American clarinetist Shankar Tucker explores Indian music on his new album titled Filament. The clarinet is rarely found in Indian music so it was a challenge and the outcome is fascinating. Throughout Filament, Tucker provides outstanding musical interplay between the clarinet and the masterful vocals of various guests such as Ankita Joshi, Devendra Pal Singhh, Vijay Prakash, Nikhita Gandhi, Nirali Kartik, Job Kurian, Vidya Iyer.

The rest of the instrumentation is a nicely balanced mix of western and Indian instruments and some fabulous electronic elements. This is one of those fusion recordings that truly works.

“I had heard Indian music before, but I didn’t consider it as a musical path until I was at the New England Conservatory,” Tucker revels. “I was into jazz, but I would always struggle to be heard in an ensemble, my instrument just didn’t have enough volume. I wanted something where I could improvise and be heard, and I found Shakti.”

In addition to his skill as a musician and composer, Shankar Tucker needs to be recognize for his talent as a producer and recording engineer. Filament is a state of the art recording with a truly beautiful mix. If you have a good sound system, you will really enjoy the sound mix, specially the percussion.

Shankar Tucker was deeply influenced by Shakti, the legendary fusion created by guitarist John McLaughlin and violin player L. Shankar. Tucker had an opportunity to study music in India thanks to a grant that allowed him to study with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia in Mumbai. This experience exposed Tucker to other types of Indian music, aside from Indian classical, such as Bollywood music and folk songs.
Shankar Tucker’s Filament presents an impeccable fusion of clarinet with Indian music.