INDIA Chitti Babu – Columbia - 33ESX-6008 / 1967 (LP)

INDIA 
Chitti Babu – Columbia - 33ESX-6008, released in 1967 (LP)

Following posts featuring the Carnatic veena master Emani Sankara Sastry (1922-1987), I present this remarkable 1967 album by Chitti Babu (1936-1996), Sastry's most famous disciple. Born in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, Babu was born into a music-loving family and was a child prodigy on the veena. As a boy, he studied under Shri Pandravada Upmakaya and Shri Eyyuni Appalacharyulu before becoming Sankara Sastry's disciple in 1948.

Babu's extraordinary skill, and his popularization of the veena for a wider audience, made him one of the most celebrated 20th-century Carnatic seven-string Saraswati veena players. Deeply rooted in Carnatic tradition, Babu’s Bani style mimicked human vocal inflections and emotions. He displayed dazzling virtuosity and showmanship through his precise and lightning-fast fingerwork and seamless meend glides, spanning several notes with a single pluck. His expressive and soulful playing produced resonant notes that shimmered with a bell-like quality.

A consummately versatile musician, Babu was fearless in his experimentation and developed his own modern approach to music. His diverse output encompassed traditional ragas, Vedic hymns, folk songs, light classical pieces, his signature cuckoo mimicry (B4), and Western-based compositions.

Here, Babu is accompanied by Vellore Ramabhadran (1929-2012) on the mridangam double-sided drum.

Après plusieurs post consacrés au maître de la veena carnatic Emani Sankara Sastry (1922-1987), j’ai le plaisir de vous présenter cet album remarquable enregistré en 1967 par Chitti Babu (1936-1996), le disciple le plus célèbre de ce dernier. Né à Kakinada, dans l'Andhra Pradesh, Chitti Babu est issu d'une famille mélomane et était un enfant prodige de la veena. Il étudie dans son enfance sous la tutelle de Shri Pandravada Upmakaya et de Shri Eyyuni Appalacharyulu, puis devient le disciple d’Emani Sankara Sastry en 1948.
 
Son talent extraordinaire et sa popularisation de la veena auprès d'un public plus large en ont fait l'un des plus grands joueurs de veena Saraswati à sept cordes du XXè siècle. Profondément ancré dans la tradition Carnatic, il imitait les inflexions vocales et les émotions humaines dans son style Bani. Il faisait preuve d'une virtuosité et d'un sens du spectacle éblouissants grâce à son jeu précis et ultra-rapide, ainsi qu'à ses glissés meend fluides qui couvraient plusieurs notes d'un seul coup de plectre. Son jeu expressif et empreint d’émotion produisait des notes résonnantes qui scintillaient comme des cloches.
 
Musicien extrêmement polyvalent, Babu n'hésitait pas à expérimenter et a développé sa propre approche moderne de la musique. Sa production variée comprenait des ragas traditionnels, des hymnes védiques, sa célèbre imitation du coucou (B4), des chansons folkloriques, des pièces classiques légères, et des compositions occidentales.
 
Babu est accompagné ici par Vellore Ramabhadran (1929-2012) au mridangam.

A1 – Sri Ganapathini - Saurashtra

A2 – Manavyalakincha – Nalinakanti

A3 – Swara Raga Sudha - Sankarabharanam

B1 – Kowmari Gouri - Velavali

B2 – Ninnuvina - Navarasakannada

B3 – Nirupamana - Behag (Javali)

B4 – Kommalo Koila - Misra (Cuckoo Song)

B5 – Aadevu Paadevu - Sindhubhairavi

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My other Carnatic instrumental posts:

Emani Sankara Sastri – HMV 7 EPE 1603 here
Emani Shankara Sastry – L'Art du Vina – CBS 80213 here

Lalgudi Jayaraman / N. Ramani / R. Venkataraman – ECSD 2494 here

Lalgudi Jayaraman – HMV 7 EPE 1614 here

Lalgudi Jayaraman – Violin Solos of Carnatic Music – ECSD 2435 here

Lalgudi Jayaraman – Melodiya C80-27225-004 here
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu – HMV EALP 1375 here

T. N. Krishnan – SEDE 3609 Columbia here
T.N. Krishnan & Kumari Viji Krishnan  Inreco 2401 here
N. Ramani – Flute – HMV – EASD 1390 here
Inde du Sud – Les Grands Classiques – Ducretet Thomson 2C 066-14324 / UNESCO here
The Great Tradition – Masters of Music EALP Part 2 Carnatic here

The photograph below is from World Geography and Customs Series (Vol.3), Published by Shinkosha, Japan, 1931 here

Ascetic (also known as a sadhu or yogi) on the banks of the Ganges:

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