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Notes From Celtistan
Acoustic guitar, tabla & esraj recorded live to capture the creative power of Wertheimer & Mandrell's musical synergy - the mythical world where Celtic meets Indian.

	Shantala www.shantalamusic.com Shantala is Benjy and Heather Wertheimer together, creating a magical blend of songs and chants spiced with exotic instrumentation. Shantala offers sacred chants of devotion blended in a sublime soundscape of music from East and West. The music carries the audience through a journey of ethereal beauty, ecstatic percussion, and singing with the devotion of the heart. Benjy & Heather Wertheimer just released their first chanting CD, The Love Window. Soul-stirring singer/songwriter Heather Wertheimer released her debut CD, Church of Sky, in July 2002. Heather leads devotional chanting across the U.S. and Costa Rica and tours nationally.
	Zakir Hussain www.momentrecords.com/zakir A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, Zakir Hussain is revered both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. I have been blessed beyond belief by being able to study with Zakir, and owe him a debt of the deepest gratitude for all he has shared with me. His consistently brilliant and exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure in his own country, India, but gained him worldwide fame. He is a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, with many historic collaborations to his credit. His groundbreaking musical achievements have ranged from Shakti (which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar) and the creation of the Diga Rhythm Band and Planet Drum with Mickey Hart to recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Jack Bruce, Tito Puente, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, the Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony.
	Ali Akbar Khan www.ammp.com Ali Akbar Khan is one of today's most accomplished Indian classical musicians, and he has devoted himself intensely to teaching students from around the world at the Ali Akbar College of Music www.aacm.org. It was an honor and privilege for me to study with him for several years. Considered a "National Living Treasure" in India, he is admired by both Eastern and Western musicians for his brilliant compositions and his mastery of the sarod (a beautiful, 25-stringed Indian instrument). The late Concert violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin called Ali Akbar Khan, "An absolute genius...the greatest musician in the world," and many have considered him the "Indian Johann Sebastian Bach."
	Ancient Future www.ancient-future.com New cross-cultural music and dance is created by learning from the world's great ancient traditions. Ancient Future (which Benjy co-founded in 1979) is the world's first and longest running band dedicated to the creation of world fusion music.
	Ty Burhoe www.tyburhoe.com My beloved gurubai ("guru brother" - we are both disciples of Ustad Zakir Hussain) Ty and I finally met one another (after knowing of each other for some years) at the recording sessions for Krishna Das' "Breath of the Heart" CD. Among other amazing creative outlets involving tabla and frame drum, Ty is a founding member of Curandero, which fuses traditional North Indian percussion (tabla) with flamenco guitar (Miguel Espinoza), and special guests such as Bela Fleck on banjo and Kai Eckhardt on fretless bass. Passionate, intricate, and innovative music!
	Rasa www.rasa-music.com Singer Kim Waters and Instrumentalist Hans Christian rediscover sacred Sanskrit chants and Bengali devotional songs, combining traditional and modern elements to invoke a mood of mystical prayer.
	Michael Mandrell www.michaelmandrell.com My beloved friend and musical partner (with whom I have done a lot of really enjoyable touring and recorded the CD Anjali) recently moved from Taos to Portland (what a blessing!). He also has some amazing recordings from before we met (The Deepening Edge and The Great Spiral Dance), which weave an energetic and all original fusion of world acoustic instruments spiraling around beautiful guitars.
	David Michael http://www.purnimaproductions.com/ A dear friend since 1981, David plays original, robust and romantic music on Celtic Harp that draws on many worldwide styles from medieval to ethnic.
	Tina Malia www.amidarecords.com Simply one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Inspired by many musical and spiritual traditions from around the world, Tina's writing style is contemplative, devotional, and joyous in nature.
	G.S. Sachdev www.gssachdev.com G.S. Sachdev of San Rafael, California is a master of the Indian Bamboo Flute, the bansuri. Sachdev has been my mentor in the art of Indian classical accompaniment, and I was fortunate enough to tour with him throughout the USA, Canada, and Japan in the 1980s. He started playing the Indian Bamboo Flute at the age of 14 and over the years, he has developed the gift of communicating instantly with the audiences through his music.
	Steve Gorn www.stevegorn.com It was my great pleasure to finally play with Steve during the recording of Krishna Das' CD "Breath of the Heart." Though we had known about each other for years, we'd never managed to be in the same place at the same time until then. Steve Gorn has performed Indian classical music and new American music on the bansuri bamboo flute and soprano saxophone in concerts and festivals throughout the world. A disciple of the late bansuri master, Sri Gour Goswami of Calcutta, he has been praised by critics and leading Indian musicians as one of the few westerners recognized to have captured the subtlety and beauty of Indian music. He also has composed numerous works for theatre, dance and television and has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists including Paul Simon, Tony Levin, Jack DeJohnette, Glen Velez, Allesandra Belloni, Layne Redmond, Simon Shaheen and Mike Karn.
	Manose www.manosemusic.com Manose is one of the finest young Bansuri players around, with a bright spirit and warm heart that instantly endear him to people everywhere. He and I have done a lot of touring with Deva Premal and Miten, and a major highlight of 2003 was playing a "dual bansuri" concert with Manose and Steve Gorn in the San Francisco Bay Area. Manose is widely recognized as Nepal's premiere flautist, and has been the recipient of numerous national awards (including Instrumentalist of the Year).
	Deva Premal and Miten www.mitendevapremal.com I was blessed with the opportunity to tour Europe in 2004 with Deva Premal and Miten, who, aside from being magnificent musicians and singers, are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. Graced by ancient mantras, rich harmonies, and sensual rhythms, Deva Premal and Miten's music explores the essence of love, devotion, and consciousness. The couple, who have been living and playing together for over 11 years, have toured the world and released a string of acclaimed CDs. I hope you have a chance to enjoy their music and their presence soon!
	Pete Lockett www.petelockett.com Pete Lockett is one of the most versatile multi-percussionists currently in the world, having immersed himself in percussion and drums from nearly every part of the globe. Following our work together on Deva Premal and Miten’s new CD Dakshina, we connected and I’m really glad we did! Among many other gems to be found on his site, check out Taiko to Tabla, a unique fusion of world music traditions featuring an awesome array of drums, cymbals, gongs, bells and customized sound effects, merged into a compelling and rhythmically dynamic soundscape.