| Brij Narayan / Abhijit Banerjee | Profile |
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Brij Narayan
Abhijit Banerjee
Considered to be one of the top ranking tabla players of
the present generation. He received his initial training in tabla under
Tushar Kanti Bose and Manik Pal, and later under the tutelage of Guru Gyan
Prakash Ghosh. Abhijit has also learnt vocal music and violin quite
intensively for a number of years, which helped in making a complete
musician out of him. Abhijit Banerjee has performed all over India and has
toured extensively in USA, Canada, U.K., Europe, Japan, Australia and many
other countries. He has worked with musicians like Ry Cooder, Larry
Corryell, Trilok Gurtu, Jay Hoggard in the realm of World music. Abhijit has
scored music for Television Serial produced by the major Channels in India
and won National Award for his music direction in the documentary film The
TRAIL, a film on Calcutta. |
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The eldest son of the world-renowned Sarangi maestro, Pandit
Ram Narayan, was born on April 25, 1952, in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He is a name
synonymous with the Sarod, an instrument that fascinated him since a very
tender age. His deep administration of his father's music (who incidentally,
is also his guru) was one of the prime reasons why he was able to adapt with
great skill Pt. Ram Narayan's own special technique of holding a bow to a
plectrum instrument. And it is through this gifted ability that Brij Narayan
is able to bring forth such tremendous originality to this powerful luth
and, consequently, to the music he creates! Two other great personalities
are credited with having significantly influenced Brij Narayan's life and
music: Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and his uncle, the Late Pandit Chatur Lal, the
elder brother of Pt. Ram Narayan, who was responsible for teaching him the
science of rhythm. Brij Narayan's inimitable style is a remarkable fusion of
a myriad aspects, including a great command of tonality, constant
imagination in the melodic structure, and improvisation in rhythms. He is a
recipient of several awards including The Dagar Gharana Award from the Mewar
Foundation in 1996. He has composed music for the film Bengali Night
directed by internationally famous director, Nicholas Klotz, and he is
credited with several CDs, LPs, and cassettes. 