Master Sitar Player Ravi Shankar Dies at 92

Ravi Shankar, the master sitar player who earned three Grammys and left an indelible mark on generations of pop influencers including the Beatles, died on Tuesday at a hospital near his home in San Diego, his foundation and record label announced. He was 92.
 
Shankar had been suffering from upper-respiratory and heart issues over the course of a year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last Thursday. However, he failed to recover and died at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif.
 
"It is with heavy hearts we write to inform you that Pandit Ravi Shankar, husband, father, and musical soul, passed away today," said a family statement. "We were at his side when he passed away."
 
The office of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also confirmed the death, calling Shankar a "national treasure."
 
Shankar last played live on Nov. 4 in Long Beach with his daughter Anoushka Shankar, also a renowned sitarist. Last week as he was preparing to go into surgery, he learned he had been nominated for the best world music album Grammy for "The Living Room Sessions Part 1." His album will compete against Anoushka’s "Traveller" in the category.
 
During the past decade, Shankar has continued to tour and record albums, though younger Western audiences may only recognize him as the sometimes-estranged father of jazz-folk singer Norah Jones. But starting in the 1950s the musician gained acclaim for collaborating with Western artists including John Coltrane and violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In the 1960s he was sought out by Beatles guitarist George Harrison to help him improve his sitar playing, which he first tried on the "Rubber Soul" classic "Norwegian Wood" in 1965. Shankar took on the role as the young rock star’s mentor and two years later Harrison’s improved sitar playing can be heard on the "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" track, "Within You Without You."
 
 Source Billboard

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