Manohari Singh (8 March 1931 – 13 July 2010) was an Indian

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and was the main arranger of seminal film composer R. D. Burman. He worked with Basudeb Chakraborty as a music composer, the duo also popularly known as Basu-Manohari.

Early life

Manohari Singh was born in a Nepalese Bhusal family in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. His father and uncle used to play in brass bands. In 1942, he joined the brass band at Bata Shoe Company, Bata Nagar in Kolkata, under its Hungarian conductor Joseph Newman. When Newman left in 1945 to join

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

, Manohari followed. From classical music, he started playing

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

songs for the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, since Newman arranged music for many composers like

Kamal Dasgupta Kamal Uddin Ahmed (28 July 1911 – 20 July 1974), was a Bangladeshi music director, composer and folk artist active in Hindi and Bengali cinema especially in pre-partition British India. Rāga and thumri were the main elements of his music. ...

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family, but his father was excluded from the throne. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He lat ...

, Timir Baran and

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

. He also played

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...

at the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra. Through fellow musicians such as Francisco Casanovas, conductor at the Symphony Orchestra and band leader at Firpo's Restaurant, George Banks, trumpet player at the Grand Hotel, and others, Manohari was introduced to the

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

nightclub scene. He had already tried his hand at the English key

, the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, but now he decided to learn the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

in order to be able to play at nightclubs.

Career

When the conductor Joseph Newman left His Master's Voice in 1950 to settle in Australia, Manohari moved on to play at Firpo's with his own band. Urged by the music director

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Malayalam films, Malayalam films. ...

, Manohari decided to try his luck in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, moving there in 1958. His first break in the

Hindi film industry Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

was in 1958 with

Sachin Dev Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family, but his father was excluded from the throne. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He late ...

, as a

for the movie

Sitaron Se Aage ''Sitaron Se Aagey'' () is a 1958 Hindi Black-and-white family film written and directed by Satyen Bose. The film starred Ashok Kumar and Vyjayanthimala, with Johnny Walker, Rajasulochana, Shammi, Jagdish Sethi, Manmohan Krishna and Leela Mis ...

. He went on to play with many other

s, his strongest association being with

R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman ...

, for whom he played the

in many compositions. In addition to playing the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

, Manohari Singh was also the music assistant and arranger for R. D. Burman.

Notable hits

Among other notable works, Manohari played on the hit "Gaata Rahe Mera Dil", composed by

S.D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family, but his father was excluded from the throne. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He late ...

, from the movie''

Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

''. He also played for songs in the movie '' Chalte Chalte'' and '' Veer Zaara''. He also released an album titled ''Sax appeal'' containing saxophone renditions of various Hindi movie music tracks Manohari Singh was said to deeply cherish his gold-plated Selmer saxophone (bought in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1969) and tried to avoid getting even his own fingerprints on it. He (as Basu-Manohari) composed for ''Sabse Bada Rupaiya'', produced by Mehmood, starring Vinod Mehra and Moushmi Chatterji. Here is a romantic song "Wada Karo Sajan", one can enjoy the same beauty and touch of Panchanda.

Awards

Manohari Singh was felicitated at the

Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Gruha Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Gruha is a theatre auditorium and exhibition hall located in Kothrud, Pune. The theater is named after first Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the division of Bombay State and the fifth Deputy Prime Minister of India ...

(auditorium) on 19 March 2006, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. He was also awarded the "Memorable Contribution to Music Award" at the Tata Indicom

Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...

Music Awards function held on 27 March 2009.

Death

Manohari Singh died after a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on 13 July 2010 in

Selected filmography

''Santaan-1989'' -

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

ese Movie ''Kanyadan- 1991''- Nepalese Movie 'Sabse Bada Rupaiya - 1976 - Hindi movie (as Basu-Manohari)

Memorable Nepali songs

References

External links

*
IMDB entry on Manohari Singh

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Manohari 1931 births 2010 deaths Musicians from Kolkata Indian saxophonists 20th-century Indian musicians 20th-century saxophonists Indian male musicians 20th-century Indian male musicians