Katmandu Sitar Sound

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By Twila Crawford
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - World-class music with Katmandu and Don Pope on sitar with world-class dining the evening of April 18 thrilled Puerto Vallarta music lovers and diners of fine food in the beautiful multi-level garden of internationally known Cafe des Artistes.

With twinkling lights and candles, incense, natural flowers and plants of the garden, and beautiful costumes, this event put together by Don Pope, Vancouver area and Puerto Vallarta resident, with former Second City´s Blaine Selkirk, formerly of Kitchner, Canada, and Puerto Vallarta resident, was sold out with an enthusiastic audience. World-renown owner/chef Thierry Blouet hosted guests for the evening.

The music, beautiful belly dancers and an elegant dinner setting could have placed the audience in any first-class major city of the world.

The concert featured a blend of East India and Latin jazz and blues sounds found on Katmandu´s new CD, ¨Ragamazo.¨

The unique instrument, the sitar, ¨is an Indian long-necked, 20-stringed instrument dating back about one-thousand years,¨ Pope says. ¨Originally the sitar was three-string dating back about three-thousand years.¨

Other well-known musicians performing with Pope are Rhonda Padmos on keyboard and vocals, Guillermo ¨Willow¨ Brizio on electric guitar; Oscar Terrazas on soprano saxophone and flute, and Memo Suarez on drums and percussion.

Pope explains the title of the CD, ¨'Raga´ means scales and songs of classical Indian music. ´Palomazo´ basically means a jam session.¨ Five of Pope´s original compositions are featured on the CD. ¨Nina´s Song,¨ an instrumental composition, is a tradional song of the Middle East. ¨Ravana´s Blues¨ is a medley of four songs including ¨Krishna Invocation,¨ a traditional mantra of India sung by Rhonda Padmos; ¨Rasa Dance,¨ a lively dance of Krishna and 1,000 cow-herding girls, and ¨Norwegian Wood¨ with Rhonda Padmos´ vocals, an homage to the Beatles´ late George Harrison; ¨Öm,¨ an instrumental piece about the beginning and end of the universe; ¨Shiva,¨ with all of Katmandu´s musicians, dedicated to the Creator and Destroyer of the universe, featuring a musical motif from the song, ¨Tequila,¨ with Latin jazz influences. ¨Namaste,¨ which opens Katmandu´s concerts is a customary Indian gesture of greeting the audience to ¨honor your soul.¨

As background, Katmandu was formed in 1984 in Katmandu, Nepal. Guitarist Don Pope studied sitar for five years in London, England, and in Calgary, Alberta, with Aashish Khan, nephew of Northern Indian sitar master, Ravi Shanker. Don Pope and Rhonda Padmos, who is a classically-trained pianist, were original proponents of the East/West fusion movement of combining traditional Indian melodies with Western jazz sounds when touring India with Aashish Khan in 1983. Pope continues his studies on the sitar with teachers from Vancouver, B.C.

Pope and Katmandu will perform in concerts this summer throughout the Vancouver area and other parts of Canada. For information about concerts of Katmandu, or Don and Rhonda, and purchase of the CD, ¨Ragamazo,¨ email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Katmandu will perform again during the winter in Puerto Vallarta.