Legendary musician Manohari Singh passes away.
44 views
Skip to first unread message
RAM
Jul 16, 2010, 3:25:51 PM7/16/10
to Bhutanese Artists
Courtesy: Live Mint
Manohari Singh, maestro of the saxophone
New Delhi: In 1969, a group of musicians from Mumbai accompanied
Kishore Kumar on a three-month tour of performances, visiting the West
Indies, the US, and the Netherlands. It was during this tour, when the
troupe hit New York, that Manohari Singh purchased his adored saxophone
—a Selmer alto sax, plated in gold. “He was in love with that sax,”
says Kersi Lord, a fellow musician, a colleague in R.D. Burman’s
extended orchestra, and a close friend. “He would never even let
anybody else carry it.”
Versatile musician: A file photo of Manohari Singh. Dinesh Ghate /
Swar Aalap
Love affairs between musicians and their instruments aren’t unusual,
but they are nevertheless memorable, and this one more than most.
Singh, whose exuberant saxophone lit up classic film songs such as
“Roop tera mastana“ and “Mehbooba mehbooba”, and even films as recent
as Chalte Chalte and Veer Zaara, passed away on Tuesday after
suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 79.
Like his father, who played for Calcutta’s police bands during the
British Raj, Singh started his career with the key flute, and he never
deserted it entirely. Even in 1967, well after he became famous for
the distinct sound of his sax, Singh contributed a flute strain to the
song “Ek haseen shaam ko”, from the film Dulhan Ek Raat Ki—a sweet
snippet that seems to respond playfully to the plaintiveness in
Mohammad Rafi’s voice.
Singh was nothing if not versatile; Pyarelal calls him an “all-
rounder”. He played mandolin for the S.D. Burman movie Kaala Paani,
and Lord remembers calling upon his clarinet for a stretch of the
score to Ram Aur Shyam. “We had a very good jazz pianist, and I told
Manohari that he had to play clarinet for the piece,” Lord remembers.
“He had to bring his clarinet out, dust it and oil it—he hadn’t played
it in a long time. But he played beautifully.”
But to listen to some of Singh’s best saxophone work is to realize
that he had found his truest métier. He came to the instrument because
he wanted to play in Calcutta’s nightclubs, he once told the e-paper
Swar Aalap, which devotes itself to the music of the Hindi film
industry. “It took about six months to a year for me to get
comfortable with the saxophone,” he said in that interview. At the
outset of his career, he played extensively in jazz bands as well as
in the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra, absorbing the spontaneity of the
former and the technical rigour of the latter.
When he arrived in Bombay, in the late 1950s, the Hindi film world was
uniquely prepared for him. “The most famous sax player was Ram Singh,
and after he died, people simply stopped using the alto sax,” Lord
says. “For six or seven years, there was a gap, because nobody was
good enough. After that, Manohari filled the gap.”
But Singh also caught Bollywood on a cusp. “Before him, the trumpet
and saxophone would be used in a very muted manner—feeble but still
beautiful,” says Manohar Iyer, who runs a music troupe in Mumbai
called Keep Alive, and who first met Singh in the early 1990s. “Then
the trend began to change. There were more solos. This is when
Manohari-ji came in.”
Though he worked with a host of music directors—Kalyanji-Anandji, S.D.
Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal—Singh’s most memorable association came
with R.D. Burman. In a way, Iyer says, they were made for each other.
“It was inevitable, because in Western-oriented songs”—a broad genre
that Burman rapidly made his own—“the saxophone is used very often.”
Singh experimented initially with all three varieties of saxophone—the
alto, the tenor, and the soprano; in fact, one of his most famous
solos, in Sholay’s “Mehbooba mehbooba”, is the product of a soprano
sax. But his nimble technique was most suited to the alto sax. The
alto sax “is mainly used for infusing melody”, he explained to Swar
Aalap, and it was to this that he dedicated himself.
Singh had a rich, expressive style of play. In songs such as “Huyi
shaam unka khayal” (from the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost) or “Huzoor-e-
wala” (from Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi), he sustained notes with
impeccable vibrato, making his music throb with feeling. Often his
solos were riffs on the main melody, as in “Yahi woh jagah hai” (also
from Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi), launching off from the melody into
their own terrain before returning neatly to the theme. Singh’s roots
in jazz, Lord says, allowed him to be enormously creative—in his
improvisations, but also in his forays into arrangement and sporadic
composition.
“When Lakshmikant and I composed,” Pyarelal says, “we’d take his
abilities into account and compose specifically for him. He was one of
the few world-class musicians in Bollywood.”
Lord recalls feeling liberated, in a way, by Singh’s talents.
“Sometimes when you were writing music, you had to wonder: ‘Can this
guy play this music or not?’” he says. “With Manohari, I knew I could
write anything I wanted and he’d be able to play it. He could read
notation as if he were reading a newspaper.”
In the 1990s, Singh started to play for films less frequently, so when
Iyer started Keep Alive in 1997, he was able to invite Singh to
feature in its live performances. “He had surgery a few years ago, so
I didn’t press him to play so much after that,” Iyer says. But the
saxophone was in Singh’s hands, he adds, almost until the very end.
“His hobby was music, his profession was music, everything was music,”
Lord says, but then reconsiders a little. “That, and his love for
eating and drinking, for having a good time. Now he’s with Pancham and
Basu Chakraborty and the rest of them. The whole gang is up there,
jamming away.”
Coutesy: Darjeeling Times
KalimNews : Legendary Gorkha musician and senior assistant to late
Rahul Dev Burman, Manohari Singh passed away today (13 July) at
Lilawati Hospital, Mumbai at 4 PM due to cardiac arrest. Singh was 79.
The funeral service of late Singh will be held at his Santacruz
located residence tomorrow on 14th July. Singh was last seen playing
saxophone in the popular reality show Indian Idol with the famous
singer Asha Bhonsle. On his sad demise legendary singer Lata
Mangeshkar has expressed her condolence and said, "he was a good
saxophone player, great arranger and a fabulous human being." Similar
message has been sent by Asha Bhonsle, widow of late Burman, on her
twitter. She has said, "Very sorry to hear about the death of Manohari
Singh." Amitabh Bachchan has also expressed his condolence in his
twitter on the demise of late Singh.
Singh had played saxophone in the latest films Veer Jara, Chalte
Chalte etc. However his musical talents are greatly admired for his
playing in the Burman's hits of 1970s. Sitaron Se Aage was his first
break in the bollywood music world when he played for S.D. Burman,
father of late R.D. Burman.
A large number of Nepali speaking Gorkha artists including Ranjit
Gazmer were attached with the Burman father and son.
Veteran saxophonist Manohari Singh dies at 79 Friday, July 16, 2010,
12:02 [IST]
Courtesy: One India
Instrumentalists are one of the most important parts of the Bollywood
music and film industry but most of them remain unrecognized
throughout their lives. Saxophonist Manohari Singh is one such name,
who passed away at the age of 79 years on Tuesday following cardiac
arrest. He was said to be a very close associate of renowned music
composer R. D. Burman.
Buzz up!On his demise, legendary singer Asha Bhosle expressed her
condolence. She tweeted, saying, “Manohari Singh’s cardiac arrest is
very sad news”.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar also posted tweets on the sudden
death of Manohari Singh. She posted, “My heartfelt condolences to the
family of Manohari da, who passed away. He was a wonderful human
being, a great arranger and a very good saxophone player”.
Recently, the saxophonist Manohari Singh accompanied the late R. D.
Burman’s legendary wife Asha Bhosle on the reality show ‘Indian Idol
5’, which was a special episode on Burman. They were accompanied by
two more associates of the late musician Homi Mullan and Kancha. Singh
looked hale and hearty on the show and got very emotional when Asha
spoke about Burman.
In several hit compositions of R. D. Burman, Singh played the
saxophone, which includes songs like ‘Gaata rahe mera dil’. Recently,
he played the saxophone in the movie Veer Zaara and Chalte Chalte.
In 1958, Manohari first played saxophone for a Bollywood movie Sitaron
Se Aage with Sachin Dev Burman.
Reacting on his death, megastar Amitabh Bachchan posted, “It’s very
sad news, Lataji. Just few months back, he played condolences and
prayers at a function”.
Singer Shreya Ghosal wrote, “May you rest in peace Manohari da”.
May the soul of this great saxophonist rest in peace
Manohari Singh, maestro of the saxophone
New Delhi: In 1969, a group of musicians from Mumbai accompanied
Kishore Kumar on a three-month tour of performances, visiting the West
Indies, the US, and the Netherlands. It was during this tour, when the
troupe hit New York, that Manohari Singh purchased his adored saxophone
—a Selmer alto sax, plated in gold. “He was in love with that sax,”
says Kersi Lord, a fellow musician, a colleague in R.D. Burman’s
extended orchestra, and a close friend. “He would never even let
anybody else carry it.”
Versatile musician: A file photo of Manohari Singh. Dinesh Ghate /
Swar Aalap
Love affairs between musicians and their instruments aren’t unusual,
but they are nevertheless memorable, and this one more than most.
Singh, whose exuberant saxophone lit up classic film songs such as
“Roop tera mastana“ and “Mehbooba mehbooba”, and even films as recent
as Chalte Chalte and Veer Zaara, passed away on Tuesday after
suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 79.
Like his father, who played for Calcutta’s police bands during the
British Raj, Singh started his career with the key flute, and he never
deserted it entirely. Even in 1967, well after he became famous for
the distinct sound of his sax, Singh contributed a flute strain to the
song “Ek haseen shaam ko”, from the film Dulhan Ek Raat Ki—a sweet
snippet that seems to respond playfully to the plaintiveness in
Mohammad Rafi’s voice.
Singh was nothing if not versatile; Pyarelal calls him an “all-
rounder”. He played mandolin for the S.D. Burman movie Kaala Paani,
and Lord remembers calling upon his clarinet for a stretch of the
score to Ram Aur Shyam. “We had a very good jazz pianist, and I told
Manohari that he had to play clarinet for the piece,” Lord remembers.
“He had to bring his clarinet out, dust it and oil it—he hadn’t played
it in a long time. But he played beautifully.”
But to listen to some of Singh’s best saxophone work is to realize
that he had found his truest métier. He came to the instrument because
he wanted to play in Calcutta’s nightclubs, he once told the e-paper
Swar Aalap, which devotes itself to the music of the Hindi film
industry. “It took about six months to a year for me to get
comfortable with the saxophone,” he said in that interview. At the
outset of his career, he played extensively in jazz bands as well as
in the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra, absorbing the spontaneity of the
former and the technical rigour of the latter.
When he arrived in Bombay, in the late 1950s, the Hindi film world was
uniquely prepared for him. “The most famous sax player was Ram Singh,
and after he died, people simply stopped using the alto sax,” Lord
says. “For six or seven years, there was a gap, because nobody was
good enough. After that, Manohari filled the gap.”
But Singh also caught Bollywood on a cusp. “Before him, the trumpet
and saxophone would be used in a very muted manner—feeble but still
beautiful,” says Manohar Iyer, who runs a music troupe in Mumbai
called Keep Alive, and who first met Singh in the early 1990s. “Then
the trend began to change. There were more solos. This is when
Manohari-ji came in.”
Though he worked with a host of music directors—Kalyanji-Anandji, S.D.
Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal—Singh’s most memorable association came
with R.D. Burman. In a way, Iyer says, they were made for each other.
“It was inevitable, because in Western-oriented songs”—a broad genre
that Burman rapidly made his own—“the saxophone is used very often.”
Singh experimented initially with all three varieties of saxophone—the
alto, the tenor, and the soprano; in fact, one of his most famous
solos, in Sholay’s “Mehbooba mehbooba”, is the product of a soprano
sax. But his nimble technique was most suited to the alto sax. The
alto sax “is mainly used for infusing melody”, he explained to Swar
Aalap, and it was to this that he dedicated himself.
Singh had a rich, expressive style of play. In songs such as “Huyi
shaam unka khayal” (from the film Mere Humdum Mere Dost) or “Huzoor-e-
wala” (from Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi), he sustained notes with
impeccable vibrato, making his music throb with feeling. Often his
solos were riffs on the main melody, as in “Yahi woh jagah hai” (also
from Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi), launching off from the melody into
their own terrain before returning neatly to the theme. Singh’s roots
in jazz, Lord says, allowed him to be enormously creative—in his
improvisations, but also in his forays into arrangement and sporadic
composition.
“When Lakshmikant and I composed,” Pyarelal says, “we’d take his
abilities into account and compose specifically for him. He was one of
the few world-class musicians in Bollywood.”
Lord recalls feeling liberated, in a way, by Singh’s talents.
“Sometimes when you were writing music, you had to wonder: ‘Can this
guy play this music or not?’” he says. “With Manohari, I knew I could
write anything I wanted and he’d be able to play it. He could read
notation as if he were reading a newspaper.”
In the 1990s, Singh started to play for films less frequently, so when
Iyer started Keep Alive in 1997, he was able to invite Singh to
feature in its live performances. “He had surgery a few years ago, so
I didn’t press him to play so much after that,” Iyer says. But the
saxophone was in Singh’s hands, he adds, almost until the very end.
“His hobby was music, his profession was music, everything was music,”
Lord says, but then reconsiders a little. “That, and his love for
eating and drinking, for having a good time. Now he’s with Pancham and
Basu Chakraborty and the rest of them. The whole gang is up there,
jamming away.”
Coutesy: Darjeeling Times
KalimNews : Legendary Gorkha musician and senior assistant to late
Rahul Dev Burman, Manohari Singh passed away today (13 July) at
Lilawati Hospital, Mumbai at 4 PM due to cardiac arrest. Singh was 79.
The funeral service of late Singh will be held at his Santacruz
located residence tomorrow on 14th July. Singh was last seen playing
saxophone in the popular reality show Indian Idol with the famous
singer Asha Bhonsle. On his sad demise legendary singer Lata
Mangeshkar has expressed her condolence and said, "he was a good
saxophone player, great arranger and a fabulous human being." Similar
message has been sent by Asha Bhonsle, widow of late Burman, on her
twitter. She has said, "Very sorry to hear about the death of Manohari
Singh." Amitabh Bachchan has also expressed his condolence in his
twitter on the demise of late Singh.
Singh had played saxophone in the latest films Veer Jara, Chalte
Chalte etc. However his musical talents are greatly admired for his
playing in the Burman's hits of 1970s. Sitaron Se Aage was his first
break in the bollywood music world when he played for S.D. Burman,
father of late R.D. Burman.
A large number of Nepali speaking Gorkha artists including Ranjit
Gazmer were attached with the Burman father and son.
Veteran saxophonist Manohari Singh dies at 79 Friday, July 16, 2010,
12:02 [IST]
Courtesy: One India
Instrumentalists are one of the most important parts of the Bollywood
music and film industry but most of them remain unrecognized
throughout their lives. Saxophonist Manohari Singh is one such name,
who passed away at the age of 79 years on Tuesday following cardiac
arrest. He was said to be a very close associate of renowned music
composer R. D. Burman.
Buzz up!On his demise, legendary singer Asha Bhosle expressed her
condolence. She tweeted, saying, “Manohari Singh’s cardiac arrest is
very sad news”.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar also posted tweets on the sudden
death of Manohari Singh. She posted, “My heartfelt condolences to the
family of Manohari da, who passed away. He was a wonderful human
being, a great arranger and a very good saxophone player”.
Recently, the saxophonist Manohari Singh accompanied the late R. D.
Burman’s legendary wife Asha Bhosle on the reality show ‘Indian Idol
5’, which was a special episode on Burman. They were accompanied by
two more associates of the late musician Homi Mullan and Kancha. Singh
looked hale and hearty on the show and got very emotional when Asha
spoke about Burman.
In several hit compositions of R. D. Burman, Singh played the
saxophone, which includes songs like ‘Gaata rahe mera dil’. Recently,
he played the saxophone in the movie Veer Zaara and Chalte Chalte.
In 1958, Manohari first played saxophone for a Bollywood movie Sitaron
Se Aage with Sachin Dev Burman.
Reacting on his death, megastar Amitabh Bachchan posted, “It’s very
sad news, Lataji. Just few months back, he played condolences and
prayers at a function”.
Singer Shreya Ghosal wrote, “May you rest in peace Manohari da”.
May the soul of this great saxophonist rest in peace
Jogen Gazmere
Jul 16, 2010, 6:37:29 PM7/16/10
to Bhutanese Artist
May his musical soul continue to prevail in the Nepali musical world.
I was fortunate to meet him in Mumbai in 2003-4 when I was doing my film studies. I accompanied Ranjit Gazmere to see him when he was undergoing treatment in one of the hospital. Most of Ranjit Gazmere's film and non-film songs are arranged by Manohar Singh. Ranjit Gazmere expressed his indebtedness to Manohar Singh in his career as music director.
With prayers,
Jogen
> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:25:51 -0700
> Subject: Legendary musician Manohari Singh passes away.
> From: ramgur...@gmail.com
> To: bhutanes...@googlegroups.com
> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:25:51 -0700
> Subject: Legendary musician Manohari Singh passes away.
> From: ramgur...@gmail.com
> To: bhutanes...@googlegroups.com
kishor vardhoj
Jul 16, 2010, 7:36:39 PM7/16/10
to bhutanes...@googlegroups.com
| I am really sad to hear about this bad news.He is very popular sexophone player and music arranger in mumbai..I pray for his departed soul.He may rest peacely in heaven. |
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages