Prasanna, guitar virtuoso, plays at Alverno College
The “Jim Hendrix of India”

by Debby Tewes

      Global Union, the two-day world music festival staged annually by Alverno College
has grown into a much anticipated event by World Beat music fans who can overload
their deprived senses with an outdoor festival that cannot be confined by labels. There
are few  other events that bring together, on one stage, performers from every continent
who both celebrate their individual cultures yet experiment with the sounds of music and
traditions from other lands. Prasanna is the epitome of this fusion. His music combines
traditional Carnatic music of India and indeed, he is accompanied by traditional Indian
instruments. He is seated on a raised platform on the stage, typical of most Indian music
concerts, but the music is far from typical. His musical background includes traditional
musical training under a number of renowned gurus in his homeland as well as
collaborations with some of the greats in jazz and rock. He also composed the title score
for the Bollywood film “Lagaan.” The film was nominated for an Oscar. In addition to
his musical accomplishments, he also secured an engineering degree in Naval
Architecture. Deciding to pursue music after that, he travelled to Berklee College of
Music in Boston.
     His most recent CD release is called “Electric Ganesha Land” a tribute to one of his
guitar heroes, Jimi Hendrix. Accompanying Prasanna at Global Union were Poongulam
Subramanyam on the mrindangam, S. Karthick on ghatam and Bangalore Amrit on kanjira.
     While the weather (remnants of Hurricane Ike) kept the crowds down this year, a
large contingent of die-hard fans showed up on Saturday for the family friendly, free
event (yes, free!). Other artists that day included Lamajamal, Nation Beat from Brazil
and New Orleans and Vieux Farka Toure from Mali. Sunday, when the rain really
threatened to dampen the event, we were treated to Reelroad from St. Petersburg,
Russia, followed by Mamak Khadem, based in Los Angeles but from Iran. She had an
amazing voice and some spectacular accompanists and while I never thought of Iran
(Persia) as being part of Asia, I learned quite early on that I was in error. Once again, her
music has been part of many movie soundtracks and popular television shows here in
the U.S. and abroad.
     The final artists of the day included Maraca from Cuba and Samba Mapangala from
Congo. Last year, Global Union was featured in a one-hour special on Milwaukee’s PBS
station. Mark your calendars to watch for next year’s event. You can’t beat the price
and the laid back, outdoor setting. Bring a cooler and lawn chairs or sit back on a blanket.
It doesn’t get better than this in one of Milwaukee’s beautiful green spaces.