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Ravi Shankar, sitarist and Friend of The Beatles, has died

by sernabad

Ravi Shankar, India's most famous sitarist due to his embrace of and collaboration with many well-known Western artists, especially the Beatles, died yesterday in California.

In 1952, Shankar performed with Yehudi Menuhin and 15 years later they recorded West Meets East. In 1965, George Harrison began sitar lessons with Shankar. When Harrison then used the sitar on the Beatles' 1965 album, Norwegian Wood and its popularity took off.

Other notable Western musicians who worked with Shankar were: saxophonist John Coltrane (who named his son Ravi; Jean Pierre Rampal (flutist); and composer Philip Glass.

Two DVDs highlight Shankar's influence on the world of music: Ravi Shankar in Portrait was a live concert that took place in London on July 22, 2012 in Union Chapel. Exactly five months later, again in London,Concert for George was filmed. This event honoring George Harrison was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 22, 2002.

Shankar, who had undergone heart surgery last Thursday, was 92.

Comments

He was an unparalleled genius, an artist in the highest degree. That he was a "friend of the Beatles" was far more a compliment to the Beatles than to Shankar. Other than Harrison, the hippies never did understand him. The sitar is not a psychedelic instrument. Shankar's art is a deeply meditative, spiritual music arising from a yearning heart and the traditions of India.

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