The cheers and claps that echoed through the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4 have died down. After record-breaking wins (Taylor Swift created history with her fourth ‘Album of the Year’ award) and tear-jerking performances (Beyoncé and Meryl Streep were moved by veteran Joni Mitchell’s singing), the musicians will be back in studios or on stage. The show is over, but the show goes on.
So what are the major takeaways of Grammy 2024?
* Indian classical music is neither staid nor constrictive. Hence, Ustad Zakir Hussain became the first Indian musician to win three trophies in one evening. Also, since 2015, the Grammy Museum’s Mike Curb Gallery has a dedicated section to iconic sitarist Pt. Ravi Shankar, known for his trailblazing efforts to introduce Indian music to the West and for his influence on American and British popular music. He was the first Indian musician to win a Grammy in 1968. He was also honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, posthumously.
* Instrumental music, which is normally accorded secondary position in the Indian classical hierarchical structure, is stealing the limelight globally. Zakir’s tabla, Ganesh Rajagopalan’s violin and Selva Ganesh’s kanjira are part of Shakti’s This Moment, which bagged the Global Music Album Grammy. It also features jazz ace John McLaughlin, and renowned singer Shankar Mahadevan. Selva has successfully turned the kanjira, a humble upapakkavadyam (second-rung accompanying instrument in Carnatic concerts), edgy and experimental.
Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia accept the award for best global music performance for ‘Pashto’ during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. | Photo Credit: Chris Pizzello
* The conventional classical music repertoire is a vast reserve of ideas. Musicians can both draw as well as add to it. It also holds enough space to accommodate alien styles. Pashto from As We Speak, which was declared the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, features Zakir, flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, American banjo player Béla Fleck and American bassist Edgar Meyer. The song pays tribute to the tradition of Indian classical musicians playing with British imperial bands in early 20th-Century India. Zakir, who had watched them perform as a child, built upon this memory with melody and rhythm.
Ustad Zakir Hussain won triple trophies at the 66th Grammy Awards. | Photo Credit: ANI
* In his acceptance speech Zakir Hussain, dressed in an Indian tuxedo designed by Manish Malhotra, said, “Without love, without music, without harmony, we are nothing.” And no other Indian musician in recent times has demonstrated it as remarkably as this tabla virtuoso, who has, over the decades, created a borderless culture world. His triumphs that evening reiterate the need for classical musicians to be open-minded and why art must be rid of labels.
Speaking from Monaco, John McLaughlin, who couldn’t be at the awards said, “I don’t have words to express my love and gratitude to my brother musicians in Shakti. Our 50-year adventure crisscrossing the planet has enriched my life beyond words.”
According to Ganesh, the Ustad has laid the path for the next generation of Indian musicians to reach out to a global audience. “We owe both the legends (Zakir and John) for believing in Shakti and their ability to revive the band and reach it to this stage,” said Ganesh talking on the phone from Los Angeles after the award ceremony.
He credited the Ustad for being among the most influential collaborators to have prompted the Academy to introduce the ‘global music’ category.
In 1992, Zakir Hussain featured in renowned drummer Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, which also included six other percussionists from around the world, and won the first-ever Best Global Music Album award. A second win came in 2009 for the Global Drum Project.
Selva Ganesh, son of ghatam maestro and Grammy nominee Vikku Vinayakram, was elated as he spoke from Los Angeles. “It has been raining heavily, yet I was sweating out of nervousness when we reached the venue. My initial confidence was slowly giving way to scepticism. Finally, when I heard This Moment being announced, it truly became the moment of my life,” said Selva, describing the pre-award mood. “What better way to commemorate Shakti’s five-decade journey,” he added. A few minutes later he called to share the joyous news with his father in Chennai.
Eighty-one-year-old Vikku Vinayakram joined the iconic band when it was launched as a quartet in 1974 by Zakir and John. Violinist L. Shankar was the fourth member.
“Though this international recognition has been eluding Shakti for so many years, I knew This Moment would make it happen. The eight-song studio album, recorded during the pandemic, rekindles the emotions of the original Shakti,” said Vinayakram.
The band, which has regrouped twice, the latest being in 2020, is known for the easy camaraderie among the different artistes who come on board. “Despite their contrasting personas and musical styles, Zakir and John make them work together to create a seamless sound. I am delighted Shakti won a Grammy during my lifetime. As the group went up on stage to receive the award, I felt vindicated about having made that crucial transition as a 33-year-old, from the Carnatic setup to an international platform, bringing, in turn, the ghatam under the spotlight. Today, the East-West bridge has been strengthened, let’s make some more meaningful crossover music,” said the veteran.
