Subroto Roy Chowdhury Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar, Manikrao Popatkar tabla, Patricia Martin tanpura	Serenity	CD jp 1017
Subroto Roy Chowdhury & Steve Lacy Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar, Steve Lacy ss, Shibsankar Ray tabla, Patricia Martin tanpura	Explorations	CD jp 1020
Subroto Roy Chowdhury Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar, Patricia Martin tanpura	Meditation Raga	CD jp 1022
Subroto Roy Chowdhury Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar, Asit Pal tabla, Patricia Martin tanpura	Morning Raga, Raga Ahir Bhairav	CD jp 1033
Subroto Roy Chowdhury Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar, Saibal Chatterjee tabla, Uma Roy Chowdhury tanpura	The Indian Sunset	CD jp 1051
Asit Pal Asit Pal tabla	Rhythmically yours	CD jp 1038

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Subroto Roy Chowdhury - Serenity Gurjari Todi, Raga Desh, Mishra Bhairavi  - CD jp 1017
 
Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar
Manikrao Popatkar tabla
Patricia Martin tanpura

Subroto Roy Chowdhury ist ein sehr ausdrucksvoller Musiker und ein Künstler großen Kalibers. Berühmt ist er aufgrund seines nach dem Dhrupad-Stils ausgericheten Klassizismus wie auch aufgrund seines Modernismus, der sich sowohl in seiner Musik wie auch in seinen Tätigkeiten beim indischen Rundfunk und Film sowie beim westlichen Jazz und Theater niederschlägt.
Eine klassische Aufnahme, wunderschön vor allem durch den Raga Gurjari Todi und durch ein sehr originelles Tabla-Solo von Manikrao Popatkar.
(Telerama, Alain Swietlik, Paris)

–    Serenity    –    a cloudless sky, unruffled waters, calmness of mind, absence of passion, harmony of man
and universe, nobleness, purity, wisdom, peace...   serenity.
This soft and harmonious sounding word that may apply to atmospheric conditions, to landscape, to human thoughts and behaviour, to justice, to a monarch, also seem to have been created to describe this recording.Out of serenity, with serenity, for our serenity, the music quietly unfolds, progressively disclosing its richness and beauty without ostentation. Even in the faster parts, no haste, no brusqueness disturbs the peaceful atmosphere built up by Subroto Roy Chowdhury and Manikrao Popatkar.
Prof. Subroto Roy Chowdhury is one of the leading sitar players of India today. Groomed in the purest senia tradition, he follows the classical dhrupadic raga structure fast dying out even in India. He is considered the most progressive among traditionalists for his associates in a logical synthesis ancient and modern musical expressions without in anyway diluting the former. His improvisations are celebrated for their melodic beauty and the harmonious blend of classical and folk music, highlighted by his both intellectual and emotional approach to the sitar.

Subroto Roy Chowdhury, der Sitarspieler, hat viel geleistet, um die indische Musik im Ausland populär zu machen. Seine in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland produzierte neueste Aufnahme beweist dies. Die Platte "Serenity" enthält hervorrangede Stücke in den Ragas Gurjari Todi, Desh undd Bhairavi Dhun. Der "ragdari" ist gut und schließt ausgezeichnete Demonstrationen der traditionellen Sitartechnik ein. Sein Spiel ist subtil und kompakt.
Manikrao Popatkar, der ihm mit seinem beruhigenden und zurückhaltenden tabla theka begleitet, zeigt auch seine Fähigkeiten in dem auf der Platte enthaltenen Solostück.
(The Statesman, Anindya Banerjee, Kalkutta)

Subroto Roy Chowdhury & Steve Lacy - Explorations - CD jp 1020 india classics

Titles Saxagora, Spontaneity, Explorations

Subroto Roy Chowdhury sitar
Steve Lacy soprano sax
Shibsankar Ray tabla
Patricia Martin tanpura

Steve Lacy multipliziert die gewagtesten Leistungen und Wetten mit der Jubelfreude eines turbulenten Schelmes. Auch wenn das Zusammenkommen zwischen indischer Musik und Jazz kein echt neues Phönomen ist, ist diese Platte nichtsdestoweniger ein gelungenes Beispiel eines schönen Kulturaustausches. Jedoch leibt "Spontaneity" (auf welcher Lacy nicht erscheint) das stärkste und intensivste Stück, wie ein Hauch frischer Luft, eine wohltuende, beruigene Brise inmitten eines Flusses modaler Variationen. Diese Aufnahme gibt uns die Gelegenheit, den großen Subroto Roy Chowdhury zu entdecken, einen lebhaften und profunden Instrumentalisten, der jede Note ausdenkt, bevor er sie uns schenkt
(Jazz Hot, Paris, Noel Balen)

Die Aufnahme enthält eine direkte interkulturelle Begegnung. Auf dem west-östlichen Diwan ließen sich der jazzberühmte Sopransaxophonist Steve Lacy und der Sitarmeister Subroto Roy Chowdhury aus Kalkutta nebst Tabla- und Tanpurabegleitung zum gemeinsanen Spiel nieder. Keine Fusion, eher eine Begegnung mit dem Wissen um die Werte des Partners, ein musikalischer Gefühlsaustausch auf improvisatorischer Basis, eine Annäherung auf der unmittelbaren Ebene des direkten Miteinanders ohne hochtrabende Fusionsbemühungen, die vor strengen Ohren doch nicht eingelöst werden (können). Lacy und Chowdhury lassen sich auf all die momentanen Risiken ein, die mit der spontanen Spieleise verbunden sind: Genau das verfolgen zu können, macht den Wert der Platte aus. Der Hörer findet dennoch Gelegenheit sich einzustimmen: Dem gemeinsamen "Explorations" gehen solistische Beiträge beider Künstler zur funktionelle Tabla- und Tanpurabegleitung voraus.
(Michael Thiem)

Subroto Roy Chowdhury - Meditation Raga Sitar soli in Kaushiki Kanara - CD jp 1022 india classics

Subroto Roy Chowdhury Sitar
Patricia Martin Tamboura

Alap           
in Kaushiki Kanara
Jor, Jhala           
in Kaushiki Kanara

Der Sitar von Subroto Roy Chowdhury scheint die Stille und die Zeit zu meißeln. Aus immateriellen Materialien, aus nicht fühlbaren Elementen, modelliert der Musiker einen Gegenstand ohne physische Substanz, der jedoch unseren Geist, unser Herz anspricht, weil er aus dem gleichen Stoff ist, aus welchem unsere Gedanken und unsere Gefühle gebildet sind. Objekt und Seele sind miteinander verschmolzen, wie Hegel sagen würde. Anstelle uns aber in den Schlaf zu wiegen, rüttelt seine Musik unser Gehirn auf, zwingt uns ihren strukturierten und komplexen Mäandern zu folgen, weckt all unsere Sinne, denn jede einzelne ihrer Noten ist mit einer beschwörenden Fracht beladen. Jede Notenkombi-nation, jedes Zupfen und Ziehen der Saiten, jede Vibration, jedes tonale und zeitliche Intervall, obwohl sich streng an den von der Tradition auferlegten grammatikalischen Regeln haltend, überrascht und rührt uns zugleich.
Subroto Roy Chowdhury schlägt weder die Zeit tot noch will er unterhalten. Er zwingt uns zum Konzentrieren. Der in der Meditation gebrauchten geistigen Konzen-tration sehr nah, wird diese Musik durch ihren nötigenden Charakter und höchst wahrscheinlich durch die starke Konzentration, die der Musiker selber während des Improvisieren erfährt, jene, die darauf vorbereitet sind, sehr nah zu einigen der Ziele führen, die die Meditation anstrebt, d.h. eine erleuchtete Denkweise, Serenität und das Fehlen von materiellen Wünschen. Was jedoch diese Musik von den manchmal verleidenden Übungen und Ergebnissen der Meditation unterscheidet, ist ihre Schönheit. Die Sanftheit der Noten, die Eleganz der Notenkombinationen, die Harmonie der Ornamente bringen uns diese weitere Dimension, die wir in der Meditation vermissen könnten und die nur zu menschlich ist: die Freude der Sinne.
(Patricia Martin)

Prof. Subroto Roy Chowdhury is one of the leading sitar players of India today. Groomed in the purest senia tradition, he follows the classical dhrupadic raga structure fast dying out even in India. He is considered the most progressive among traditionalists for his associates in a logical synthesis ancient and modern musical expressions without in anyway diluting the former. His improvisations are celebrated for their melodic beauty and the harmonious blend of classical and folk music, highlighted by his both intellectual and emotional approach to the sitar.


Subroto Roy Chowdhury – Morning Raga "Ahir Bhairav" – CD jp 1033 india classics

Subroto Roy Chowdhury
only too seldom are these four qualities, that really make a great artist, united in one person: aesthetical sense, imagination, virtuosity and academic knowledge. Prof. Subroto Roy Chowdhury, born in Calcutta in 1943, is such an exceptional personality of the musical world. Groomed in the purest senia tradition by eminent masters like Nirmal Chakravarty, Suresh Chakravarty, Radhika Mohon Maitra and Birendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, Subroto Roy Chowdhury has rapidly grown into one of the exponents of Indian classical music, celebrated not only for his strict commitment to structural authenticity and continuity but also for his prolific inventiveness and the strong personality of his style.
Both in India and all over Europe, his innumerable recitals, his participation in major music festivals and his records have brought him enthusiastic public recognition and massive media attention. Through his lectures and workshops, given for specialists as well as for „non-initiated“ and even for children, Prof. Roy Chowdhury efficiently contributes to maintain and enlarge the popularity of genuine Indian classical music in his country and abroad.

Asit Pal
Asit Pal was born in Calcutta in 1952 in a family of musicians. He had his initial training from his father Manick Pal, one of the most famous tabla players of India, when he was barely eight years old. At the age of fourteen, he won the first prize of the Howrah Music Competition. Since then, he does not look back, taking part in all the important festivals of Bengal. His proficiency as an accompanist is as much as his solo playing. He is on the permanent staff of All India Radio and accom-panies the most prestigious musicians of India. He graduated from the University of Allahabad  – Prayag Sangit Samiti –  and started teaching in 1971.
Asit Pal has been making numerous tournées all over Europe since 1983, accompany-ing sitarist Subroto Roy Chowdhury and giving solo concerts. His delicate and brilliant virtuosity was always enthusiastically acclaimed by the audience, who admires the aesthetically perfect balance between the right and the left hand and his playing in the typical Calcutta style, sweet, pleasant and clear, reminding the one of Ustad Keramat Khan, the great musician of the fifties.

Ahir Bhairav
’abord pesantes, puis aériennes les notes s’égrènent, suggérant le détachement des lourdeurs, de la noirceur de la nuit vers la légèreté, la clarté, la pureté de l’aube. Cet enregistrement du raga du matin Ahir Bhairav par Subroto Roy Chowdhury et Asit Pal nous mène sur les sentiers de l’Himalaya, dans la fraîcheur de la brise et de la rosée du matin. Nous sommes à ce moment de la journée où les conques sacrées, les clochettes du temple appellent à la prière du matin. Calme, sérénité, équilibre du corps et de l’esprit, dans un monde loin du monde.

Groomed in the purest senia tradition, he follows the classical dhrupadic raga structure fast dying out even in India.
He is considered the most progressive among traditonalists for his associates in a logical synthesis ancient and modern musical expressions without in anyway diluting the former. His improvisations are celebrated for their melodic beautiy and the harmonious blend of classical and folk music, highlighted by his both intellectual and emotional approach to the sitar.

Subroto Roy Chowdhury was born in Calcutta in 1943. His teachers were famous masters such as Nirmal Chakravarty, Suresh Chakravarty, Radhika Mohon Maitra and Birendra Kiskore Roy Chowdhury. He gave his first public performance when he was 21 years old and since then has won several trophies and medals, among others at the All Bengal and All India Radio music competions. In 1969, the title „surmani”, a highly coveted musical award, was bestowed on him. In India, Subroto Roy Chowdhury is regularly
invited to participate in the important musical events of both the North and the South.
Innumerable concerts, lectures and workshops all over Europe and his participation in several international festivals have made European listener well aware of Subroto Roy Chowdhury. Radio France –  France Musique and France Culture –, the Radio Télévision Belge, the Radio Suisse Romande, Netherlands radio AVRO, the BBC, Radio Bremen, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk und the Bayerischer Rundfunk recorded and broadcasted several of his recitals.
Subroto Roy Chowdhury is also a highly regarded composer of film and theater music. His very succesful music direction in Hansgünther Heyme’s Indo-German production „Antigone” shows that his scope is not limited only to composing for the sitar. He is also an eminent member of the teaching staff in one of the leading institutions under the University of Calcutta, an All India Radio and Television artist, a known music critic and a member of the experts committee of the Benares Hindu University.

Pandit Manikrao Popatkar (tabla) was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in 1933. He was initaially trained by his brother Shanker Rao Popatkar from the age of ten. In 1962, he was accepted as a disciple of the tabla virtuoso Tapsavi Samta Prasad of Benares. During his wide international tours and as a staff artist of All India Radio for nineteen years, he has accompanied the most renowned musicians of India, such as Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma, V.G. Jong, Ram Naradayan. He was selected to tour Europe with Vilayat Khan in 1968. Pandit Popatkar has developed a unique style for the tabla as an accompanying and as a solo instrument. His teaching methods are highly celebrated in India and Europe. His playing is both subtle and compact. It combines empathy with wisely measured audacity, the strictest classicism with the verve of the romantic poet.

Subroto Roy Chowdhury - The Indian Sunset - CD jp 1051 india classics

Subroto Roy Chowdhury Sitar
Saibal Chatterjee Tabla
Uma Roychowdhury Tamboura

Raga Shri, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Teental

Raga Jhinjoti, Part I, Part II
-  Alaap
-  Jod
-  Jhala
-  Gats, in Jhaptal

SUBROTO ROY CHOWDHURY was born in Calcutta on January 29, 1943. Subroto started learning sitar on May 12th, 1956, under the able tutelage of his first guru Shri Nirmal Chakravarty. Schooled in an English missionary instition and musically groomed in the clAssical Vedic tradition. Subroto combines the traditional approach of the East with the Western spirit of enquiry and rational thought. An ever widening canvas of viewpoints and the duality of his psyche has led to the enlightenement of the man and his music. Inclined  towards authentic traditional classical music forms. Subroto showed an affinity for the Gurus of yesteryears, rather than the established artists of the time. This inclination led to his close association with Birendra Kishore Roychowdhury and Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan.

Deeply moved by the Dhrupad tradition, he delved into history to return to classicism under the dominant influence of Birendra Kishore Roychowdhury. The Alaap was that of Subroto's first love like that of his Guru. This brought him close to the famous senior Dagar brothers and he became the disciple of the legendary Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Khan Dagar. His association with Radhika Mohan Maitra started since 1962 and his musical training under the former included Masidkhani Gats, bolbanis,  mid-tempo jods and Bandishi alaap.

Subroto got a glimpse of the "Pachao Ke Sitar" (the sitar baj of Western India) during his brief stint with Bimal Mukherjee. Due to his affinity towards his grand-Gurus rather than his Gurus, his style is similar to the 19th Century sitar style. The smooth Veena Meed Ang and the Bolbanis highlighting the hand are Subroto's forte. He was introduced by the late Dr. Suresh Chandra Chakravorty at his debut concert in North Calcutta in the year 1964. Later he won various awards at the state level. National level, Interuniversity and All India Radio music competitions. In the 70's he started visiting Europe where he played for the Radio France, BBC, Radio Television Belgium, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Hague, and the Leverkusen Jazz Festival.

Today, Subroto has performed over 300 concerts all over Europe and the USA, travelling from India to Spain to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Atlantic shores - spreading the message of universal peace and humanity with his music.

SAIBAL CHATTERJEE is one of the most promising tabla players in the country. Tutored under the living legend Jnan Prakash Ghosh, he combines youthful vigour and exuberence with acute aesthetic sense.
UMA ROYCHOWDHURY was groomed in classical music from a very tender age and is also a talented vocalist.
Jhinjoti - The Music
I: A very colourful "Aochar", or medium paced, ornamental Alaap is followed by a Masid Khani gat of sixteen beats, beginning on the twelfth beat as per tradition (the Masid Khani baz was popular in Western India just before the time of Reza Khan).
II: The Aochar is followed by the languid vistaars in slow tempo. This is followed by fast tempo tans at eight times the basic beat. This is followed by a brilliant traditional composition in fast teental. This composition belongs to the Sarod gharana of Niamatulla Khan. The Jhinjoti ends with a dynamic jhala where the musician's skill and aesthetic sense are put to test. The Jhala is in pure Enayet Khan tradition.

Ragas and Talas
It is the unique unwritten notation system that sets Indian classical music apart from it's Occidental counterpart. A concrete notation system is absent, and one's ear and aesthetic sense are considered the vital yardstick. Gurus have handed down a complex system of Ragas and Talas - replete with tenets and rules from generation to generation. This is known as the "Guru-Shishaya-parampara" a unique concept of musical training. Music has come down to us from ancient scriptures, by legend, by ear and by demonstrations of the Gurus. Refined through centuries, it remains  highly creative due to the degree of improvisation in performance. Every Raga  is thus a melodic seed that derives it's flavour from extra-musical associations, such as variations in moods, time of the day and season, i.e. Nature.

The Sitar
An offspring of the Tri-tantri Veena, the sitar is the most popular string  instrument in India. It is carved from seasoned gourd and teakwood that serve as one of the world's most ancient natural amplifiers. The gourd is the base of the instrument and amplify the sound. Six orseven strings are plucked on a long broad fingerboard, with twenty moveable metal frets. There are also thirteen sympathetically resonating strings below, to contribute to the unique tone of the instrument.
The Tabla
The tabla is a double drum set very popular in India. The right  hand drum is tuned to the tonic, dominant or subdominant. The left hand drum acts as the bass drum - known as the Baya. It is capable of many tones which can be varied by the degree of pressure from the base of the left palm.
The Tamboura
The Tamboura is a fretless instrument with five strings. It is carved out of seasonal wood and requires aesthetic sense and great skill to be played effectively. It provides the continuous hypnotic drone in the background, that is essentialto Hindustani Classical music.

Asit Pal - Rhythnically Yours - CD jp 1038

Asit Pal was born in Calcutta in 1952 into a family of musicians. When he was barely eight years old, he received tuition from his father Manick Pal, one of the most famous tabla players in India. At the age of fourteen, he won the first prize of the Howrah Music Competition. Since then, he has not looked back and has taken part in all the important festivals of Bengal. He graduated from the University of Allahabad - Prayag Sangit Samiti - and started teaching in 1971. He is as proficient as an accompanist as he is at playing solo. He is on the permanent staff of All India Radio and accompanies the most prestigious musicians of India, including vocalist Jnan Prakash Ghosh, sarod player Amjad Ali Khan, violinist V.G. Jog and sitarist Subroto Roy Chowdhury. 
Since 1983, Asit Pal has toured Europe extensively, giving solo concerts and performing with other artists. Worthy of mention are also his concerts with American jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy and Mexican flute player Luis Romero Montes. His delicate and brilliant virtuosity has always been enthusiastically acclaimed by the audience, who admires the aesthetically perfect balance between the right and the left hand as well as his playing in the style of the Farukhabad Gharana: subtle, sweet, pleasant and clear, reminiscent of the great Ustad Keramatullah Khan.
This recording will provide a rare and enriching experience for those who wish to travel in the luxuriant and highly sophisticated world of Indian rhythms. Here Asit Pal displays astounding skill and technique coupled with aesthetic awareness. He performs with a high degree of inventiveness which, however, always remains within the borders of the classical rules of improvisation: creativity linked to a profound respect of millennial traditions. 
 
The instruments

The tabla
The name tabla is given to a pair of drums that are said to have resulted from the division of the mridangam, the double headed drum of the Vedic age. Tabla is also the name of the wooden higher pitched drum of this set, which is played with the right hand, whereas the left hand "bass" drum with its metal body is called bayan. The playing surface on both drums is usually made of goat skin. A black disk consisting of a mixture of charcoal, rice flour and other ingredients is pasted onto the skin to further enhance and enrich the sound of the instrument. An elaborate system of leather thongs, rings and small wooden dowels enables the player to tune the tabla to various pitches with the greatest precision. The drums are played with the fingers, the finger tips, the palms and the wrists on the different areas of the playing surface. There are immense possibilities for variation.

The dhol
derived from the mridangam is a two-headed, barrel-shaped drum held in a horizontal position and used for accompaniment and folk music.

The khol
a double headed drum played horizontally for accompanying kirtana - Bengali mystical songs -, devotional as well as folk songs.

The tanpura
This long-necked, lute-type instrument resembles a sitar in shape, but has only four strings and no frets. It supplies the sustained and constant drone characteristic of Indian vocal and instrumental music.
 By using the spoken drum language in which each drum stroke is named by mnemotechnical syllables called bol-s, which work both as a memory aid and form of notation, the time cycles, tal, played on this record can be represented as follows: