Bickram Ghosh
Maestro Bickram Ghosh (born 20 October 1966) is one of India's greatest classical tabla players. He is revered globally for his dexterity on the tabla and also for being one of the pioneers of an experimental fusion music.[1] He is an extremely successful film music director having scored for 36 feature films, one of which got him an Oscar contention. Ghosh is known to experiment and reinterpret music and culture; he dabbles in a vast repertoire of musical genres, from classical, rock, new-age, fusion to film music.[2]
Bickram Ghosh | |
|---|---|
 Bickram Ghosh in Kolkata | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 20 October 1966 Kolkata, West Bengal |
| Origin | India |
| Genres | Indian classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Music Composer, Percussionist, Actor |
| Instruments | Tabla, Kanjira,Handsonic, Vocal Percussion. |
| Labels | Folktronic, Angel, Music Today, Sa Re Ga Ma, Music of the World |
| Website | Bickramghosh.com |
Bickram Ghosh is one of the most well known names in the world of Indo-fusion music. Having performed the world over with the greatest names in classical music (especially Pt. Ravi Shankar with whom he played for over a decade), Bickram went on to form his band Rhythmscape. Bickram played on four albums that were nominated for Grammies including George Harrison's Brainwashed. He played on "Full Circle" with Pandit Ravi Shankar which won Shankar a Grammy. Bickram's subsequent super successful solo albums like Beyond Rhythmscape, Folktail, Drum Invasion. Kingdom of Rhythm, Interface, Electro classical, Transformation etc. have consolidated his position as a pioneer of a new fusion sound.
Bickram has composed for 36 feature films so far including the Mira Nair presented, Sooni Taraporewala directed Little Zizou, Bickram has now teamed up with Bollywood singing star Sonu Nigam and together the duo have just begun their journey as co- composers in Bollywood with three films, the first of which - Jal, recently made headline news with an Oscar contention for the best original score.
Rhythmscape, Bickram’s band has performed throughout the length and breadth of India made its UK debut in 2003 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. In 2004 Rhythmscape performed at the Forum at Barcelona where the band shared the stage with Sting, Phil Collins, Norah Jones and Bob Dylan. In 2005 yet another concert at the Rhythm Sticks Festival in London the band performed to a sold-out house. The press rightly praised Bickram, "Captivating, colourful and charismatic are the words which popped into my head as I sat enthralled by a performance by one of India’s leading artists.
The son of the illustrious tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh and well known vocalist Sanjukta Ghosh, Bickram also learnt the nuances of Carnatic percussion from the great Maestro of the mridangam Pandit S.Sekhar.
Bickram Ghosh was the brand ambassador for the Indian Election commission in 2011 in West Bengal and his participation led to a record 8.5 percent increase in urban voting. He has over 100 albums to his credit and his albums have won several awards . In 2012 Bickram was awarded the prestigious Banga Bhushan award, the second highest civilian State award in West Bengal and in 2015 the Sangeet Maha Samman, the highest musical recognition in West Bengal.
In 2012 Bickram had recreated the Indian National song Vande Mataram with 22 of India's greatest musical . Bickram has four GIMA(Global Indian Music Award ) awards to his credit. Bickram was the only tabla maestro to perform for the finale of the Commonwealth games in 2010. He was one of the Composer's for the opening of the Indian Super League. This year he added another feather in his cap by composing and presenting an extravaganza with 120 artists for the T20 World Cup finals.
Early life
Ghosh was born in Kolkata, West Bengal to the tabla maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh and classical vocalist, Sanjukta Ghosh. He studied at La Martiniere Calcutta and graduated in English from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata and Masters in English Literature from Jadavpur University.
He started learning tabla from his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh, who had played with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.[3]
Career
Ghosh has performed with well-known performers including Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar.[4] He also performed in jugalbandis with his father in some concerts. Ghosh worked with George Harrison just before the ex-Beatle's death.
Ghosh performs in various avatars. His long-standing band, Rhythmscape, which performs neo-fusion music, celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2011. To celebrate the occasion Rhythmscape collaborated with Greg Ellis to perform in Kolkata and Mumbai, an event organized by Folktronic.[5] The band also released their second album, Transformation, which went on to win the Best Fusion Album at the Indian Recording Arts Awards 2012.[6] Ghosh performs within Troikala with Assamese folk/indie singer Papon and Scottish singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni. Troikala was curated and organized by British Council in association with Folktronic.[7] He performed as part of fusion Sufi act, "Sufusion" with vocalists Ambarish Das and Parvati Kumar, keyboardist Indrajit Dey, and drummer Arun Kumar.[8][9]
Ghosh collaborated with Sonu Nigam to compose the music for the film Jal.[10] Ghosh has also scored music for many movies including the Mira Nair production, Little Zizou.[11]
Ghosh launched his music company, Melting Pot Productions, in October 2010.[12]
Recent activities
On 1 October 2012, Ghosh won the 2012 Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Awards in the Best Pop/Rock Single category for his composition, Vande Mataram, featuring a host of artists across India, including Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan and Sunidhi Chauhan.[13] In June 2012, Ghosh performed a concert "One World Fusion Extravaganza" at Shilpakala Vedika auditorium in Hyderabad to mark World Music Day.[14][15] He appeared in an episode of MTV Roots.[16] Ghosh taught a percussion course entitled "Repercussion" for Ace Open University via online streaming.
Discography
New-age experimental
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Drums of India: Father and Son | Biswas |
| 2003 | Definitive Collection- Rhythm & Zen | Sony Music |
| 2003 | Best of Swar Utsav | Music Today |
| 2003 | Rhythmscape | Navras |
| 2007 | Pulsating Drums (with Zakir Hussain, Taufiq Qureshi) | Music Today/Living Media |
| 2007 | Drum Invasion | Music Today |
| 2007 | Beyond Rhythmscape | Sagarika Music |
| 2008 | Interface (with Rahul Sharma) | Thoughtify |
| 2008 | Folktail | Thoughtify |
| 2009 | The Kingdom of Rhythm (with Pete Lockett) | Saregama |
| 2009 | Journey with the Master Percussionists of India | Drumzine |
| 2009 | Decade of Great Fusion 2000-2009 | EMI Virgin |
| 2009 | Electro Classical | Sony BMG |
| 2009 | White Note | Sony BMG |
| 2010 | Tablasphere | Veecon Music & Entertainment |
| 2011 | Blazing Drums | Times Music |
| 2011 | Talking Drums: Masters of Percussion | Music Today |
| 2011 | Tagore Lounge | Veecon Music & Entertainment |
| 2011 | Transformation | Sony Music |
| 2013 | Nazrulaana | Times Music |
| 2014 | The Music Room | Times Music |
Collaborations
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Chants of India- Ravi Shankar/ George Harrison | EMI Angel |
| 1997 | Nomad Christmas | Nomad/Music of the World |
| 2000 | Cello- Barry Phillips | Gourd |
| 2000 | India: Jewels of the Subcontinent | Latitudes/Music of the World |
| 2001/2002 | The Afro-Indian Project: Travels with the African | Arc Music |
| 2002 | Kora So Far- Ravi (J.P. Freeman) | Terra Nova |
| 2002 | Axiom of Choice- Unfolding | Narada |
| 2002 | Brain Washed- George Harrison | Capitol/EMI |
| 2008 | One- Bickram Ghosh and the Mezcal Jazz Unit | Saregama |
Classical solo
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Talking Tabla | Music of the World |
| 1998 | Language of Rhythm: Drumming From North & South India | Music of the World |
| 2004 | Tabla Odyssey | Music Today |
| 2006 | Drumscape [DVD] | Saregama |
| 2008 | Pride of Bengal- Pandit Shankar Ghosh and Bickram Ghosh | RPG |
Classical accompaniment
| Year | Album | Main Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Mukundarasam: Songs of Lord Krishna | Dr. Balamurali Krishna | Chhanda Dhara |
| 1995 | Twilight Melodies | Ajoy Chakrabarty | Chhanda Dhara |
| 1996 | Thumris | Ajoy Chakraborty | India Archives |
| 1996 | Kirvani | Tarun Bhattacharya | Music of the World |
| 1998 | Anoushka | Anoushka Shankar | EMI Angel |
| 1999 | Raga Mala (Sitar Concerto No. 2) | Ravi Shankar | EMI Classics |
| 2000 | Mental Bliss | Tarun Bhattacharya | Mind of Light |
| 2000 | Anourag | Anoushka Shankar | EMI Angel |
| 2001 | Vairagya | Ajoy Chakraborty | Navras Records |
| 2001 | Live at Carnegie Hall | Anoushka Shankar | EMI Angel |
| 2001 | Full Circle: Carnegie Hall (Grammy winning title)[18] | Ravi Shankar | EMI Angel |
| 2001 | Hypnotic Santoor | Tarun Bhattacharya | Biswas |
| 2002 | In Portrait | Ravi Shankar | Naxos |
| 2002 | Raga Basant Mukhari | Tarun Bhattacharya | India Archives |
| 2004 | Raga Rasa: That Which Colors The Mind | Kartik Seshadri | Traditional Crossroads |
| 2005 | A Spiritual Journey | Tarun Bhattacharya | Universal Music |
| 2005 | Rise | Anoushka Shankar | Angel Records |
| 2006 | Raag Rageshri | Tarun Bhattacharya | Universal Music |
| 2008 | Musical Horizon | Tarun Bhattacharya | Horizon |
| 2010 | Crossroads | Tejendra Narayan Majumdar | Indya |
| 2011 | The Very Best of Ravi Shankar | Ravi Shankar | EMI Classics |
Experimental accompaniment
| Year | Album | Main Artist | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Songs of Nature | Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Tarun Bhattacharya, Ronu Majumdar | Original Music Impressions |
| 1993 | Travellers Tale | Ronu Majumdar | Magnasound/ OMI |
| 2005 | Spirits | U. Rajesh, Pete Lockett | Living Media India/ Music Today |
| 2006 | Golden Krithis Vol. 3 – Beginning of the Beginning | A. Sivamani, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma, Bickram Ghosh, Kalaimamani M.K.S. Siva, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt | Fontana India |
| 2008 | Monsoon Melodies | U. Rajesh | Kosmik |
Filmography
Actor :
- Hotath Neerar Jonnyo
- Choy
Music director (Bengali films) :
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Iti Srikanta |
| 2005 | Devaki |
| 2008 | Neel Rajar Deshe |
| 2009 | Piyalir Password |
| 2009 | Risk |
| 2012 | Nobel Chor |
| 2013 | Aborto |
| 2015 | Kadambari |
| 2015 | Ebar Shabor |
| 2015 | Har Har Byomkesh |
| 2015 | Swade Ahlade |
| 2016 | Eagoler Chokh |
| 2020 | Asur |
Music director (Hindi films) :
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Little Zizou | {With Giuliano Modarelli} |
| 2010 | Gumshuda | |
| 2013 | Sooper Se Ooper | |
| 2014 | Jal | |
| 2016 | Chowky | {Promotional song} |
| 2016 | Happy Anniversary | |
| 2016 | Band of Maharajas |
Reportedly, he recently is working as a music supervisor in a musical short film called Dawshodishi Kore Aalo.
References
- Mahaldar, Manisha (3 January 2008). "Fusion king Bikram Ghosh drums a new beat". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- Nandy, Priyadarshini (14 July 2011). "I Have Personality Disorder: Bickram Ghosh". DNA.
- Sengupta, Ratnottama (22 May 2012). "Can We Equate Seniors and Juniors, Wonder Musicians". The Times of India.
-
- Arnold, Alison, ed. (2000). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia : the Indian subcontinent (Volume 5). New York: Garland Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 0-8240-4946-2.
- "Rhythmscape Celebrates 10yrs of Neo Fusion Music". Indian Music Talks. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Chaudhuri, Dibyajyoti (4 June 2012). "Bickram Wins Award". The Times of India.
- "Troikala - the Art within a Trio: Bickram Ghosh, Papon and Rachel Sermanni". Music Aloud (Blog). 28 December 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Chaudhuri, Dibyajyoti (5 June 2012). "Bickram Ghosh Concert in Kolkata". The Times of India.
- "Sufusion". Live in Concert. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- "Bickram Ghosh-Sonu Nigam Team Up, Combine Marwah-Purva With Armenian Duduk!". Planet Bollywood. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Arora, Chandna (10 March 2008). "Bickram Ghosh Tells All..." The Times of India.
- "On the Beaten Track- Interview with Tabla Maestro Bickram Ghosh". Music Aloud (Blog). 8 September 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- "GIMA Awards 2012 - Winners". Global India Music Academy. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- "Bickram Ghosh to Rock Hyderabad on World Music Day". Radio and Music. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Salvadore, Sarah (23 June 2012). "World Music Day concert at Shilpakala Vedika organised by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department". The Times of India.
- "MTV - Roots - Artist - Bickram Ghosh". MTV India. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Wynne-Peters, Janine (30 October 2004). "Making Sweet Music". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India.
- Suhasini, Lalitha (4 October 2005). "Percussionist Bikram Ghosh revisits his roots in the folk fusion album called Folktail". Mumbai Newsline. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
External links
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