WESTBOROUGH, MA– Saxophonist Phil Scarff has released his CD “Ragas on Saxophone” which was recorded live at the Hirai Music Festival in Chandrapur, India. The CD also features Mumbai-based tabla maestro, Bhushan Parchure.
Scarff is pioneering the performance of North Indian classical music on soprano saxophone, exquisitely capturing the subtlety and depth of this music on this Western instrument.
His Indian classical appearances include India’s famed Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior), Nehru Center, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and Dadar-Matunga Cultural Centre (Mumbai); Saptak School of Music (Ahmedabad); ICCR Theater and India Habitat Centre (Delhi); and LearnQuest Festival (Boston).
Scarff is also a master jazz saxophonist, and leads the acclaimed world-jazz ensembles, Natraj and the Lewis Porter-Phil Scarff Group. He is featured on over 35 acclaimed CDs/DVDs.
To celebrate the release of his CD, Scarff and local tabla player Amit Kavthekar will perform a concert of North Indian classical music on Saturday, January 20, 2018, at the Center for Arts and Wellness located at 125 Turnpike Road in Westborough, MA.
The show begins at 6:00PM. All ages welcome. Tickets are $15 advance, $20 day of show. For tickets and information, contact admin@centerforartsandwellness.com.
Kavthekar was groomed in tabla beginning at age six by maestros Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain, and has gone on to perform with many legends of Indian classical music. These include Shivkumar Sharma, Jasraj, Shahid Parvez, Ashish Khan, Kushal Das, and Zakir Hussain, as well as fusion master Sivamani. Accolades include Sur Singar Samsad’s Taalmani and the Pt Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Award. He has presented workshops at institutions such as Berklee College of Music, MIT, Hood College, and College of the Holy Cross. He has thrilled audiences throughout the US and India, as well as in Australia, Japan, and Thailand.
