Short Biography Shankar Lal

Shankar Lal was born in Calcutta, where he received a classical tabla training with Ustad Kermamatullah Khan, the legendary leader of the Farukhabad Gharana (one of the six major schools of North Indian tabla drumming). Shankar Lal has played with many of the foremost musicians of India, above all with the great late master of Hindustani sitar music, the unsurpassed Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. He has also been involved with numerous fusion projects, recording, among others, with Amon Duul and Rabih Abou Khalil, and playing numerous concerts with the Munich-based world music vetreans Embryo. A recent collaboration with Greek canonaki virtuoso Petros Tabouris appeared on FM Records, Athens. Over the last decade, Shankar Lal - a resident of Munich, Germany for over 30 years - has dedicated a lot of his efforts to the Munich Tabla Ensemble, a group consisting of some of his most proficient students. The Munich Tabla Ensemble plays traditional compositions for tabla in sophisticated arrangements for two to four tabla players. Shankar Lal is resident tabla teacher at the Freies Musikzentrum Munchen, an institution of musical learning and practice well-known all over Europe. He is a much sought-after accompanist for visiting musicians from India; in the fusion area, he is currently active with the newly formed group Misery Loves Company consisting of musicians from the US, Greece, Germany and, of course, India. They released their first cd called Athens Meets New York with subtitle Magia ke Miseria on Munich's Enja Records.

Selected discography Shankarlal

Sunil Banerjee (Sitar) and Shankarlal (Tabla):
Morning Raga (CD, 1996): Raga Mishra Tori, Tabla Solo, Dhun in Jhaptal and Dadra
Evening Raga (CD, 1995): Raga Kanaraprakar, Raga Misra Kafi, Tabla Solo, Dhun
(Obrwaschl Records - Papenheimstrasse 11 80335 Munich
tel. 49-(0)89-5503151 FAX 5504112

Debi Ghosh (Sarod) and Shankarlal (Tabla):
Grandmasters of Mode Vol. 2 (CD, 1997): Raga Rageshri, Raga Mishra Shiva Ranjini, Raga Bhairavi
Bandaloop Records - Ligsalzstrasse 24 80339 Munich
tel.49-(0)89-54070508 FAX 54070504

Shankarlal and the Munich Tabla Ensemble:
Shankarlal Tabla Ensemble (CD, 1995): Peshkar (Teental), Teental, Jhaptal, Rupak, Chartal-Kiswari, Fast Teental

Petros Tabouris (Canonaki) and Shankarlal (Tabla):
Modes and Talas (CD, 1995) Musical Encounters Series
F.M. Records - 7 Knossou Street 111 46 Athens, Greece
tel. 30-(0)1 2222301-3 FAX 2221603

Shankarlal (Tabla Solo):
Grandmasters of Beat Vol. 3: Classical Tabla Solos (CD, 1998)
Bandaloop Records - Ligsalzstrasse 24 80339 Munich
tel.49-(0)89-54070508 FAX 54070504

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