Pre-Save “Lady L” on all Streaming platforms: https://ffm.to/bie_lady_l and visit https://berkleeindianensemble.com for more info. The Berklee Indian Ensemble proudly presents “Lady L” featuring Grammy-winning Indian tabla master, Ustad Zakir Hussain. This track is the second single off the Ensemble’s debut album, “Shuruaat” (Summer 2022 release).

Composed by L. Shankar and John McLaughlin, "Lady L” was originally performed by 'Shakti', the 1970s indo-jazz fusion group and appeared on the group's second studio album titled "A Handful of Beauty". The group featured John McLaughlin (guitar), Zakir Hussain (tabla), L Shankar (Violin) and Vikku Vinayakram (Percussion).

One of our listeners inspired us to go further than the Shakti album credits for the origins of this composition. It is possible that L. Shankar was inspired by Bharathiyar’s “Vellai Thamarai” - They use the same raga, and the title, “Lady L” and lyrics offer a clue.

Vellai Thamarai is a song for Goddess Saraswathi. While the lyrics never mention her by name, they allude to her innate talent, skill, and attributes. Perhaps Lady L stands for Lady Lotus, as Goddess Saraswathi sits on a lotus flower. We’re curious to learn more, so feel free to add comments and enlighten us!

In 2019, Berklee College of Music presented Ustad Zakir Hussain with an Honorary Doctorate. It was the perfect opportunity for our Berklee Indian Ensemble musicians to reinterpret such an iconic composition and collaborate on this live performance with Ustad Zakir Hussain as part of our week-long celebration of the maestro’s life and musical accomplishments leading up to his Honorary Doctorate ceremony.

“Lady L" composed by L. Shankar and John McLaughlin
Arranger: Amir Darabi
Producer: Emanuel Keller
Co-Producer: Artistic Director, BIX, Annette Philip
Artist Relations: Senior Director, Global Engagement, Middle East & India, Clint Valladares
Assistant Manager, BIX: Rohith Jayaraman
Assistant, BIX: Lydia Renold

Visiting Artist
Tabla - Ustad Zakir Hussain

Berklee Indian Ensemble musicians:
Guitar - João Perrusi - Brasilia, Brazil
Cello - Emanuel Keller - Jerusalem, Israel
Carnatic Violin - Apoorva Krishna - Bengaluru, India
Piano - Amir Darabi - Tehran, Iran
Keyboards - Fryderyk Hoang Dong - Warsaw, Poland
Electric Bass - Jack Schwenke - Canberra, Australia
Percussion - Thomas Antonio Debelian - Oslo, Norway
Drumset - Noa Kahn - Ra'anana, Israel

Recorded live at Berklee Performance Center, Berklee College of Music
Video Editing: Kevin Greene
Multitrack Recording Engineer: Tarik Mahrour
Mixing Engineer: Mark Wessel
Mastering: Jonathan Wyner

Special thanks - Giri Subramaniam, Rohith Jayaraman, Anindo Bose, Viveick Rajagopalan

About the Berklee Indian Ensemble:
Founded in 2011 by faculty member Annette Philip, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is one of the largest and most diverse ensembles at Berklee. Apart from performing original compositions and arrangements, the Berklee Indian Ensemble tours internationally; presents a wide array of South Asian folk, classical, and contemporary music; and has collaborated with various world-renowned artists, garnering over 285 million views for their viral videos to date.

Ustad Zakir Hussain:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zakir-Hussain-22955051480
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zakirhq9/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZakirHtabla
Website: http://www.zakirhussain.com/

Berklee Indian Ensemble (BIE) & Berklee India Exchange (BIX):
Social Media links: https://beacons.page/berkleeindianensemble
YouTube: https://bit.ly/BIXYouTube
Website: http://www.berklee.edu/BIX and http://www.berkleeindianensemble.com

Berklee:
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FOR Social Media Tags only:
Ustad Zakir Hussain - @zakirhq9
Berklee India Exchange - @berkleeindiaexchange
João Perrusi - @joaoperrusi
Emanuel Keller - @emankellermusic
Apoorva Krishna - @apoorvakrishna
Amir Darabi - @amirmdarabi
Fryderyk Hoang Dong - @fryderykhd
Jack Schwenke - @jackschwenkebass
Thomas Antonio Debelian - @thomasantonio
Noa Kahn - @noakahn
Annette Philip - @annette_philip
Clint Valladares - @clintvalladares
Rohith Jayaraman - @rohithyourboat
Lydia Renold - @lydiarenold
Kevin Greene - @kgreeneproductions
Mark Wessel - @marquisfred
Jonathan Wyner - @jonathan_wyner
Giri Subramaniam - @girisubram
Anindo Bose - @anindobose
Viveick Rajagopalan - @viveick

#Berklee
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