You might have heard his songs earlier but I ought to write this post to appreciate the experiments Shankar is doing. Although I have labelled this as “Part 2” of thepost related to Shankar Tucker, I have not really written about him much earlier. The song which introduced me to Shankar, his reprise version of Rahaman‘s “Manmohini Morey“, I had written about this song long back (Read post about Manmohini Morey).
Shankar Tucker is Americal Clarinetist and composer. Clarinet is a wind instrument (Read about Clarinet Instrument). Shankar was named as Shankar by a Hindu Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandmayi! Shankar was influenced by Hindustani and Carnatic classical music in his early childhood due to John McLaughlin. He took lessons from classical sitar player Peter Row and then under the guidance of Flute maestro Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiya.
Shankar rose to fame in 2011 when he started his youtube channel named “The ShrutiBox”. Till now he has released 25 songs, many of them are reprise version of the already existing hit songs, while few of them are Shankar’s own compositions. What I really like is the way Shankar mixes two songs in different languages, also when he does a single song, the way he keeps the mood of the song intact, and mixes his Clarinet in it is just amazing! All of his songs bring peace to mind, they take us into a different world, a quiet world with utmost peace of mind. May be that’s the magic of wind instruments! And Clarinet sounds so heavenly.
Here are some of the Shankar’s songs from “The ShrutiBox”. I will need a third part of the post to write more about him!
1. O re piya/ Rolling in the deep – Ft. Rohan Kymal
The combination itself reveals how beautiful it can get with Clarinet!
2.Nadia – ft. Jaunite John
This song is originally by the legendary fusion artist Nitin Sawhney, also made popular by guitarist Jeff Beck. It’s a beautiful composition, written very much in the style of a Hindustani traditional song.
3. O saya – ft. Akshaya Tucker, Cello – Shankar Tucker
4. Munbe va – Aiyyar Sisters
And this is one of my most most favorites of Shankar Tucker songs. The voice of Aiyyar Sisters is just so mellifluous!
It’s remake of the classic Tamil film song, from the movie “Sillunu Oru Kaddhal“, composed by A R Rahman.
In addition to Clarinet, Shankar also plays tabla, kanjira, piano, bass guitar. He is debuting as Music Composer in upcoming bilingual movie ‘Orey Nyabagam‘ (Tamil) / ‘Nee Vaipe‘ (Telugu). Best luck to him!
