Indian violin legend L Shankar makes a rare visit to Miami Beach, for an exclusive concert at the North Beach Bandshell on April 16. Tickets are on sale now for this evening at the North Beach Bandshell. Shankar, who plays a custom-made electric double violin, is an innovative virtuoso who has expanded the range of India’s classical Carnatic tradition.

Shankar is known beyond the world of Indian music, for his collaboration with jazz legends like Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Garrison and John McLaughlin. With McLaughlin, he founded the group Shakti in 1975, one of the first groups to meld Eastern and Western musical traditions. He was awarded a Grammy for his masterwork soundtrack (with Peter Gabriel) for the film The Last Temptation of Christ. Other well-known music partners have included Frank appa, Elton John, Ginger Baker, Sting, and many others.

This concert will be one of pure classical Indian music. Shankar will be accompanied by percussionist Abhijit Banerjee and other guest artists.

About L Shankar:

Shenkar (aka L.Shankar, Shankar) is widely considered a living legend, a pioneer and a musical genius by his peers who hold him in the highest esteem. Shenkar has enthralled audiences and critics alike all over the world. A child prodigy who is a virtuoso vocalist, violinist, composer and record producer who has sold over 100 million albums through his solo projects and collaborations with other superstar musicians throughout the world.

Shankar was born in Madras, his parents from Kerala, he grew up in Jaffna, Sri Lanka where his father V. Lakshminarayana was a professor at the Jaffna College of Music. Shankar was exposed to Carnatic music and other styles from an early age. He started studying the vocals at the age of two then violin at five then mridangam at seven. His father was an esteemed violinist, vocalist, his mother L. Seethalakshmi played the veena and sang; all his five older siblings were also proficient in music. At the age of seven, Shankar gave his first public concert, at a Ceylonese temple, Nallur Kandaswarmy. He gained a large following performing with some of the most eminent names in Carnatic music, playing all through India, such as Chembai Vaithyanatha Baghavatar, Palghat Mani Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Alathur Srinivasa Iyer and many other leading musicians. Following the ethnic riots in Sri Lanka, his family escaped to India.

Shenkar created and designed his own invention, first of its kind the 10 string stereophonic Double Violin, built by Ken Parker. The Double Violin covers the entire range of the orchestra. He formed the groundbreaking band Shakti with the British guitarist John Mclaughlin, Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram and toured the world. He also performed extensively on Indian classical tours with Zakir Hussain and Vinayakram. He recorded 8 world music albums for the reputed German label ECM and toured extensively featuring the renowned Sax Player Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler, Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, Trilok Gurtu in many Jazz and world music festivals organized by his label ECM featuring other ECM artists such as Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette etc.