At MusicFest and Sawan Mela, sitar virtuoso Mohamed Assani and tabla master Cassius Khan mix a spicy fusion of old and new
By Alexander Varty, August 11, 2011
Sitar virtuoso Mohamed Assani plans to use his MusicFest Vancouver concert to launch a new album—and given that the title of said CD is Spirit of Tradition, his repertoire is going to lean toward the more conservative side of what he does.
“Generally, when I’m playing I do a bit of classical and a bit of folk,” says the Pakistani-born, British-educated musician in a telephone interview, “so it’s a combination of what this instrument does.”
What his performance might not fully indicate, however, is why Assani’s recent arrival in Vancouver—he moved here from the U.K. in October of last year—is very good news for the local world-music community, and for our city’s cultural life in general.
Ismailimail 