Despite a huge reservoir of musical talent, international honours in the field haven't exactly been our forte. Until the Golden Globe met AR Rahman last Sunday. Now, the focus is on the Grammy Awards — the biggest music awards in the world — which take place in February and where India has scored four nominations.
Apart from Debashish Bhattacharya's Calcutta Chronicle and Lakshmi Shankar's Dancing in the Light in the Best Traditional Music Album category, those in line for the gilded gramophone include the Bob Belden-produced Miles From India and John McLaughlin's (picture) Floating Point under Blue Frog Records India, both in the Contemporary Jazz album category. "With Rahman's win, all eyes will be on us," says Louis Banks, co-producer, Miles from India. The Grammys are not alien to us though few Indian musicians have managed to secure the trophy in its 50-year history. Percussionist Bickram Ghosh, a four-time nominee, says, "An Indian album has the maximum chance of winning a Grammy when it's recorded abroad. Even when Pandit Ravi Shankar and I won the award in 2002 for Full Circle, it was under the Angel Music label." http://www.ejazznews.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=10132&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 -- regards, Vithur
