PRESENTED BY EIGHTH & EIGHT CREATIVE SPACES
The always engaging and magnanimous musician and host Cassius Khan and a variety of highly accomplished musicians and tea specialists take the audience on a musical journey around the world, bringing you connection to generations past through songs and experiences that have endured for thousands of years.
On December 8, join Cassius and Hari Pal for an illuminating afternoon of music and refreshments. Global Tea Series performances are by Pay-What-You-Can admission. Audience is encouraged to pay what they are able – there is no minimum or maximum amount – in order to keep the arts accessible for all. Payment will be collected at the door on the afternoon of the performance, and cash, credit and debit are accepted methods of payment.
Canada’s most recognizable Indian Classical musician, the globally renowned Cassius Khan is a performer of combining the Classical styles of Ghazal/Thumri singing and the Tabla, the North Indian pair of drums and presents both, simultaneously. He is the senior disciples of the late Malika e Tarannum Mushtari Begum (Dec 25th 1934-March 14th 2004) and Tabla maestro Ustad Rukhsar Ali, who belongs to the Delhi Gharana of Tabla playing. Combining Indian Classical singing with Tabla, for a single artist, is a first in Indian classical music. Many noted Indian Classical Music gurus have proclaimed that singing and playing Tabla in unison is a difficult feat to master as Tabla playing requires skill and strength, as well as an absolute concentration on the kaleidoscopic rhythm patterns of the repertoire, and singing requires absolute skill in the execution of notes and vibrations of the voice and excellent breathing control. Khan’s trademark is performing the extremely rare and difficult “Tarannum Ang Gayaki style” in which the lyrics share a different metre from the rhythm but they join at the Sum point in a certain phrase.
Hari Pal plays tabla in traditional North Indian as well as his own contemporary style. He has developed an unconventional style of tabla solo, where he uses seven tablas to amalgamate Eastern classical rhythms with melody and popular rhythms. His six tablas are usually tuned to a pentatonic scale and when played with a bass tabla (bayan), he creates an expression of rhythm in melody. His exposure to the music of different continents has had a deep influence on his creative rhythmic impulses. Parallel to his proficiency in North Indian style of tabla, he also plays dumbek and djembe. He has conducted several percussion concerts in Canada and USA to emphasize inter-cultural fusion of rhythms with African, Latin American, Middle Eastern and North American drummers.
