THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Saxophone. Sitar. Tabla. Come Saturday, music will fuse the Indo-German way as German jazz saxophonist Roger Hanschel joins sitar player Deobrat Mishra and his nephew and tabla player Prashant Mishra for a performance in the state capital.
It was in 2014 that the three musicians came together to form Trio Benares, in a bid to blend Indian classical music and jazz. The musical event is being presented by Goethe-Zentrum Thiruvananthapuram. ‘’Founded in 2014, Trio Benares continues on the path of tradition. While steeped in tradition, Trio Benares brings a freshness to both musical styles,’’ the centre said of the upcoming performance.
Roger Hanschel began to play the saxophone at the age of 11. Three years later, he founded his first group. From 1981 to 1987 he studied saxophone at the music academy in Cologne. Hanschel has worked with several groups, many of which he helped found. Since 1987, Hanschel is a member of the ‘Kolner Saxophon Mafia.’ The ensemble has received four German record prizes as well as the Southern German Radio Jazz Prize in 1999. Since 2010 he teaches saxophone at the Musikhochschule in Cologne.
Deobrat Mishra represents the 11th generation of the Benares Gharana. He started by studying vocal music at the age of five and began sitar lessons a year later. After only six months on the instrument, he gave his first public performance. In 2010 he was part of Global Voices of Percussion, performed in Denmark. In 2012, he made headlines by conducting an orchestra of 108 sitar players in Varanasi. Prashant Mishra began learning the tabla at the age of five. In 2004, he won first prize in the tabla competition conducted by the Sangeet Natak Academy, UP.
The performance will begin at 6 pm. Entry is free. Passes from Goethe-Zentrum or downloaded from www.goethe-zentrum.org/trio-benares.