single "I Need You" from his forthcoming ‘black pop' album WE ARE.
  • SIGNUM saxophone quartet :

    Echoes

     An ensemble that attracts rave reviews and sell-out crowds at prestigious venues everywhere from Vienna to New York, the sensational SIGNUM saxophone quartet are now set to present their first Deutsche Grammophon album.
  • The Album Leaf :

    SYNCHRONIC - OMPS

     Milan Records announces the release of SYNCHRONIC (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by The Album Leaf.
  • Shai Maestro :

    Human

     In its review of pianist Shai Maestro's leader debut, The Dream Thief, All About Jazz spoke of "a searching lyrical atmosphere, emotional eloquence and communal virtuosity that serves the music.
  • Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel :

    Light for the World

     More than 800 years since they were founded, the Poor Clare Sisters of Arundel – a community of 23 nuns living in the south of England – have found themselves unexpected recording stars.
  • Ilan Eshkeri :

    A Perfect Planet

     Sony Music today announces the January 8, 2021 release of A PERFECT PLANET (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) with music by composer ILAN ESHKERI (Stardust, The Young Victoria).
  • Jane Ira Bloom, Mark Helias :

    Some Kind of Tomorrow

     Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias come together to create duets discovered in the moment in a way that is rarely heard today with Some Kind of Tomorrow.
  • Catalyst Quartet :

    Uncovered Vol. 1 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

     On Friday, February 5, 2021, GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 1 on Azica Records.
  • Laila Biali :

    A Case of You - LIVE

     SOCAN Music and JUNO Award winner Laila Biali shares an intimate acoustic cover of Joni Mitchell's classic love song, A Case of You, captured live off the floor at Revolution Recording Studios.
  • Max Richter :

    Beethoven - Opus 2020

     Max Richter and Deutsche Grammophon are set to release a brand-new orchestral composition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birthday.

Anoushka Shankar - Love Letters nominated For 2021 GRAMMY as 'Best Global Music Album' / REPUBLICWORLD.COM

Posted: November 27, 2020 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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Sitar Master and San Dieguito Academy alum Anoushka Shankar has been nominated for Best Global Music Album category during Grammy 2021 nominations. As a surprise to fans, the Recording Academy recently announced the nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards on 24 November 2020. The nominations were announced in a live stream on Tuesday. Beyoncé is leading the 2021. Shankar has also been nominated for Best Global Music Album category, previously recognised as Best World Music Album.

The daughter of late Indian music legend Ravi Shankar, she is nominated at the Grammy's 2021 for her six-song 2019 album, "Love Letters," which mixes Indian and Western classical traditions with state-of-the-art pop, Celtic music and more. It's also her first record, on which Anoushka sings, although with only one range. The singer also shares the nominations for the Best Global Music Album with Antibalas for the album Fu Chronicles, Burna Boy's album titled Twice As Tall, Bebel Gilberto for the album Agora and Tinariwen's Amadjar. The music award ceremony will be live-streamed on January 31 at 12:00 pm PT and 3:00 pm ET.

READ THE FULL REPUBLICWORLD.COM ARTICLE

Crossover Media Projects with Anoushka Shankar

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Love Letters - EP

    ‘Love Letters' marks a different direction for the internationally celebrated artist; it offers a shift in intimacy and content and comes at a pivotal time in her career as she signs to her new record label, Mercury KX. Hailed by the Guardian as a "virtuoso sitar player", Anoushka truly pushes the boundaries of how the instrument is heard and perceived and "uses it as a vehicle for creativity" (Times).

    Love Letters documents a time of profound flux for Anoushka: health issues, heartbreak, domestic upheaval – "These were difficult times, which pushed me into some very vulnerable places. I've written from a personal place before, of course, but there was something particularly tender about the process this time, and it was a creative challenge to be brave enough to allow the music to remain as raw as it began" she says.

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Land of Gold

    Land of Gold, Anoushka Shankar's fourth album for Deutsche Grammophon, is her heartfelt response to the trauma and injustice experienced by refugees and victims of war. Offering an uplifting message of hope for dark times, its music was inspired by recent news images of people fleeing civil war, oppression, poverty and unbearable hardship. The album contemplates the common thread of humanity and its power to reconnect people divided by hatred and fear. "The seeds of Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees," Anoushka recalls. "It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so."

    15 NEW  132 Total
    SYND:     Sing Out!!, Echoes, The World, Here&Now, CBC, worldbeatcanada
    Direct: SiriusXM, Stingray
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Seattle, St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Madison WI, Montreal, Vancouver
    Online: worldbeat canada, NewWorldBuzz, France 24, Jamtv, SoulandJazz, Global Roots & Culture, New World Buzz, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, The Eclectic Chair, straight.com, myvancity
     

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Home

    After several stunning experimental/crossover albums, including the Grammy®-nominated recordings Rise, Traveller and Traces Of You, Anoushka Shankar returns to her classical roots, paying homage to the teachings of her father and guru Ravi Shankar. Home features two ragas, one of which is a creation of Ravi Shankar's, and with them Anoushka shares an intimate, heartfelt live performance in the traditional style. Indian classical music is not written down, but has been improvised and passed down through an oral tradition for centuries; Home is a paradigm of this genre, exemplifying the unique dichotomy between the ancient structure and in-the-moment improvisations. Home is self-produced by Anoushka, and on it she strove to record the ancient instruments at an unprecedented, "high-definition" quality, working with a team of experts to design a studio in her own home that would be uniquely suited to the timbre of her instrument. 

    16 NEW  43 Total
    SYND:     NPR/Hears Of Space, UnderCurrents, Stingray
    Direct: SiriusXM, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Cleveland, Houston, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Rochester NY, Canada
    Online: Taintradio, M3

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Traces of You

    Inspired by the loss of her legendary father, Ravi Shankar, and by the idea that everything in the universe leaves an indelible mark on everything else, Anoushka Shankar releases her first Deutsche Grammophon recording: Traces of You. The work is a juxtaposition of sorrow surrounding the loss of her father during the recording process and the joy of raising her son, Zubin. Anoushka Shankar has been nominated for three Grammy® Awards, making her the first Indian female and youngest-ever nominee in the World Music category. As a classical sitarist her professional debut was at the age of thirteen and she has championed her father's orchestral works with the world's leading orchestras. Shankar will tour the U.S. in support of the album.

    24 NEW 'ON'  196 Total
    SYND:     NPR/ATC, PRI/Echoes, Acoustic Cafe, Global Village
    Direct: SiriusXM/Watercolors, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Seattle, Cleveland, Portland, St. Louis, Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, Austin, Albuquerque, Long Island NY, Toronto, Berkeley CA
    Online: GreenArrow, Spinnaker, New World Buzz, Taintradio, Live 365

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Breathing Under Water

    From the time that the great sitar maestro Ravi Shankar attuned Western ears to the eloquence of Indian Classical music, the world has been fertile ground for creating new fusions of culture and music. The evidence is heard in music from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin, as well as that of Anoushka Shankar and Karsh Kale. East meets West with the Anoushka Shankar, Karsh Kale collaboration on Breathing Under Water. The new CD on Manhattan records includes guest tracks by Sting, and Anoushka's sister Norah Jones

    2 New "ON" 116 "Total Stations/Shows"
    SYND:     NPR:Day To Day/PRI:The World, Sounds Eclectic & Echoes
    Direct: TV & Radio/ Undercurrents, XM:Upop, Worldspace:Upop, DMX:Groove Lounge(Zen)
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Baltimore(ADI), Kansas City, Portland, New Orleans, Austin, Orlando, Columbus OH, Albuquerque, Tucson, Madison WI, Knoxville TN

  • Anoushka Shankar

    Rise

    Sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar releases: Rise, her first studio recording in 5 years, and first release since 2001's Grammy-Nominated CD Live At Carnegie Hall.

    TIME Asia wrote: "Anoushka Shankar has made her sitar an instrument not just of a silky melody but of a cultural revival, injecting freshness and energy into traditional Indian music, and broadening its appeal for a younger generation."

    8 New "ADD's" this week: 103 Total Stations
    Syndicated includes:     The World
    Direct: XM
    Online: EVR, WPS1
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Seattle(ADI), Atlanta, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Austin, Berkeley CA, Santa Fe