Chaurasia, who studied under his iconic uncle, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, follows the illustrious lineage of the Maihar Gharana.
Our Bureau
Los Angeles, CA
Rakesh Chaurasia flautist, composer, and the nephew of legendary maestro Hari Prasad Chaurasia bagged two Grammy Awards in a glittering ceremony held on February 5.
“Winning two Grammy Awards has been a moment of pride for me and my country. I would like to express my gratitude to Zakir bhai who gave me a chance to collaborate with Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck to work on ‘As We Speak’,” said Chaurasia at the 66th Grammy Awards 2024 ceremony in Los Angeles.
“It was a unique and difficult experience to work on a different genre especially coming from a classical scenario. I am extremely happy that I am bringing a Grammy to my country. Hope I continue making India proud with my work,” said the 53-year-old musician who plays the bansuri (bamboo flute).
Chaurasia has featured in the album ‘As We Speak’ – a collaborative effort with American banjo legend Bela Fleck, double bassist Edgar Meyer, and Padma Vibushan tabla player Zakir Hussain.
Nominated for the Grammys in three categories -Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Global Music Performance ‘As we Speak’ won in the Best Contemporary Instrumental and Best Global Music Performance categories.
Meanwhile, in the album ‘As We Speak,’ the four musicians have over 12 songs negotiated Indian and Western classical music, jazz, and bluegrass genres of music. The album, according to Bela Fleck, weaves a “sonic tapestry of banjo, tabla, double bass, and bansuri.”
Chaurasia, who studied under his iconic uncle, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, follows the illustrious lineage of the Maihar Gharana. Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain’s double CD ‘ZaRa’ comprising “two classical ragas and Kashi dhun” was released on the latter’s label Moment Records in September 2022. Hussain has described the flautist as “India’s brilliant and popular bansuri virtuoso.”
