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About
Electric double violin & vocals / tabla
L. Shankar is the groundbreaking Indian classical, pop and jazz violinist and vocalist, and co-founder of the legendary jazz ensemble Shakti. Joining Shankar is Amit Kavthekar on tabla.
L. Shankar (Shenkar) is widely considered a living legend, a pioneer and a musical genius by his peers. 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. He has sold over 100 million albums and earned international acclaim through his solo projects and collaborations with 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 recorded with jazz musicians such as Archie Shepp and Clifford Thornton. In 1973 Shankar and jazz guitarist John McLaughlin co-founded Shakti, with Ramnad Raghavan and a young Zakir Hussain; Ghatam player Vikku Vinayakram later replaced Raghavan for their first world tour. Their pioneering collaborations are considered early foundations of “World Music” or “Global Jazz.”
In the 1980s, Shankar specially created a 10-string, double-neck electric violin capable of covering the full range from violin to double bass. His unique playing style led to recordings and touring collaborations with pop and rock artists including Peter Gabriel, Frank Zappa, Lou Reed and Stewart Copeland. His violin work appears on songs such as “In The Air Tonight” (Phil Collins), “Rise” (Public Image Ltd.), “Making Flippy Flappy” (Talking Heads) and many songs by Peter Gabriel. He also co-wrote the Grammy-nominated soundtrack Passion for the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ with Gabriel.
Beyond film, pop and jazz, Shankar has continued to expand international audiences for Indian classical music, often combining Hindustani and Carnatic styles. He has released numerous albums, including seven full-length albums on the ECM label. In 2024 he released two world music albums: Over The Stars (August), with Vikku Vinyakram, 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.