Shankar Tucker Live at McKnight Hall, UNC Charlotte

Clarinetist Shankar Tucker is a meld of two worlds. His name reflects East (Shankar) and West (Tucker). Classically trained in concert clarinet at New England Conservatory, Tucker also studied Hindustani music extensively in Mumbai. So his music and compositions are a fusion of the two. Tucker performed live on November 22, 2013 at McGlohon Theater, UNC Charlotte as part of a fundraiser concert for the non-profit Association for India’s Development (AID). Four top-notch Indian singers, trio of women and a male singer, all well-versed in Indian music, floated their vocals above the music. A guitar player, bassist and drummer/tabla player held up the rhythm section. It was a trance-like show at times and a progressive rock outing during other songs. The show opened with a sinewy semi classical number and then the evening expanded into a freeform musical mélange of jazz, pop, folk, Indian pop, classical and more. The show was as much progressive rock as it was a blend of classical, both Indian and Western. Tucker has opened a crossroad where Indian and Western music meet. It’s an expansion of previous efforts by the likes of Zakir Hussain, Ravi Shankar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and others. Listen to some works on Tucker’s popular YouTube channel called the ShrutiBox.