CDs Celebrate Shankar’s 75th Birthday

If any single figure was instrumental in opening the public’s eyes to music from other parts of the world, it was Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar. Since he first broke through to the larger audience via his association with George Harrison and his appearances at rock festivals in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Shankar has remained, for many, the single most recognizable world music artist.

Harrison, in fact, was right on target when he described Shankar as “the godfather of world music.”

The Indian virtuoso will be 75 this year. In observation, Angel Records this month is releasing a four-CD Shankar box set--”Ravi: In Celebration”--that is a comprehensive survey of the full range of his musical activities.

As Harrison points out in the beautifully produced booklet that accompanies the CDs, most listeners are familiar with Shankar’s sitar playing. “But,” Harrison continues, “how about Ravi the singer, the composer, the orchestrator, the innovator or the experimentalist?”

The package touches all those bases, with individual discs titled “East-West Collaboration,” “Classical Sitar,” “Vocal and Experimental” and “Orchestral Ensemble.”

The overview that results is startling. Shankar performs in an amazing variety of settings. One track includes music he composed for Satyajit Ray’s classic film “Pather Panchali.” Another finds him blithely playing a kind of Indo-pop tune, “I Am Missing You,” with Harrison.

There are appearances with full orchestra and collaborations with everyone from flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal and violinist Yehudi Menuhin to jazz players Bud Shank and Tom Scott. Best of all, the collection contains several extended Shankar classical Indian performances with such superb tabla players as Chatur Lal and Alla Rakha.

Shankar now maintains a home in Encinitas, near San Diego, where he spends several months a year. Interestingly, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Shankar’s former brother-in-law and the son of Shankar’s guru, Ustad Allauddin Khan, also lives in California. Khan is India’s honored master of the sarod, an instrument that pairs with the sitar to make the two most important expressive voices of Indian music.

For the last 17 years, Khan has taught classes at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Anselmo, near San Francisco. The state of California, in other words, is the chosen home (for most of the year, at least) of the two most widely heard Indian musicians of the 20th century.

Although Khan is widely known and revered, and also has occasionally performed in eclectic musical settings, he has never moved as fully as Shankar has into the high-visibility entertainment world.

His new album, “Legacy” (AMMP/Triloka Records), is a testimony to Khan’s desire to preserve the ancient sources of Indian classical music. The CD blends his sarod playing with vocals by Indian film playback singer Srimati Asha Bhosle in a program of 16th century songs. The music is fascinating. Although Bhosle sings in a characteristically high, head-tone timbre that can be difficult to Western ears, the melodies are pleasant and easy to grasp. And at the core of the music, Khan’s sarod, one of the loveliest instrumental sounds in the world, holds everything together.

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Also on Record: Pandit Kamalesh Maitra, a sometimes associate of Shankar, has a fascinating new album, “Tabla Tarang--Melody on Drums” (Smithsonian Folkways). The featured instrument is the tabla tarang, which consists of a collection of between 10 and 16 tuned tabla drums. The full range of pitches derived from this percussion ensemble allows Maitra--a virtuoso player--to perform melodic ragas with the added rhythmic emphasis that the drums can provide. The result is a mesmerizing collection of music that is not quite like anything else.

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Carnival Time: In Rio de Janeiro, all of February is essentially carnival month. Los Angeles can’t match that kind of enthusiasm, but there will be a number of worthwhile opportunities to experience the color, sounds and excitement of the annual event. The celebration kicks off early Saturday night at the House of Blues with Brazilian Carnival Night. Featured artists include Kleber Jorge, Sonia Santos and the Girls From Ipanema. Information: (213) 650-1451.

On Feb. 16, the Girls From Ipanema (who appear every Friday at the Century Club) present a special Carnival show at the venue, (310) 553-6000. On Feb. 17, the largest event of all takes place at the Hollywood Palladium with the enthusiastic dancing, vibrant costumes and high energy of the 15th annual Carnaval ‘96, (213) 852-7119.