narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Obituary/ Chuck Mangione (1940-2025) Genre : Smooth jazz I remember the first time I heard Chuck Mangione. The year was 1983, and I was 19. I visited my regular record store in Greater Kailash 1, New Delhi, to check out some pop or rock records. An instrumental tune was playing on the speakers and I asked the owner who it was. He took out the record sleeve and told me it was 'Stepping Out' from the album Love Notes by Chuck Mangione, who played a flugelhorn which is from the trumpet family. This incident came back to mind on hearing of 84-year-old Mangione's death on July 22. My favourite tunes 'Feels So Good', 'Memories Of Scirocco', 'Children Of Sanchez' and 'Land Of Make Believe' came back to mind, and I played them on Spotify after hearing the news. I remember that introduction to Mangione's music very clearly. "What kind of music is this called?" I had asked - I must have heard the word 'genre' a...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Kaushiki Chakraborty & Shantanu Moitra/ Pankh Genre : Indie Label : Blue Dot Rating : ***** Just a week ago, singer Kaushiki Chakraborty and music director Shantanu Moitra had dazzled the audience at Mumbai's Royal Opera House at the launch concert of their album Pankh . The same night, the six-part web series describing the six songs was put up on YouTube. While we've known Kaushiki as one of the leading Hindustani classical vocalists of her generation, Pankh sees her taking a virtual flight in a different direction. Though she has done songs like 'Lagi Lagi' on Coke Studio 2012 and 'Bhagirathi' in the 2022 series Songs Of The River: Ganga with Shantanu earlier, this is a complete set of wonderfully created songs by the duo. She had earlier done the album Karvaan in 2015, but Pankh has a totally different approach in terms of content and style. A good chunk of it draws from personal experiences. As an album, Pankh moves almost like ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Rohit Kulkarni/ The Soldier  Label: Self-released Rating: **** After making his mark with the tribute band Think Floyd, singer-guitarist Rohit Kulkarni has released some wonderful solo tracks, including those on the 2020 album The Boy Who Dreamed . His latest single 'The Soldier' talks of war and struggle. The lines begin, "The dimming of the day has begun, the dimming of the soul has begun; the dimming of the light that once shone so bright is fading into the falling night." The video, by Shrimukta Sahoo, Pallavi Batra and Rohit, alternate war action shots with images of the singer. Rohit has a clear and resonant voice, and the subtle guitars perfectly enhance the backdrop. This time, he doesn't use a lead guitar solo, but that's an interesting change.  Srija/ Do I Know Label: One Little Independent Records Rating: *** Two months ago, Delhi electronica artiste Sijya put out 'Tabla', the first single from her forthcoming EP Leather ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Surel & Lyla/ If I Die Today Label: Malo Rating: *** 1/2 After releasing the song 'Pomegranate Lips' late last year, singer-lyricist Lyla and composer Surel Ingale are back with 'If I Die Today'. Helped by a brass-heavy sound and lush keyboards, the song has a raw jazz vibe. Lyla sings, "If I die today, will the sun still rise, will the music still play, will the moon still shine?" The video by Akshita Agarwal begins with streetside and market shots, before going to seaside rocks. Mihir Patel's cinematography brings out the song's mood well. It's a tune thar impresses with its raw nature. Nida with Derric D'Souza/ Glimpses Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 On her new song 'Glimpses', Pune singer-songwriter Nida Siddiqui begins, "I almost parked my bike next to yours, I almost stopped to say I could not have been here if it wasn't for you". The title track of her forthcoming EP Glimpses , the song...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  SOI Chamber Orchestra & Friends From Scandinavia  Conductor : Maria Badstue, feat. piano soloist Soren Rastogi Programme : Nielsen, Ingeberg, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius Genre : Western classical  Details : Tata Theatre, NCPA, June 27 Rating : **** (Pic taken by blogger) Mumbai's western classical lovers will be looking forward to the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Autumn 2025 Season, scheduled from August 12 to 26 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). American Andrew Litton and Britisher Martyn Brabbins will wield the baton. Almost as a prequel, the city witnessed two western classical concerts at the NCPA. On June 24, a Brass Ensemble comprising musicians from academies in Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark, were conducted by Niels Ole Bo-Johansen. I couldn't attend the Experimental Theatre event which featured the compositions of Carl Nielsen of Denmark, Jean Sibelius of Finland and Henri Tomase of France, among others, but received s...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Van Morrison/ Remembering Now Genre: Rock/ eclectic Label: Exile Productions Rating: ***** How does one describe the genius of a man who's been on the scene for 57 years, and yet sounds so inspired and kingly on his 47th studio album? Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Van Morrison may not be spoken of in the same vein as some of his  contemporaries, but talk of longevity and quality, and he's very much up there. It may be argued that his latest album Remembering Now comes after a few insipid records containing cover versions or remakes of his own songs, not to talk of the controversy his statements on vaccination attracted during lockdown. But the heartening thing is he's back in form, writing 14 originals that carry the Van glory stamp from yesteryear. Okay, there's no point comparing it to Astral Weeks, Moondance and Veedon Fleece , three of the best records he created early in his career. But it's definitely in the vicinit...