The Egg Presents: L. Shankar feat. Selvaganesh Vinayakram & Amit Kavthekar

Electric double violin & vocals / kanjira & mridangam / tabla

L. Shankar, the groundbreaking Indian classical, pop and jazz violinist and vocalist and co-founder of the legendary jazz ensemble Shakti, performs with a duo of Indian percussionists: Swaminathan Selvaganesh (kanjira & mridangam) and Amit Kavthekar (tabla).

L. Shankar (Shenkar) is widely considered a living legend, a pioneer and a musical genius by his peers who hold him in the highest esteem. As a prolific international touring artist, he has released 28 solo albums and has worked on soundtracks for award-winning films, documentaries and TV series. With a career spanning decades, Shankar has sold over 100 million albums and has earned international acclaim through his award-winning solo projects and collaborations with industry icons and esteemed musicians worldwide.

Since playing his first solo concert at the age of seven, Shankar accompanied many of South India’s leading vocalists and became a major soloist of Indian classical music. In the 1970s, after arriving in the USA, he played and recorded with jazz musicians such as Archie Shepp and Clifford Thornton. In 1973 Shankar and jazz guitarist John McLaughlin co-founded Shakti and wrote all of their music together. The group included Shankar’s uncle and percussionist Ramnad Raghavan and a young Zakir Hussain; ghatam player Vikku Vinayakram later replaced Raghavan for their first world tour and subsequent albums.

In the 1980s Shankar specially created a 10-string, double-neck electric violin capable of covering the whole range of the orchestra’s string section from violin to double bass. His unique playing style led to many recordings and touring collaborations with pop and rock artists such as Peter Gabriel, Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, and Stewart Copeland. His violin work is featured on songs including "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, "Rise" by Public Image Limited, and "Making Flippy Flappy" by Talking Heads. Shankar also co-wrote the Grammy-nominated soundtrack Passion for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ with Peter Gabriel and has worked on many other award-winning film and TV soundtracks and scores.

Outside film, pop, rock and jazz, Shankar has continued to expand international audiences for Indian classical music, often combining North Indian (Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) styles. He has released over 25 albums to date, including seven full-length albums on the ECM record label. In 2024 he released two world music albums: Over The Stars (August), with fellow past Shakti member Vikku Vinayakram along with V. Selvaganesh and Swaminathan Selvaganesh; and Full Moon (September), with tabla player Abhijit Banerjee, which reached #3 on the World Music Charts Europe.

This show is part of The Egg’s Resonance Series, curated by Arun Ramamurthy.

• L. Shankar — electric double violin & vocals
• Swaminathan Selvaganesh — kanjira & mridangam
• Amit Kavthekar — tabla