Kolkata, June 23 (IBNS): A gala celebration awaits fans and music lovers of Rahul Dev Burman as Euphony, a RD Burman Foundation, established by some die-hard fans of the legendary music director, is organizing two unique musical shows at Kala Mandir in Kolkata.
Celebrating Pancham will be organized on his birthday (June 27) and In Harmony With Pancham on June 30 will recreate the aura of RD Burman with a set of original musicians who performed with the Master.
Celebrating Pancham will feature the musicians like the legendary Franco Vaz on drums, Nitin Shankar (disciple of Maruti Rao Keer, R D Burman’s Chief Rhythm Assistant) & Team on percussion and the city’s one of the most popular musicians, Kishore Sodha on trumpet.
Singer Jolly Mukherjee, whose voice has a strong resemblance with that of RD Burman and has sung under his baton for a prolonged period, will put up a power packed performance on that evening.
In Harmony With Pancham will have Poornima Chandra, alias Sushma Sreshtha, the ‘child prodigy’ of her time, who has to her credit many playback numbers composed by RD Burman.
On that evening there will also be Kishore Sodha on trumpet, Rajendra Sodha on swarleen & violin, Raj Sodha on saxophone and Franco Vaz on drums.
The added attention of the evening will be Uttam Singh, veteran musician and music director, on violin.
Apart from their music, the listeners will come to know about myriads of stories and anecdotes of Pancham.
Incidentally, this will be the first time that the three Sodha Brothers will be performing in Kolkata.
RD Burman (27th June, 1939 – 4th January, 1994) breathed freshness in the Hindi film world with his innovative fusion music – blending Indian traditional and contemporary world music.
Thus were born those memorable and chartbuster numbers from Teesri Manzil, Yaadon Ke Baarat, Hum Kissise Kam Nahin, The Burning Train and many more.
With his arrival, a new era ushered in the world of Hindi Film Music.
Nicknamed Pancham, the composer / singer par excellence was inspired by all the music traditions from around the globe.
His music featured flavours from Indian classical and regional traditions, jazz, rock, swing, circus music, Mexican mariachi, and Brazilian bossanova, among other styles. Music of R.D. Burman was a rage in 70s and 80s.
“Pancham Da has been idolized by several music composers and his music has been described as one featuring multicultural influences, and characterized by frenetic pacing, youthful exuberance and upbeat rhythms," aid Jayanta Sur, one of the Founder Members of Euphony.
"Even today after 18 years of his demise, music composers and singers try to emulate his melody and rhythm. With his team of musicians and two leading singers we are offering our humble tribute to the greatest composer ever on his birth anniversary,” said Sur.
Winner of three Filmfare awards, RD Burman has scored music for over 300 films in various languages including Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Tamil & Telugu.
Apart from Pantera, the international album featuring Asha Bhonsle and Boy George, he has composed music for 3 Hindi non-film albums and numerous Bengali songs which were released during Durga Puja over the years.
Euphony is the RD Burman foundation based in Kolkata, whose primary objective is to spread the acoustic effect of Pancham’s music even after two decades of his demise.