An encounter with Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar, from a photo given me in 1965

My string band The Scragg Family was making one of its appearances at Ed Pearl’s club The Ash Grove in Hollywood in early 1965.  Ed and Kate Hughes put me up at their house for the week, as often happened.  It was a Wednesday or Thursday morning when Ed asked me what I was up to that day.  When I told him I was uncertain as to my movements, he suggested “Why not come along and meet Ravi Shankar?”     “Ravi who ?” I replied.

So we boarded Kate’s old green Mercedes convertible and drove off to a Hollywood hotel.  Ed explained that he was promoting a show by Ravi at the Santa Monica Civic that Saturday, and was going to drive Ravi and his tabla player, Alla Rakha, around to various radio stations for interviews to promote the show.  We pulled up outside a hotel on Sunset Boulevard, and out walked a small thin Indian man with a somewhat stouter friend.  Both, I think, were wearing what are called Nehru jackets.  Ravi placed his palms together and bowed when we were introduced . . . I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but told him I was very pleased to meet him and get a chance to learn about Indian music.

So we piled into the Mercedes’ back seat, Ravi insisting that I sit between him and Alla Rakha, with both of them giving me a crash course in the music’s basics.  We visited several stations during the course of the day, all with the same modus operandi.  Ravi had brought a small stack of 45s with him.  He was introduced to the interviewer (usually a DJ), with the radio man talking a mile a minute with Ravi and Alla Rakha listening politely.  Ravi quickly and invariably took charge of the show, playing samples and speaking of ragas, talas, instruments, and the classic tradition of old Indian music theory.  By the time the interview ended, the DJ seemed sort of dazed but enthusiastic.  I was, in essence, a fly on the wall but tried not to miss a word or note of the presentations.

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Ravi Shankar at the Santa Monica Civic. The Scragg Family at the Ash Grove.

When we parted that afternoon, Ravi said “Surely you are coming to our concert?”  I replied that, alas, I was busy performing at Ed’s club that evening and was very sorry to miss out on the event.  Ravi the said that he and Alla Rakha were giving a private performance the following day, Sunday afternoon, at the home of an Indian expatriate in the hills near UCLA, and insisted that I come.  So that afternoon, I drove up to the home, set on a hillside under a grove of eucalyptus trees.  The audience of 40 to 50 persons was mostly Indian, and I was made welcome and sat in the living room on a mat about eight feet from the low stage, covered with oriental carpets and decorated with large bouquets of flowers.  The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood incense, in a holder at the front of the stage.

Ravi, Alla Rakha, and a friend (tanpoura player) came in and began their preparations to perform.  I can remember the notes of the sitar coming like liquid drops of gold in rapid succession, mingling with beats from the tablas, the close interactions of the musicians, and the patterns the eucalyptus leaves’ shadows made on the carpets during the next four hours.  I became a fan of Indian classical music for life that afternoon, and am eternally grateful to Ravi for taking the trouble to give me a proper introduction.

Pandit Ravi-Ji, you will be missed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Peter Feldmann

Peter Feldmann has long been a musical mainstay in Santa Barbara and Southern California. Besides actively performing bluegrass and old time music with a variety of groups, Peter is also known as a bluegrass historian, collector, music consultant, teacher, and producer, both of live concerts and radio/tv programs throughout the area. His music has been heard in clubs, concerts, saloons, universities, pre-schools, at weddings, wakes, parties, barn-raisings, calf-ropings, rodeos, auctions, fund raisers, wine tastings and chili cook offs. Peter founded Santa Barbara's Old Time Fiddler's Convention (1972), UCSB's Old Time Music Front (1964), and The Bluebird Cafe (1971). Through these and other outlets, he was the first to bring many prominent folk, blues, and bluegrass artists, including Bill Monroe, Mance Lipscomb, The Stanley Brothers, The New Lost City Ramblers, Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis, Rose Maddox, the Balfa Brothers, and many others to the Santa Barbara area. Peter also helped others access the music by teaching privately, and in group classes for Santa Barbara Continuing Education, UCSB Extension, and McCabes Guitars. He was the first on the West Coast to produce and market instruction Lps - three on How To Play Country Fiddle, and one each on Clawhammer Banjo, and Maybelle Carter Style Guitar. He still presents lectures on country music history at UCSB, Santa Barbara area libraries, and for various interest groups, festival workshops, etc. In 2006, he presented his monograph titled "The Big bang Of Bluegrass Music" (describing the origins of bluegrass 1938 - 1946) to the worlds first International Music Symposium at the University of Kentucky at Bowling Green. He has also been very active in radio, television, and film work, producing weekly shows on country and bluegrass music over a 21 year period on various commercial and public stations. Peter currently maintains three music-related websites, a music blog, and an entertainment service company, "BlueGrass West!", based in the Santa Ynez Valley in Southern California. Peter performs tunes and songs from the heart of America's musical treasure chest. His shows can include fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Well-known as a historian and teacher, Peter is first and foremost an entertainer, sharing his respect, energy and love for the music with his fellow musicians, friends, and audiences.
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