(Reuters) – Sitar player Anouska Shankar, whose album “Traveller” takes a journey through the music
of India and Spanish flamenco to explore their shared Gypsy roots, was named Best Artist in Songlines magazine’s annual
world music awards.
Shankar, daughter of sitar player Ravi Shankar, performs in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata February 8, 2009.
REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw
At a time of political unrest in Mali, artists from there took two awards – veteran
Sahara Desert bluesmen Tinariwen were named as Best Group while their young compatriot Fatoumata Diawara was Best
Newcomer.
Best Cross-Cultural Collaboration went to renowned American cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his fellow musicians Stuart
Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile, who combine classical and bluegrass music on “The Goat Rodeo Sessions.”
Shankar
is the daughter of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of Norah Jones. For “Traveller she teamed up with
the in-demand Spanish producer Javier Limon, Indian singer Shubha Mudgal, guitarist Pepe Habichuela and singer Buika among
others, mixing ragas with flamenco rhythmns.
“She’s an amazing sitar player and a heritage you can’t beat. She’s
done classical sitar — she’s one of the best,” Songlines publisher Simon Broughton told Reuters. “There’s a link between
Indian music and flamenco because of the gypsies, who originated in India, and that’s what she’s exploring. They have made
something very special”.
Tinariwen, a band of guitar-playing Tuareg, have enjoyed huge success since they emerged from
the desert sands to world stages a decade ago. Supporters of an independent Tuareg state, the current strife in Mali has
given their music a new topicality.
“They’ve taken African music to a whole new audience. And now this whole desert
story, which we thought was history, is now very much a reality,” Broughton said.
For their album “Tassili,” they
swapped their electric guitars for acoustic instruments.
“It’s very laid back…an around the campfire session, very
chilled out. You really get the feeling of community from it.”
Newcomer Fatoumata Diawara meanwhile has been
delighting audiences across Europe in the past year while her debut album “Fatou” has been a best seller. At a show at
London’s Jazz Café in November, even the waitress jumped up on stage to dance.
“Mali is a hot spot of great music,”
Broughton said. “She is a very engaging singer. She’s an important new voice on the scene. She’s popping up at all the
festivals.”
Ma has often crossed musical frontiers, exploring tango, Brazilian and Asian themes in the past. On his
latest venture , he and his cohorts blend classical with the banjos and mandolins of bluegrass for an album which, Broughton
said, “never loses its sense of adventure.”>>
(Reporting by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Paul Casciato)