DCist Preview: Kadri Gopalnath @ CSPAC
From The Beatles and Ravi Shankar, to John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, to Mickey Hart's collaborations with Zakir Hussain, South Asian classical music has long influenced western musicians. In recent times, the reverse is also true, what with hip-hop loops underpinning the latest bhangra and Bollywood grooves. But this West to East influence was less prevalent in the mid-60s, especially in the more traditional parts of South India, where a young Kadri Gopalnath had a life changing encounter.
"I was 15, on a school trip to the Mysore Palace," Gopalnath recalled. "The palace band played once a week to tourists, and I saw a gentleman with a saxophone."
Gopalnath, who will be playing on Sunday at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, came from a musical family, and had become a proficient Carnatic musician under his parents' tutelage, as a vocalist and playing the nadaswaram. After seeing the palace band, he sought out a saxophone of his own, which at the time was no simple feat. Still, he was mesmerized by the instrument's sound.
"Most carnatic instruments are a more like a female voice," Gopalnath said, referring to the register in which Carnatic instruments are played. "[The saxophone] is more like a male voice."
Without access to a teacher, but having learned music from his parents, Gopalnath, or Kadri Sir as he is known in Carnatic circles, spent the next several years teaching himself how to find the proper notes on the saxophone. He spent the better part of the next 20 years training under master classical musicians, and adapting that ancient knowledge to this relatively modern instrument. Over this period, he became a reputed Carnatic musician.
Gopalnath's breakout performance was at a 1980 music festival in Bombay (now Mumbai), where he collaborated with John Handy, a saxophonist from California. The two were able to communicate musically, despite different backgrounds, and the performance was a hit with the audience. Since then, Gopalnath has received invitations to perform at international jazz festivals, and collaborate with musicians from around the world. But even in these foreign contexts, he stays true to his roots.
"I play western music and fusion music, but I just play my Carnatic music to those situations," he said.
As a result of his accomplishments, the Indian government gave Gopalnath the title of Padma Shri, one of the country's highest civilian honors.
Sunday's concert will be strictly traditional music, where Gopalnath will have violin and mridangam accompaniment. But Gopalnath believes his music, because it is instrumental, will appeal to those who are not familiar with his classical tradition.
"There is no question of language or meaning," he explained. "This music is only melody. The people can just close their eyes and enjoy the melody."
Gopalnath also goes out of his way to connect with his audience, either by taking requests, which he does with more knowledgeable crowds, or by playing material that he knows will reach the uninitiated.
"They are spending their golden time, it's valuable," he said. "Music is universal. They should leave happy and relaxed."
Kadri Gopalnath will perform at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Dekelboum Concert Hall on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $100.